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Birth: 14 October 1932, Kathmandu

Death: 16 March 2021, Gangalal Hospital, Kathmandu

Maniklal Shrestha, a leader of the Newari language movement, analyst of left politics, and respected academic, died aged 89 in Kathmandu.

A mentor for most of Nepal’s current and ex-communist leaders, Shrestha had for long been fighting kidney and heart ailments and was hospitalized a few weeks ago after falling unconscious.

Shrestha first started reading extensively as a student of Tri-Chandra Campus in Kathmandu, where he also came across the works of Marx and Engels. Deeply inspired by Marxist philosophy, he cultivated a close-knit network with Nepali left-leaning intellectuals and communist leaders.

A good friend of late Pushpa Lal Shrestha, founder of the Communist Party of Nepal, he helped draft the young party’s manifesto. Later, the royal regime arrested him for his involvement in the communist movement. 

The man behind the establishment of Nepal Sambat and Kirat Sambat (calendars based on the history of Newar and Kirat communities), Shrestha also helped establish Nepal Bhasa (Newari language) as one of the country’s official languages. A sharp historian, learner, and mother-tongue activist, Shrestha was known for his uncanny ability to explain difficult ideas in simple, everyday terms. He had an extraordinary memory and often mentioned exact historical dates, time, and even page numbers of books while giving talks. He was a walking encyclopedia for fellow researchers and students.

Shrestha had an MA in English and an LLB, both from Kolkata University, India, before returning home to start teaching at Tribhuvan University. He was the first Nepali to graduate in Constitutional Law.

Elected ward-chairperson of Kathmandu-9 (now Kathmandu-17) in 1958, Shrestha in his lifetime never visited any temple or performed religious rites. He was a women’s rights activist and, unknown to many, was the first to lobby for and ensure women’s voting rights in his electoral constituency, even before Switzerland did so in 1974.

He was also a journalist and wrote articles for Nepal Bhasa daily and various other national and international newspapers. He wrote and translated extensively, and authored acclaimed books like Historical Development of Juche Cause (in English), Manab Samaj ko Bikash Bare Marxbadi distrikon (in Nepali), and Samalochanayam Siddhanta (in Newari).

Shrestha was married to late Sushila Singh, the first female judge of Nepal’s Supreme Court, who passed away almost a year ago on 22 May 2020. He is survived by two sons: senior cardiologist Dr. Malakhlal Shrestha and physician Dr. Situlal Shrestha.

Communist leaders and intellectuals have expressed sorrow over Shrestha’s demise. Posting a picture of himself with hospitalized Shrestha, former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said on Twitter: “The country has lost an extraordinary intellectual figure.” Political analyst Shyam Shrestha remembered his senior colleague Maniklal Shrestha as “a very down-to-earth, helpful, easily accessible, and welcoming man”. Chairman of CPN (Maoist Center) and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal said: “The demise of Prof. Shrestha is a blow to the whole progressive-communist movement of Nepal.”

Birth: 12 December 1957, Pulchowk, Lalitpur

Death: 12 March 2021, Om Hospital, Kathmandu

Sushil Sharma, a prominent Nepali journalist, passed away on Friday, March 12. The 63-year-old was undergoing treatment at Om Hospital in Kathmandu for kidney-related problems when a blood clot stopped his heart.

Widely hailed for his non-partisan and liberal approach to journalism, he is perhaps best remembered for his unique interview style, bold commentaries, and to-the-point analysis.

A Dag Hammarskjöld fellow at the University of California at Berkeley, Sharma started his career with The Rising Nepal and later worked with The Kathmandu Post daily, Spotlight newsmagazine, and most prominently, BBC World Service. He was held up as a bold and fair storyteller by the news industry.

As one of the pioneering sports journalists of Nepal, Sharma had made a mark by covering 1984’s South Asian Games. He was also among the first Nepali sports journalists to observe major national and international football tournaments up close. Later, he shifted to doing political and social stories.

Of late, Sharma had taken a break from mainstream journalism to start a research project, Mission Possible Nepal, which he described as “a private initiative for public discourse on the political economy of Nepal.”  He wanted to diagnose the “real causes of the country’s backwardness and the right prescription for it.”

A lesser known side of Sharma’s later years was his spiritual quest. He was a keen follower of Paramhansa Yogananda, a 20th-century Indian yogi, who had stirred the Western world with his extraordinary teaching of Kriya Yoga and with a spiritual masterpiece, Autobiography of A Yogi. 

An inspiration for colleagues and juniors alike, Sharma was also a fine scholar, with several international papers to his credit.

Posting condolence messages on social media, the Nepali media community expressed deep sorrow over Sharma’s untimely demise. Bandana Rana, a noted journalist and a member of UN CEDAW, writes on Facebook: “There was so much more to learn from Sushil Sharma’s professional and spiritual journey!”

Posting a condolence tweet, former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission Swarnim Wagle remembered Sharma as “an exceptional gentleman, a seasoned journalist with integrity; and a thoughtful citizen who cared deeply about his country.”

Sharma is survived by wife, a son and daughter-in-law.