Shooting the messenger

Lamichhane must be well aware that Nepali mainstream media is considered among the freest.

The ability to conduct a civilised debate is vital for a democratic society. Unless we have the patience to hear what the other person has to say, we cannot understand them; and if we don’t, we make all kinds of wild assumptions about others. This in turn often manifests in acts of violence and bigotry. The way a disgruntled Rabi Lamichhane—ex-home minister, TV personality and political leader—randomly rattled off the names of prominent media houses and journalists at a press conference on Sunday, accusing them of hounding him unfairly, and threatened to blockade those who published any more news stories against him, precludes the possibility of such a civilised conversation.