Women of Nepal

Manju Mishra

Founder and Principal of the College of Journalism and Mass Communication (CJMC)
Executive member of the International Press Institute and International Association for Women in Radio and Television

Born in March 1962 in Kathmandu

Who would have believed that a 'mad woman' who roamed from one place to another talking about her dream to establish a college of journalism would one day become the founding principal of the College of Journalism and Mass Communication. Though she had no one to support her when ever she began new work, Manju Mishra was determined to achieve her dream at any cost.

After planning to go to Russia to study Russian language in 1981, Mishra's friends left her at Tribhuvan International Airport to begin her journey alone. She was very interested in journalism. Her father used to say that to be a good journalist one needs to have the knowledge of numerous languages, which is why Mishra first tried to learn Japanese language at Bishwo Bhasha Campus in Kathmandu. Unfortunately, her wish to learn Japanese remained unfulfilled as all language classes were held in the evening, and it was not possible for her to reach her distant Boudha home after class.

But she didn't give up. The same campus offered some morning language classes as well, such as Russian, Tibetan and Chinese, so Mishra decided to learn Russian instead. She was also learning Pitman shorthand. The year was 1979. She would learn language and shorthand in the mornings, eat, and then go to Padma Kanya Campus to attend classes for the intermediate course. She used to copy the lectures in shorthand to be quicker than her friends.

Mishra continued language classes after she passed her undergraduate course. There were 14 students in her class and she was the only female. Many friends had already gone to Russia for further studies by using their connections with leaders of political parties. But she did not like such practices. Therefore, she took it upon herself to write a letter to the director of Kathmandu's Russian Cultural Center requesting a visa to commence further studies in Russia.

Mishra was granted her visa, but her campus friends advised her not to go abroad and instead marry a handsome man and become a homemaker. They said she would be too old when she returned to Nepal and no one would marry her. She was heavily influenced by her friends. She said, "I could not talk to my father about my own marriage, but he always wanted me to be a Nepali women with a great personality." Her father, Manoj Babu Mishra, used to say that even women could marry easily after being independent. He used to console her by saying Russian was one of the languages recognized by the United Nations, and she would get two degrees on language and journalism after going to Russia.

Mishra missed her flight to India the morning of the day she left Nepal for Russia, though she had the plan to go with friends. She said, "That was the first journey I did alone. Since then, though I wanted to work in a team, I was always left alone."

She began her language classes at Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow, but decided she would try to change her subject from language to journalism. She again faced difficulty due to being politically independent. Students who received recommendations through political parties managed to have their subjects changed within seven days, while Mishra struggled for a year to change hers. She finally asked the Dean to either make the change according to her request or send her back to Nepal. Only then was she admitted to the course of journalism.

Mishra was very good at speaking the Russian language, and therefore became monitor for 14 students from Nepal from various university faculties. "Whenever any of my Nepali friends faced problems, I talked to the Dean and other teachers on their behalf," she recalled. She built a leadership quality within herself by advocating for her friends.

She joined 'Radio Moscow' while studying journalism in 1982 and fell in love with Nepali student Dinesh Acharya who was studying medicine in the same university. She said, "He liked active girls and I liked handsome boys, therefore infatuation with each other was natural." She also tried to be economically independent and collected money working for the Radio.
Mishra travelled by ship to London in 1983 for a 15-day tour. She was supposed to go with friends, but as they did not abide by their commitment she went alone, travelling from one place to the other fully prepared with pens, notebook, camera, rucksack and maps for each country. She came second in a quiz competition aboard the ship. After visiting several countries, Mishra returned to Russia where she felt very safe and free after experiencing mistreatment in Italy.

She married Dinesh Acharya in 1986, and then topped university the following year, receiving the university's gold medal degree with honors. In 1989 she obtained a doctorate in the Russian university and supported it in 1992 with her paper on "Nepalese Journalism: Periodical Press in Nepal (study on Nepali press from 1951-1989)". She also learned French during this period as she was required to study many books written in French. Mishra was expecting a child while doing her doctorate, causing her to miss becoming the first Nepali PhD holder in journalism from Russia. She said, "Though Gita Maiya Shrestha was the first Nepali PhD holder in journalism from Russia, people think I am the first one because Shrestha flew to Sweden after getting married to a Swede."

Mishra gave birth to her second child in 1993 and returned to Nepal in 1995. Shortly after, she had to go to India and Dubai with her husband, before finally returning to her home country in August 1998 with their two children and the determination not to travel to any more foreign countries. She hoped her husband would join her and the children later. "But the tragedy was that it ended in divorce," she said.

From the day she arrived in Kathmandu, new sufferings began. On her third day back, her brother Rabindra Mishra, who was working in the British Broadcasting Corporation's Nepali Service in the United Kingdom, returned to Kathmandu to help his sister. He arranged her accommodation and admitted her sons to a private school before heading back to London. For almost six years, her brother continued to send money from his salary to Mishra every month.

After her husband abandoned her, Mishra was not accepted by her family members. Even her father was angry with her. Besides her brother Rabindra, none of her relatives extended a helping hand. She had no job and no house in which to live. While enduring such suffering as a divorced woman, Mishra generated the idea to establish a college. It was 1999. She devoted her time to syllabus preparation for her college the following year, received registration in 2001, and started classes in 2002 with only US $250 in cash. The day before registering her college, she worshipped Lord Buddha at a temple in Boudha for two hours along with her two young sons by somersaulting (Korra). She said, "I asked Lord Buddha to give me good health, energy and willpower, and the rest I would achieve." People around Mishra laughed at her. Without an office building or furniture, she announced admission open for Masters in Mass Communication and Journalism.

Before she established her own college, Mishra's close relatives discriminated against her by comparing her with her brother Rabindra Mishra, a renowned journalist working in foreign media. As she was inexperienced in managing a college, she faced financial crisis by the second year of establishment. To solve this problem, Mishra sold her gold jewelry, believing one day she would be a respectable woman and that she would receive greater happiness through achieving her aim than by wearing golden ornaments. To manage the crisis, she removed her sons from their expensive schools, admitted them to a local school, and put the money into the college for its betterment. She also started graduate classes in journalism recently after running a postgraduate level.

She said, "I would like to thank all those who gave me pain and suffering, because I would not have gained the courage to start a new life with my own identity if they had not hurt me." She always felt she needed to do something for herself and her future. Mishra recalled, "People used to call me 'mad woman' when I used to talk about establishing my own college at that time." Nevertheless, this 'mad woman' became principal of the College of Journalism and Mass Communication, Nepal's first college to run a postgraduate course in journalism.

"I can now buy a car, but my dream is to establish a university of mass communication and journalism," she said, adding, "After I can establish the university, I would be the one I have always dreamed to be."

Mishra now works hard to establish a university and teach students to patriotically serve their country. She said that if you do not dream you will not achieve, citing examples such as Bill Gates (world's richest man), Dr Suresh Raj Sharma (Vice Chancellor of Kathmandu University), and many others. With the joint initiation of college and students, she was able to establish a FM radio station called 'CJMC FM' with 100 MHz around two years ago.

She now has more than 15 international partners who support the college and students. Within the space of six years, she had been able to send 17 students abroad on scholarships through the college, and provides 75 per cent of scholarships to indigenous students.

Mishra is now executive member of the International Press Institute and International Association for Women in Radio and Television. She always loved her country and wanted to serve it by establishing the first university of mass communication to produce journalists who can fight for Nepal.

Written by Kokila Khadka K.C.