INDIAN Embargo on Nepal

The undeclared economic blockade imposed in Nepal by India is now in its third week. I wish Nepalese government had responded timely and effectively to these matters which have put daily lives into a grueling test for its citizens. Only Nepali news agencies have been publishing the original stories about the ongoing political unrest in certain regions and the embargo. Also, different solidarity movements have helped Nepali people fight back the bossy attitude of the Indian Government. On the contrary, the roles of international news agencies have been quite ineffective in delivering the right message and information about current issues in Nepal.

The sole role of media is to speak out the truth. It is not true that citing an authority is bringing out the true story to the public. Especially in case of politics, where matters can never be analyzed forthright, ‘citing and authority’ can be highly refutable. Now, in the case of the embargo imposed in Nepal by India against the treaties between the two nations as well as various international laws, international news agencies have been citing the Indian government which has been blatantly denying this fact. Instead it has stated that the impediment in the influx of daily commodities and fuels to Nepal has been caused by the political unrest in the Nepal-India borders while the Nepalese government has guaranteed the safety of vehicles once they enter its territory.

Trucks waiting for a clearance form Indian Customs Office to enter Nepal.

The Customs Offices in the Indian side have not cleared all the vehicles without which the vehicles cannot enter Nepalese territory. To act as if it has not imposed an economic blockade, the Indian Customs Offices have let few trucks carrying non-essential commodities to enter Nepalese land. In addition to that, the Indian Oil Corporation filled only few trucks which were sent by the Nepalese Oil Corporation to ferry fuel to the nation. These actions tell a different story from that told by the Indian Government.

Fuel stations have been rationing fuel among vehicles whose line stretches miles.

It is perceptible that either the journalists are afraid of bringing the accurate story to public, which is highly unlikely, or they have not vigilantly observed the story to write based on it. Writing the true story is always the best way of reporting a news. This is an important message to all the journalists out there.