Why the Independent?
After Jana Andolan I and our new found valuable liberties and to mark the National Democracy Day, The Independent (English weekly) made its debut on February 1991. I have been often asked why should a businessman be interested in publishing a newspaper which paper never ever will be a profitable proposition in Nepal?
Placing human values well over monetary benefits and the belief that human mind is like a parachute, it functions best when open, I went into the publication of The Independent. Earlier my maiden venture in journalism began with the publication of The Realm a monthly magazine which was discontinued due to unfavorable political conditions.
In a nutshell, my venture in the publication was guided by the philosophy in our new found freedoms, especially those related to a free press and right to information, commitment to the multi-party democracy and human rights, constitutional monarchy, free market economy and truly independent Nepal.
My mission was to build an institution that devotes to freedom of press and independence of thought and mind, having a strong nationalist outlook keeping in tune with the new democratic spirit. In its decade of publication The Independent lived up to its noble and clear philosophies and became the most widely read and quoted news paper in the country.
I felt to enjoy the benefits of such priceless rights The Independent had deliberately chosen to tread a path away from political parties and a highly polarized press at that point in time. Both political and press trends of that time became a huge challenge to the original values of The Independent. It is not that we did not struggle.
The wave was just too strong. Rather than sacrificing the values of the paper and becoming 'dependent' and pumping in my hard earned resource from my other business into the paper, I had take the unfortunate decision of closing the paper as its original values were not enduring during the time.
In addition, I clearly remembered and was guided by my ravened father Lunkaran Das Chaudhary who had already inspired me through his faith in the power of the inner self and his strong's belief that, "while times may change, values must endure." The paper folded as it no longer could endure the original values.
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