Nepali Maoists

Vera List Center Forum 2021: As for Protocols, 2021

Jury Essays on 2020-2022 Jane Lombard Fellows NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati for Nepal Picture Library Emeka Okereke for Invisible Borders Trans-African Photographers Organization Vera List Center Forum 2021: As for Protocols. Edited by Carin Kuoni and Re'al Christian. Published by the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, 2021.

Marg Publication, edited by Deepak Shimkhada

2012 (Edited with Judith Pettigrew). New Delhi: Social Science Press.

Himalaya: The Journal of the Association for Nepal and Himalayan Studies, 2014

European Bulletin of Himalayan Research, 2004

Social Science Research Network, 2024

Centre d'études sud-asiatiques et himalayennes (UMR8077 CNRS/EHESS) Electronic reference Amrita Pritam Gogoi, "Nepal's posing women guerrillas: memory, subjectivity and war-time photographs",

Modern Asian Studies, 2002

Tasveer Ghar, 2019

South Asia has many traditions of nationalist iconography of divine mother figures. In this essay, however, we will focus on the history of visual representation of Nepal’s national founding father, Prithvinarayan Shah (r. 1742–75). While the trope of the nation-as-mother is also present in Nepal, as in the commonly-used metaphor of ‘Nepal Aama’, we suggest that the history of visual representation of Prithvinarayan Shah is a particularly interesting lens through which to examine Nepali nationalism because of the fact that his legacy is highly controversial in contemporary Nepal. The king from Gorkha is hailed by many as the nation-builder (rastranirmata), statesman par excellence, and the symbol of national unity for his role in the territorial unification of modern Nepal in the 18th century. On the other hand, many see him as a ruthless conqueror, a warlord, and an imperialist whose legacy of conquest casts a shadow over Nepali society even to this day. Consequently, images of Prithvinarayan Shah play a key role in ideological and political debates over the Nepali past and future. In this essay, we show that among the various images of Prithvinarayan Shah drawn in different styles and across media in different historical periods, a painting by Amar Chitrakar came to acquire a hegemonic status as the most recognized and reprinted image of the king after the 1960s, becoming a visual trope that represents Nepali national unity under the tutelage of the Shah monarch. This portrait (Fig. 01) continues to circulate widely through print media such as textbooks and newspapers and also through the internet and social media, which allow for many creative manipulations of the image. As we will show, the incarnations of Shah’s image are often used to make political arguments about contested aspects of his legacy, such as the unification of Nepal and the establishment of Nepal as a Hindu state. Finally, we suggest that the nationalist mythology and iconography of Prithvinarayan Shah is linked to the masculinist character of the Nepali state.

Journal of Fine Arts Campus

There are common trends and patterns in contemporary Nepal arts, politics, society, culture and education along with other dimensions of life. Such similarities suggest the interconnectedness of diverse dimensions of reality. One area mirrors the other one. Looking at art, we can infer the life and culture of the people. Superstructure is reflected in the base; and the base has been reflected in superstructure. Hypocrisy, pretention and imitation are the common patterns of Nepali art, culture and life in contemporary context. Due to such features, the foundation of the nation is shaking. The things that need to remain in the foundation are drifting on the surface. The drama of art, agriculture, education and politics will not support life and survival. It is just for showing until the disaster takes place. When there will be critical and catastrophic situation, we are sure to be drowned. Before this apocalypse, it is necessary to do little things that are real which enhance our art ...