Nepali social media landscape is simply amazing. It takes a lot of luck to widely spread a positive message via social media, but a hoax, a rumor or propaganda? Oh, it does take no minute by the time it engulfs the whole country.
"Song should rather metaphorize the system or behavior that’s relevant on all occasions"
A similar thing happened in our Nepal last week after the celebrated folk singer Pashupati Sharma has been reportedly pressurized to remove his ‘Lutna Sakey Lut Kanchha’ video from his YouTube channel. The news went ablaze from facebook and did not stop even after it hit the Parliament. Series of backslashing and backfiring continued; still, it has not been resolved. Ever mushrooming YouTube channels are gaining unprecedented views and subscribers just by uploading the very video that Pashupati Sharma had deleted. There are discussion, debate, and analysis going galore via talk programs, live shows, interactions and articles.
While we don’t have a destination, it’s sure that we won’t reach the one. The similar case is here because the propositions are setting the issue on fire just for the sake of political gain. They are all set to make a mountain out of a molehill because this type of event brings them a lot of opportunities to mislead the public that the government is making a mess against the mandate. Come Govinda KC and they tried to fish in the turmoiled water, and now come Pashupati Sharma and they tried the same thing. These are, in fact, not the issue of their parties. Literally, they are parched of not getting any hot topic to shake the government, so why they pick a burning issue one time or another and politically sensationalize it only for political gain. Actually, it’s the norm of an oppositional force. We should understand and we did until a Nepali Congress MP stood in the lower house to anathematize the ruling party and to appreciate the deed of Mr. Sharma thereby announcing a 25 thousand NPR prize to the singer. Ah! What a pity.
Pashupati Sharma is a well-off folk singer; he earns more than any MP, disregarding the corruption that they do. What stunt the MP is trying to show by promulgating that he is to offer Mr. Sharma of a the-nickel-and-dime award? And what the singer has done to get that award? Seemingly nothing of such that demand a prize.
There follows an ignorant leader’s speech of the ruling party who boasts that Mr. Sharma sang a song Malai America Yahi, which bounteously spreads positivism towards the country in the time when Sushil Koirala was the Prime Minister. To our dismay, the basis of his remonstration was just a rumor based on Facebook. The video was released during November 2013 when Khil Raj Regmi was the premier. This shows how our leaders are wasting valuable time inside the parliament by just making remarks on guesses and rumors, and not on the proven facts and solid grounds.
Now I have my opinion. First thing is this seems nonsensical of the government, ruling party and its wing to focus on such trivial issue like on a song sung by a common singer. There are innumerable singers, writers, political analysts, and journalists in the country and the ruling institution can’t put an eagle’s eye on everybody who makes negative similes and metaphors against the government. Nobody, not even the government, has rights to control the freedom of expression of the citizens. If CPN or its associates have threatened Mr. Sharma, there is nothing abominable like this. They can advise him and ask for a correction, not terrorize the musical gem of the nation. If Mr. Sharma feels guilty of putting words simply on assumptions or hearsay then he should rectify the song and the video. Not any song should directly scathe one person, party or group. It should rather metaphorize the system or behavior that’s relevant on any occasion.
That said, I want to conclude by reiterating we all share our roles in this sensationalization. Mr. Sharma might have scripted the song partly on hearsay, ruling party or its associates might have influenced the decision of the singer on deleting the video, opposition parties by inflaming the issue to the surface, and we the people by talking and sharing the news ever more. We should stop to divert the government by making such news viral to denigrate the imagery of government just for the sake of impedence.
That said, I want to conclude by reiterating we all share our roles in this sensationalization. Mr. Sharma might have scripted the song partly on hearsay, ruling party or its associates might have influenced the decision of the singer on deleting the video, opposition parties by inflaming the issue to the surface, and we the people by talking and sharing the news ever more. We should stop to divert the government by making such news viral to denigrate the imagery of government just for the sake of impedence.
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