But when he became the first Dalit boy to pass SLC in all of Kanchanpur VDC, he knew he was destined for greater deeds.
Having spent free days lazing around a local newspaper store and wondering why grave issues of his region went unreported and with a by-chance offer to work for a local paper, Bhola was thrilled. And sans family support, he forayed into journalism.[break] “At one point I was going to college, teaching tuition, and had a job at Raj Biraj Today.”
It didn’t take long to establish himself, either. “I had single handedly quadrupled the sales of the paper because I was reporting local news.”
During the conflict, Bhola reported on the Maoists in Saptahari. And for the first time, “I was helping people. I was getting the news out there. I was reporting on rape cases, on murders and what actually made a difference. No one would’ve known otherwise.”
People were then inquisitive about Bhola. While death threats and intimidation followed him, his perseverance would soon fructify.
Reporting for the first time of the struggles of women, marginalized groups, and his Dalit identity in the mainstream, Bhola’s headlines became the talk of the town. “I was even forced to resign from the Raj Biraj Daily for focusing on Dalit issues.”
Bhola–which means good, noble and gentle and everything synonymous in Tarai Nepali – would not deter, however.
In 2006, he was contributing to Naya Patrika that had just been established; and with one particular story about the abuse and subsequent exile of a certain Sita Devi Mandal of Saptahari, charged with having an extra marital affair, he was finally the acclaimed journalist he wanted to be. He was awarded the Sansarika Equality Award the following year.
Bhola now heads the Tarai politics desk at Naya Patrika, and is a researcher with the Samata Foundation.
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