Solidarity: A petition for the release of Kanak Mani Dixit

(Editors and media figures as well as intellectuals and scholars have called for the release of Himal Southasian founding editor and prominent Nepali journalist Kanak Mani Dixit who was arrested on 22 April 2016 in Kathmandu by anti-graft officials.)

It is with deep concern that we have learned of the arrest today of Kanak Mani Dixit, the widely respected founder-editor of Himal Media and a courageous voice for transparency, freedom of expression and democratic rights in Nepal and across South Asia. The charges are related to alleged corruption but Kanak Dixit says it is part of a vendetta pursued against him by people in Government.

We have known Kanak Dixit as a true professional, human rights defender and energetic journalist whose credentials are built on robust research and tremendous courage. Himal Media, a pioneer in South Asia journalism, has published Himal South Asia, Nepali Times and Himal Khabar Patrika (in the Nepali language). He has written extensively for international media including leading newspapers in India and is chairman of Sajha Yatayat, a state run transportation company, which he has been turning around from a loss-making entity.

Kanak Dixit’s detention comes at a time of increased pressure on free media across South Asia. We call upon all national and international media organisations, individual journalists and editors, defenders of media under pressure, on those who believe in the freedom of expression, to seek Kanak Dixit’s immediate release and a fair and transparent trial, free of bias.

We call upon the Government of Nepal to issue a clear a transparent and unequivocal statement on his detention for we are deeply concerned about his safety and rights. We condemn all forms of pressure tactics on editors like him and other courageous media figures such as Mahfuz Anam of the Daily Star in Dhaka, who is facing 79 cases of sedition and libel in Bangladeshi courts, and other media persons who are committed to the rule of law and justice.

Sanjoy Narayan, Editor, The Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Rajdeep Sardesai, Chief Editor, India Today TV Group, New Delhi

Siddharth Varadarajan, Founder Editor, The Wire, New Delhi

Sir Mark Tully, veteran broadcaster

TN Ninan, Chairman, Business Standard Pvt Ltd, New Delhi

James Astill, Political Editor, The Economist

Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar, Consulting Editor, Times of India Group

Barkha Dutt, Consulting Editor, NDTV

Sharmeen Obaid, Oscar Awardee for documentaries, Pakistan

Kathika Nair, poet and writer, Paris

Maja Daruwala, Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi

Sevanti Ninan, editor, The Hoot, New Delhi

Sumit Ganguly, Rabindranath Tagore Chair in Indian Cultures and Civilizations and Professor of Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, US

Salil Tripathi, Journalist and Author, London

Imtiaz Ahmed, Executive Director, RCSS, Colombo

Mahfuz Anam, Editor, The Daily Star, Dhaka

Aunohita Mojumdar, Editor, Himal Southasian

Laxmi Murthy, Consulting Editor, Himal Southasian

Vijay Prashad, Contributing Editor, Himal Southasian

Gillian Wright, Writer

Sara Hossein, Lawyer, Bangladesh Supreme Court

Zafar Sobhan, Editor, Dhaka Tribune

Afsan Chowdhury, Senior Journalist, Bangladesh

Rita Manchanda, South Asia Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR)

Tapan K Bose, SAHFR

Dr. Naila Zaman Khan, Professor of Child Neurology and Development, Bangladesh

Lubna Mariam, Cultural activist, Bangladesh

Catherine Masud, Film Maker, US-Bangladesh

Dr Amena Mohsin, Professor, Dept. International Relations, University of Dhaka

Kalpana Sharma, independent journalist, Mumbai

Urvashi Butalia, Publisher, Zubaan

Dr. Sanjib Baruah, Professor of Political Studies, Bard College, New York, US

Dr. Bina D’Costa, Associate Professor and Director of Studies, Department of International, Australian National University

Tultul Biswas, Madhya Pradesh Mahila Manch, Bhopal

C. Raja Mohan, Journalist

Beena Sarwar, Journalist, Karachi / Cambridge MA

Tarun Basu, President, Society for Policy Studies (SPS), New Delhi

Subir Bhowmick, Senior Editor, BD24news, Kolkata

Pradip Phanjoubam, Editor, Imphal Free Press

Jyoti Malhotra, Senior Journalist, New Delhi

L. Somi Roy, Imasi Foundation, Manipur

Patricia Mukhim, Editor, The Shillong Times

Seema Mustafa, Editor, The Citizen, New Delhi

T. Monalisa Chankija, Editor, Nagaland Page, Dimapur

Akum Longchari, Editor, Morung Express, Dimapur

Teesta Setalvad, Journalist and Co-Editor Sabrangindia.in

Lalita Panicker, Senior Associate Editor, The Hindustan Times, New Delhi

Nalaka Gunwardene, Columnist, Sri Lanka

Seema Guha, senior journalist (freelance), New Delhi

Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, The Wire, New Delhi

Aruni Kashyap, Writer and Asst Professor of English, Ashoka University

Dr. Xonzoi Barbora, TISS, Guwahati

Dr. Sanjeeb Kakoty, Associate Professor, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Management Shillong

