Development of Mass Media in Nepal

Nepal has a thousands of years of human civilization. It's history is rooted to Vedic periods. Some scholars also claim that it is the land of creation and in the past Nepal had traditional means of communication. For example: A Katuwal is a person who had responsibility to inform about the matters of public interest by speaking loudly. And it was paid to them on annual basis. And the trained pigeons, horses, eagles were also used to exchange the information and pass the letters. But the modern form of mass media was not invented here. They were bought from the foreign countries. The modern history of mass communication in Nepal started after bringing a printing press in 1851 AD from Britain. Janga Bahadur Rana, the then Prime minister and the founder of Rana family rule, bought a printing press while returning from his England trip, which he undertook at the invitation of Queen Victoria. The press was popularly known as 'Giddhe Chhapakhana' because the machine carried the image of a vulture on it's top. It is widely accepted that Janga Bahadur Rana's effort to bring printing press to Nepal is the beginning of modern era in the field of mass communication.