Nepal Faces the Future: Dinner with Kunda Dixit, Editor of the Nepal Times

Kunda Dixit, editor of the Nepali Times and one of the leading journalists in Nepal, will talk to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council about his picturesque Himalayan homeland with its extremely fractious politics and its geo-strategic position between the two most populous nations in the world – India and China.  

Nepal, nestled in the Himalayas with eight of the ten highest peaks in the world, including Everest, is a unique place, famous for its hill trekking and its sherpas who assist mountain climbers.  Wild tigers still roam the countryside – and Leonardo di Caprio recently donated $3m to help protect them.  It is the only country in the world whose flag is not rectangular (it has two superimposed triangles in red, white and blue), and its culture is a colorful mix of Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

But beneath the picture postcard image, tensions are strong in the country.  Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, with per capita income of $750 a year according to the World Bank.  A Maoist insurgency that started in 1996 divided the country with a bitter civil war that left some 15,000 dead.  And after two centuries of monarchy, in 2001 the then King Birendra, the Queen, and seven other members of the royal family were massacred in the palace by the Crown Prince, who then shot himself.  This led to the abolition of the monarchy in 2008 and to continuing political instability – no government has lasted more than two years in Nepal since 1991.   Dixit will talk about Nepal’s troubled past and hopes for a more peaceful future.

Born in Nepal Kunda Dixit is founder, editor and publisher of the Nepali Times, and co-publisher of Himal magazine.  He worked as a reporter for the BBC in New York and then as Asia-Pacific director of Inter Press Service in the Pacific before returning to Nepal in 1996 to continue his journalism career there.

Cancellations must be made 48 hours before the start of the program in order to receive a refund. 

To purchase tickets, please call (424) 258 6160 or visit us online at http://www.lawac.org/Default.aspx?tabid=103&eventid=30178.