Gopal Das Shrestha (1930–1998) (Nepali: गॊपाल दास श्रेष्ठ), a prominent journalist, created the history of English journalism in Nepal.
[2] While pursuing his intermediate level at Tri-chandra College, he was constantly inspired and motivated by the ongoing democratic movement taking place in the country against the autocratic Rana regime.
[3] When the then Rana regime banned Nepali Rastriya (National) Congress and declared illegal in April 1948, Shrestha along with the bunch of other senior coworkers namely Tripubar Singh Pradhan, Gopal Prasad Rimal and Bijaya Bahadur Malla formed a new party called 'Nepali Praja Panchyat ' on 12 October 1948.
Nepal Praja Panchyat then launched a Satyagraha movement in the three cities of Kathmandu Valley, demanding the implementation of the constitutional provisions relating to fundamental rights.
Later, in early 1951, the regime was forced to release him and his other political coworkers nearly after two and half years in the wake of the deepening gravity of the peoples' movement in and across the border.
As a part of his training program, he worked with some newspapers, namely, New York Daily News, Baltimore Post and Washington Times.
[1] He was always conscious of the fact that the Nepalese journalism needed a sustainable development program to attract and retain the people in the profession.
Apart from that, he unveiled several plans and proposals to uplift the dwindling media sectors during his time but unfortunately, that could not be materialized due to various limitations and hindrances.
This award is presented annually to an exceptional journalist who have contributed and practiced good ethics of journalism in the country.
[12] On 23 September 2003, Nepal's Postal Services Department issued a commemorative postage stamp bearing a picture of Shrestha.