Kathmandu: The representation of the Dalit community and the coverage of Dalit content in the media are notably weak. According to a study, the Gorkhapatra Daily and the Kantipur Daily allocated only 2.38 percent of their editorials to Dalit issues over two years. In 2079, out of 1,219 editorials published by both national dailies—the state-owned Gorkhapatra and the privately-run Kantipur—only 29 addressed Dalit issues. Specifically, the Gorkhapatra published 12 out of 608 editorials on Dalit issues, while Kantipur published 17 out of 611 editorials.

This data suggests that Dalit issues are not a priority in media editorials. The study, titled "Dalit Contents in Editorial and Editorial Policies in National Dailies," indicates that editorial policies, principles, or guidelines for publishing editorials on Dalit issues are inadequately implemented. Neither of these national dailies has an official editorial policy to ensure their social responsibility toward Dalit issues through editorials.

Bipul Pokhrel, President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, advised media houses to adopt dedicated policies to promote Dalit representation and content in the media, including in the editorial section. Furthermore, the published editorials are not entirely focused on Dalit issues. This oversight contradicts the constitutional commitment to build an egalitarian society based on proportional, inclusive, and participatory principles to ensure economic equality, prosperity, and social justice by eliminating discrimination based on class, caste, region, language, religion, and gender, as well as all forms of caste-based untouchability, Pokhrel said.

The representation and content of the Dalit community in Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), the only news source in the country, also seem nominal. From April 13 to May 13, out of 2,517 news items disseminated by RSS, only 26 were related to Dalit content. Similarly, from May 14 to June 14, only 21 out of 2,642 news items were about Dalits, and from June 15 to July 15, only 19 related to Dalits were disseminated. A study on 'Dalit Representation and Contents in RSS' revealed the poor dissemination of news content related to the Dalit community in RSS.

Former President of the Federation of Nepali Journalists, Govinda Acharya, emphasized that RSS should prioritize and provide space for Dalit community content and presence. Out of a total of 161 quotas in RSS, only three people are from the Dalit community. This poor representation in the media from the Dalit community, Acharya noted, is indicative of a systemic issue.

According to the National Census of 2078, the Dalit community constitutes around 13 percent of the total population of the country. Chairperson of the National Association of Dalit Community Journalists Nepal, Binod Pahadi, pointed out that RSS has not formulated a concrete policy for disseminating news about the Dalit community and other backward communities. Noting that only two percent of media presence in the country is from the Dalit community, he stressed the need for policy-level planning by the government and relevant bodies.

Nearly a decade has passed since the Constitution was implemented. Although the participation of marginalized communities, including the Dalit community, has increased in civil administration, teaching service, police, army, and many areas of public sector employment based on the inclusive principle, the participation of the Dalit community at the policy level in the mass media sector remains negligible. Among the 59 officials and staff at the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, there is negligible representation from the Dalit community. The Press Council Nepal, a body under the Ministry, has no Dalit members on its board, and the situation is the same at RSS, the only state-owned news agency in the country.

There is no Dalit representation on the six-member board of directors at RSS. Similarly, the 124-year-old Gorakhapatra Corporation, which publishes the country's oldest newspaper, 'Gorakhapatra,' has no Dalit representation on its board of directors. Among the seven-member board of directors of the Corporation, all are male and without any Dalit members. Nepal Television, established in 1985, also lacks Dalit representation on its board. The five-member board of directors of Radio Nepal, the state broadcaster claiming a reach of more than 90 percent of the country's population, also lacks Dalit representation.

The National Association of Dalit Community Journalists has been calling for the restructuring of state-owned media (Nepal Television, RSS, Radio Nepal, and the Gorakhapatra Corporation) as well as private sector media to increase Dalit representation.