Ram Chandra Pokhrel (also
Pokharel
Pokharel ( ne, पोखरेल) or Pokhrel ( ne, पोख्रेल) is a surname (family name) Brahman, khatri Cast group in Nepal.
Notable people with Pokharel/Pokhrel surname
* Aastha Pokharel, Nepali model
* Bidhyanath Pokhrel, Nepali ...
) (born January 1, 1945) is a politician and journalist in
Nepal. He is affiliated with the
Nepali Congress party.
Hundreds held overnight after Nepal protests
, NewsLibrary, 9 April 2005, retrieved 2011-07-31 He is the eldest son of veteran freedom fighter Govardhan Sharma Pokhrel. Pokhrel is a current member of Constituent Assembly and Former Chief Party Secretary of Nepali Congress.
Pokhrel has been heavily involved in the democratic movement and arrested on many occasions. He served as the chairman of the District Development Committee (DDC), Tanahu district from 1992 to 1997. He was elected council member of Vyas municipality—9 Tanahu, Nepal in 1999. In 1968 he founded and served as the principal of the Nirmal high school in Damauli, Tanahun. Until recently, he served a member secretary of the Central Publicity Department in the Nepali Congress Party and member of Foreign Relation Committee. He is older brother of Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel, former vice chairman of the national planning commission of Nepal
HMG NPC
He is also the founding general secretary of the federation of district development committees.
Journalism career
From 1973 to 1980 he worked at a journalist for the national news agency in Nepal, the RSS. He interviewed several prominent individuals, among them Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
in New Delhi (1980). Junko Tabei
was a Japanese mountaineer, author and a teacher. She was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest and the first woman to ascend the Seven Summits, climbing the highest peak on every continent.
Tabei wrote seven books, organized e ...
, the first woman to climb Mt. Everest and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mother Teresa in Kathmandu.
Political arrests
Pre-1990
Pokhrel was jailed for over three-and-a-half years by different regimes (total). His first jail time began, when he was barely 17 years old in 1960. King Mahendr'a regime put him behind bars for 18 months without any hearing, when Pokhrel protested again the dissolution of first democratically elected government of B.P. Koirala. Pokhrel has been arrested over 50 times in different occasions.
Pokhrel boycotting the elections to the Rastriya Panchyat 1981; Civil disobedience movement 1986; Led the Mass movement for democracy in Tanahun
Tanahun District ( ne, तनहुँ जिल्ला , or ), a part of Gandaki Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. The district, with Damauli as its district headquarters, covers an area of and has a population (2011) ...
(1990).
After 2002
During the peaceful mass movements led by seven party alliance against the regressive royal move of oct 4 2002, led the mass movement in the district of Tanahun
beaten, arrested
and put into custody by the police during protest rallies against the royal government
Arrested while staging protest on April 9, 2006
during the last and decisive movement at Balaju the western part of metro Kathmandu and put into police detention camp at Maharajgunj. The administration issued an order for three months' detention to all 200 held there arrested at different parts of the capital city.
Ram Chandra Pokhrel is current Chief Party Secretary of Nepali Congress.
District Development Committee
As the Chairman of the District Development Committee, he was involved in several major development projects in Tanahun after the restoration of democracy. Prominent among them, Literacy campaign raised literacy from 39% to 63% in the district in five years. Connected all village development committees
A village development committee ( ne, गाउँ विकास समिति; ''gāum̐ vikās samiti'') in Nepal was the lower administrative part of its Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development. Each district had several VDCs, ...
by road. Increased grain production from 70,000 metric tons to more than 100,000 metric tons per year. Increased vegetable production from 3,000 metric tons to 18,000 metric tons per year attaining self-sufficiency. The district introduced off-season vegetables including cucumbers and cauliflower.
During his tenure, his district Tanahun was recognized as "model district".
Publications
Pokhrel has published eight books, two in the process of publication and he has published over 200 articles. His publication primarily focuses on democratic values/social justice, democratic socialism and local development.
Political books:
*Democratic Socialism
*Biography of B. P. Koirala, 1983
Novels:
*Yo Juni ko Bhet, 1977
*Deep Rekha, 1983
*Ukali Ra Orali
*Das Limbuwan
*Magar Jati ko Aitihasik Parichaya
References
External links
Arrest news:
Leading ProtestDetentionArrested: Asia Human Right Commission
Others:
Participation in Asia and Pacific Region Socialist International Convention, 2008Radio Dovaan, Washington DC, USA Interview 2006Everest Radio, Texas, USA Interview 2006
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pokhrel, Ram Chandra
1945 births
Living people
Nepalese political journalists
Nepali Congress politicians from Gandaki Province