EDITOR’S NOTE

Nepali politics went through major upheavals over the past two decades of the restoration of democracy.  The change first ushered in a multi party parliamentary democracy in a constitutional monarchy, in 1990. After a brief abortive direct royal rule early this decade, the 240-year-old kingdom has now turned into a republic.  The momentous changes have however made little difference in changing the lot of an average Nepali. The reason: politics took centre-stage pushing the development agenda to the back seat. Induction of violence to push the political agenda did not help the matter. It instead pushed the country to the brink. To make the matters worse, hard geo-political realities went largely ignored -- in a country that is sandwiched between rising, and rival, nuclear powers, each with a billion plus people.

No wonder, 60 years after it entered into modern politics Nepal is still left in the community of backward countries. It is easy and convenient to squarely put the blame on the political leadership.  They indeed deserve to be chastised for the present state of the nation state of Nepal.

But other sectors of society can not escape the blame too. Media is no exception. The Nepalese media grew in leaps and bounds over the past 20 years. It has been crucial in setting the agenda of change. But whether it has been successful in setting the right agenda is open to debate, given the state Nepal is currently in. It is on this critical count that we think the media needs to do a self-introspection. Guided solely by this solemn objective we have decided to launch the New Spotlight Fortnightly Newsmagazine. 

We have sought to put together a team of professionals who look beyond the immediate present to guide the nation towards a distant future -- with a clear vision. We do not want to make tall claims. But we certainly hope to be different. We hope to be realistic. We hope to be objective. And, with your support and encouragement, we are confident we can make a difference .

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