A message from our Editor, Roman Gautam, to kick off Himal’s “38 Patrons for 38 years” campaign:
It was 38 years ago, in May 1987, that Himal put out its very first issue. We started as a cross-border, regional magazine of the Himalaya, but by the mid 1990s the scope of the editors’ sympathies and concerns had expanded to take in all of Southasia – from Afghanistan in the west to Myanmar in the east, from the Himalaya in the north to the Indian Ocean in the south. Today, in its present guise as an online publication, Himal survives and stands proud as the oldest independent magazine of Southasia, for Southasians.
(Read the first issue of Himal in our 38-year archive.)
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing. Running an independent magazine, completely free of government and corporate interests – as Himal has been for all of its life – has never been easy. And it’s not getting any easier. Rampant political interference, corporate capture and the internet-era collapse of traditional media business models have led all of Southasia to our present crisis of misinformation and disinformation, with reliable and independent journalism struggling to survive. Himal shares the same struggles – which is why, as we celebrate 38 years of uncompromised Southasian journalism, we need your support more than ever before.
Support us for just USD 5 / month
This May, we’re looking for 38 new supporters of Himal as part of our “38 Patrons for 38 years” campaign. For just USD 5 per month, you can be one of 38 special people who step up to help secure the future of independent journalism in Southasia. We’re counting on the paying support of a dedicated core of Himal Patrons to guarantee our freedom from government or corporate influence.
By becoming a Himal Patron, you join our mission of producing fearless, uncompromised journalism for all of Southasia. This isn’t a gift to Himal, it’s a gift to the whole region: all of Southasia is plagued by a dearth of rigorous, reliable, non-xenophobic media, and independent journalism is part of the answer as we fight for more fair, equal and democratic countries and societies. Independent media is the gift that keeps on giving, and you have the power to share it with the world.
Help us hit our target for 38 new Patrons this May, and we’ll share a special surprise just for you at the end of the month. We’re counting on you!
On World Press Freedom Day, an appeal to step up for indepentdent Southasian media:
I’d love to wish you a happy World Press Freedom Day, but the situation is not happy at all. What’s the state of the media in Southasia? “Problematic” in Nepal, “difficult” in the Maldives and “very serious” – as bad as it can be! – in all the other countries of the region, which together are home to a quarter of humanity.
That’s according to the 2025 World Press Freedom Index from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which sounds the alarm about media freedom across the globe hitting an all-time low. The screenshot above, also from RSF, sums up how dire things are in Southasia.
RSF pinpoints how “economic fragility [is] a leading threat to press freedom.” Across Southasia, most of the media is compromised by government and corporate interests. This comes from widespread reliance on government advertising, from politically-connected corporations dominating media ownership, and the result is that “authoritarian regimes use economic pressure to control the press.”
The only way we can fight back is if you step up to support independent media. Himal is fully free of corporate ownership or any government influence. We’ve put our faith in readers like you to fund good journalism that is never beholden to any outside interests. We need you to become a paying Himal Patron on World Press Freedom Day to help us survive as a rare example of uncompromised, independent media for all of Southasia.
Support us for just USD 5 / month
Himal has never been compromised by any corporate or government interests in all of its 38 years, making it the oldest independent magazine covering Southasia. World Press Freedom Day coincides with Himal’s anniversary month, and this May we’re looking for 38 new paying supporters as part of our “38 Patrons for 38 years” campaign. Help us build a better future for Southasian journalism by becoming a Patron for just USD 5 per month.
Eight readers have already stepped up this month to become new Himal Patrons. Become a Patron now to help us hit our target of 38 Patrons – and to celebrate we’ll have a special surprise for you at the end of the month.
Be the hero Southasia needs this Press Freedom Day!
Roman Gautam
Editor, Himal Southasian
We’re one week into our “38 Patrons for 38 Years” campaign — and already 14 of you have joined us!
If you’re one of our new patrons, thank you for becoming part of this milestone at Himal Southasian. We're thrilled to have you with us.
Your support powers the kind of bold, independent journalism that Southasia needs — reporting that’s in-depth, uncompromised, and accessible to all, without a paywall.
And here’s a little secret: we’ve got a special surprise coming at the end of the campaign. Stay tuned — you won’t want to miss it.
From all of us at Himal: welcome aboard, and thank you for standing with us.
Best,
Sushim Thapaliya
Engagement and Social Media Editor
It’s been almost 2 weeks since we launched our ‘38 Patrons for 38 years’ campaign to mark Himal Southasian 38th birthday this May.
The candles have been blown out, the inbox is full of birthday wishes (thank you!) — and we’re still celebrating. 🎉 We’re marching through this anniversary month with more of the great stories and podcasts you’ve come to expect from the magazine, and of course with the same stubborn commitment to independent journalism that has always been at the heart of Himal.
We’re also asking for a little birthday help.
We’re aiming to bring in 38 new Patrons by the end of May — paying supporters who believe in Himal, want to see it thrive, and are willing to pitch in just a bit to help keep it going.
Here’s the status update:
We’ve got 22 brilliant Patrons already on board
That means we’ve got 16 more to go to hit our target
If you’ve been meaning to sign up — now’s the perfect time. Help us hit 16 Patrons in the next few days!
We’ve done it! 🎉 Thanks to the incredible support of our readers, we’ve hit our goal of 38 new Patrons to celebrate 38 years of Himal Southasian.
It’s been a little over a year since we launched our Patron programme for paying supporters of Himal, as we thought 38 new Patrons was as much as we could hope for in one month as we celebrated the magazine’s 38th anniversary. We were wrong! We’ve hit and exceeded that target with a week to spare – and our readers’ great show of support has inspired us to reach a little higher.
We’ve still got 4 days left in May, and we’re going to keep our anniversary campaign going. We’re hoping to cross 60 new Patrons before the week is out – and we need your help to get there!
And here’s our surprise for this final stretch. We promised a special thank you to all new Patrons who sign up this month, and I’m glad to reveal what it is.
🎁 By becoming a paying Himal supporter for just USD 5 per month, you’ll receive Himal’s iconic Right-Side Up Map, mailed to you anywhere in the world. We’ve been reserving the Map only for Patrons who support Himal with an annual payment of USD 99 or more, but for this month only we’ll be sending it to all new Patrons supporting us for just USD 5 per month too.
Thank you for helping us dream bigger, and for reminding us what’s possible when committed readers like you believe in independent journalism. Let’s get that number to 60+ new paying supporters of Himal this May. Every new Patron strengthens Himal and strengthens Southasian journalism.
Best,
Sushim