Pankaj Thapa is the founder and editor of Aawaaj News & Research, an independent platform dedicated to socio-political news publication and research in Nepal. With a career that spans journalism, public relations and reputation management, Pankaj has worked extensively with not-for-profit organisations across key development sectors – including water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), preventable blindness, poverty alleviation, and climate change.

Pankaj is committed to understanding the structural and historical roots of inequality. His editorial vision and research focus on examining socio-political interconnections and tracing how marginalisation persists and evolves in contemporary contexts.

Pankaj holds an MSc in Media and Communications from the London School of Economics, where his dissertation explored the socio-political implications of climate change on marginalised communities – centred on a case study from the Siraha District in Nepal’s Terai region.

A passionate field researcher, Pankaj has travelled to 66 of Nepal’s 77 districts – often on assignment – and carries with him stories, voices, and documentation of inequality from nearly every corner of the country.