Dr Baburam Bhattarai has different avatars from Maoist ideologue to urban planner, finance minister and a Facebooker. And one more of his avatars is an editor, of a leftist journal, in the mid-1980s and early 90s. Raato Jhilko (Red Spark) was the name of the monthly that contained ideas, arguments and discourse of leftist academics, ideologues and theorists. [break]The monthly was a venue for discussion on issues ranging from political and social economics to technical studies and literature when the dictatorial Panchayat regime had a sharp vigilance over media, and censorship was rampant. Jhilko was a “common intellectual exercise venue for those who are working to change the world and follow the scientific narrative of knowledge (not of dogma but a guide to action),” according to an excerpt published in the journal in 1986.
The year was 1985 when Dr Bhattarai started to edit the multidisciplinary journal with Prakash Lal Shrestha as the publisher. Due to strict regulations on media by the Panchayat regime, registration of new magazines, journals or newspaper were an ardent task.
“So Dr Bhattarai talked to Shrestha about Jhilko which had discontinued for a while and thus was the monthly started,” daughter Manushi Yami Bhattarai says. In the early days, Hisila Yami and Pitamber Sharma, amongst others, were also a part of the team, and the journal gained immense popularity, especially in the leftist circle. After eight years of publication, the journal discontinued in 1992 because of Dr Bhattarai’s increased involvement in the party (he was with the CPN–Masal) and their above-the-ground United People’s Front.
Earlier this week, the same “semi-academic” saw a new birth.
“A small but enthused, immature but determined” group of youngsters relaunched the journal quarterly. According to Manushi, the new editor and publisher of her father’s pride, Dr Bhattarai always indirectly hinted that he wanted “someone” to revive the journal.
Red Panda in school curriculum
“The primary idea is to provide an open forum for broader discussion amongst the leftists,” says the new editor and publisher. Manushi says that they have relaunched it with the same “idea and sentiment” that it used to carry in the 1980s. The basic idea is to tickle the left brain. But it “does not intend to cater exclusively to the people on the left.” In their latest issue, Pradip Giri, a veteran of the Nepali Congress, has commented on the cover essay “Marxism Today” by Dr Baburam Bhattarai.
“Discussion and debate within the leftist circle, while making others participate, should be the idea,” Manushi informs.
“A young generation that we are, we lack reading material and literature that stimulate our intellect. There are quite a few journals but not on leftist perspective. It doesn’t have to be an ideological rhetoric and a philosophical perspective,” Manushi shares the mission behind the idea.
The young editor feels that there is a sharp difference between the political practitioners and intellectuals. “There is a difference between those who think and those who work on the ground, and I think it’s not the right approach. However successful the left movement has been in Nepal, we lag behind. And the reason is because of the gap between behavior and wisdom,” Manushi says and informs her ambitious endeavor to make the journal a “platform to incorporate ideological discourse amongst activists and theorists.”
The content of Jhilko is simple. An essay on contemporary left idea will be challenged and commented upon by various other leftist ideologues and thinkers. The idea is to have at least one essay or commentary on political economics. There will be light reads from books and movie reviews to news content analysis, etc.
“The question of democracy in a left movement holds a great weight and sensitivity. We will focus on issues like that,” Manushi says. The old Jhilko used to host public debate after the publication of each issue where contributors, editors and intellectuals would come together and discuss the contents of the journal. “We will give it a continuation,” she says. And the future plan of the 100-page quarterly is to go monthly.
The young editor is also a student leader affiliated to All Nepal National Free Student Union – Revolutionary (ANNFSU-R). She is general secretary of the Free Student Union at Tribhuvan University, the country’s biggest and oldest education institution.
“Why are people in student politics not in for more reading and writing? Why can’t they do academics?” she asks and adds that when you are a student leader, academics complements your politics. Manushi has been an extraordinary student all her school life, according to her. She says that she was always interested in academia and her family environment favored her. Both her parents are immensely well read.
“If I did not have that background, it would have been very difficult for me. I was attracted to academia because of my family,” she says. And being Dr Bhattarai and Ms Yami’s a daughter has definitely helped her. “I can reach out to so many people because of my family background,” she admits.
And she has been able to reach out to a lot of good brains, even in the first issue that was released amidst a program on July 20.
The original editor (Dr Bhattarai) writes the main essay on “Today’s Marxism.” NC leader Pradeep Giri, Leftist thinker Chaitanya Mishra, Professor Khagedra Prasai, and UML scholar Jhalak Subedi comment on this piece.
Apart from this voracious discussion on contemporary idea of Marxism, two other articles are featured on the subject of financial crisis – one from Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor Prabhat Patnayak and another piece from leftist thinker and intellectual-at-large Samir Amin. A solution to load shedding is suggested in another essay. The journal also features a book review and a movie review.
The first issue has gotten “an overwhelming response” so far, and so the editorial team is psyched. But the work remains no less intimidating for the young editor. The expectations are high and she knows it very well.
“When my father started it, he already had his doctorate of philosophy. He was a scholar. I am still waiting for my Master’s degree. And the expectations are more. It’s scary at times,” the revolutionary activist confides.
