A Forgetten War in Forgetten Hills

© Photo: Marcus Bleasdale

Royalist Army soldiers man the fort at Khara, Rukum after a Maoist attack in which officials state 30 Maoist died and several Nepalese army soldiers died. Amoung the dead were several child soldiers aged between 9 and 16. The conflict has claimed the lives of 10,000 since 1999. The attacks have increased since King Gyanendra disolved parliament and declared martial law in February.(Photo Feature Inside)

Nepali Photographers: Life in a CLICK

FLARING UP: Student protests against King Gyanendra intensify.
Photo: Narendra Shrestha/EPA/TIMEasia

By Bijay Shrestha, Baishali Bomjan & Sujal Jane Dunipace

The Art of photography has blossomed relatively late in Nepal. It began in the 1860s as the ruling Ranas learned of the new medium and desired portraits and other documentation (for example, those famous/infamous Chitwan tiger hunt photos) of their lives and institutions. The foreigners who came as climbers, government officials, journalists, and later development workers and tourists were struck by Nepal’s beauty and exotic culture and began to capture it on film. But it wasn’t until the 1960s that Nepalis really began to explore photography as a means of expression. And the lack of an independent media limited the development of photojournalism,