Dr. Anjuman Ara Begum, Forum-Asia, Katmandu

Uma Chakravarty, feminist historian, New Delhi

Nisha Biswas, scientist and activist, Kolkata

Preeti Gill, editor and literary agent, New Delhi

Sanjoy Hazarika, independent columnist, New Delhi

Nupur Basu, senior journalist

Sanjoy K Roy, Teamwork Arts

Neena Gopal, Resident Editor, Deccan Chronicle, Bangalore

Geeta Seshu, Journalist, Mumbai

Anusheh Anadil, Musician and Cultural Activist, Bangladesh

Kishalay Bhattacharjee, author and journalist, New Delhi

Babul Gogoi, Assam Times, Guwahati

Dr Nayanika Mookherjee, Reader in Socio-Cultural Anthropology, Durham University, UK

Saadia Haq, writer and human rights activist, Pakistan

Rina Mukherjee, Independent Journalist, Kolkata

Rizio Yohannan Raj, Lila Foundation

Sandhya Srinivasan, Infochange News & Features, Mumbai

Pushpa Achanta, Journalist and Trainer, Bangalore

Shoma Sen, Professor and civil-rights activist, Nagpur

Ashis Nandy, Sociologist, India

Philippe Ramirez, Scholar, Paris

Puja Sen, Journalist, Kathmandu

Shubhanga Pandey, Journalist, Kathmandu

Kunsang Palmo, Student, New York

Smita Mitra, Desk Editor, Himal Southasian

Srabasti Dey, Assistant Editor, Himal Southasian

Slok Gyawali, Assistant Editor, Himal Southasian

Shobhana L Chelliah, Professor, College of Information, Linguistics, UNT Discovery Park, Denton, Texas, US

Ranjita Biswas, Independent journalist, Kolkata

Tula Goenka, Professor/Filmmaker, Syracuse University

Jyoti Punwani, Journalist, Mumbai

Beth Walker, The Third Pole, London

Saswati Ghosh, Assoc Prof and HOD, Economics, City College (under Calcutta Univ)

Paula Banerjee, Professor and Head of South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Calcutta and Director MCRG

Ranabir Samaddar, MCRG, Kolkata

Anubhuti Sharma, Research Scholar, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi

Ashish Chakrabarti, Senior Editor, The Telegraph, Kolkata

Dileep Chandan, Editor, Asom Bani, Guwahati

Najam Sethi, Editor-in-Chief, The Friday Times, Lahore

Tahira Abdullah, human rights defender, Islamabad

Shaheen Sehbai, Group Editor, The News, Pakistan

Joy Lynn Davis, Artist and Founder of Himalayan Art and Cultural Heritage Project, California

Iqbal Khattak, Journalist, Pakistan

Anjuman Ara Begum, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, Kathmandu, Nepal

Zohra Yusuf, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)

Bibek Paudel, Student, Zurich

Shishir Dahal, Consultant Radiologist at National trauma center, Kathmandu

Paribesh Pradhan, Student, Zurich

Mallika Aryal, Journalist, Kathmandu

Mallika Shakya, Assistant Professor, South Asian University, New Delhi

Jeevan Sharma, University of Edinburgh, UK

Rebecca Johnson Bista, journalist and writer, UK

Tehila Sasson, Historian, London

Sameera Khan, independent journalist and writer, Mumbai

Harsh Kapoor, South Asia Citizens Web

Garga Chatterjee, Writer and scientist, Kolkata

Balasingham Skanthakumar, Social Scientists’ Association, Sri Lanka

Jillian Dunham, New York, NY

Maggie Muldoon, Overseas Programme Manager, Livability, Ireland

Catherine Henggeler, designer, Switzerland

Claire Olivier, Social Worker, California

Rita Payne, President Emeritus, Commonwealth Journalists Association, London

Freny Manecksha, Independent Journalist, Mumbai

Manisha Aryal, Editorial Advisor, Himal Southasian

Hannah Archambault, Ph.D. Candidate, South & Southeast Asian Studies, UC Berkeley

Sarah Kooperkamp, Episcopal Priest, New York City

Peter Lerangis, Writer, New York, NY

Cristina deVaron, Musician/Writer, New York, NY

Bindu Menon, Assistant Professor, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, New Delhi

Stuart Hartill, Journalist, Isle of Man

Jai Sen, CACIM, New Delhi

Jayant Bhattacharyya, Press Trust of India, Agartala, Tripura

Ashish Kothari, Kalpavriksh, Pune

Namit Arora, Writer, New Delhi

Debojit Dutta, Founder and Editor, Antiserious.com

Madhusree Mukerjee, writer, Frankfurt

Sasanka Perera, Professor, South Asian University, New Delhi

Prof. Kamal Mitra Chenoy, JNU, New Delhi

Prof. Anuradha Chenoy, JNU, New Delhi

Rajashri Dasgupta, Independent Journalist, Kolkata and Himal Southasian editorial advisor

Sushil Khanna, Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata

(Please write to editorial@himalmag.com to sign on to this petition.)