Senior Journalist Prabin Rai Khaling Elected JUS President Unopposed

Dragon Media News Desk

Senior journalist and writer Prabin Rai Khaling has been elected unopposed as President of the Journalists’ Union of Sikkim (JUS) for the 2026 term.

The election committee formally declared Khaling elected after the nomination and scrutiny process concluded on Tuesday. JUS said the election was completed in an orderly and transparent manner.

The new executive committee includes Dilip Kumar Karki as vice-president, Suraj Limbu as general secretary, Sandeep Prasad as joint secretary, Ambar Gurung as treasurer and Nima Lhamu Tamang as assistant treasurer.

Khaling has been active in Sikkim’s journalism sector for many years and is also involved in Nepali language, literature and socio-cultural activities. He has served in different capacities while advocating journalists’ professional rights, institutional development and welfare.

He previously served twice as acting president and as general secretary of the Press Club of Sikkim. Alongside journalism, he has remained active in literary writing and has received several honours for his contribution to Nepali essays and prose.

In 2025, Khaling received the Dr Shova Kanti Thegim Lepcha Memorial Award for his Nepali prose collection Chiya Gaff. He is widely recognised as an active journalist and writer in Sikkim’s media and literary circles.

The Journalists’ Union of Sikkim is a professional organisation representing working journalists in the state. It works to protect journalists’ rights and interests, strengthen professional capacity and promote ethical, independent and responsible journalism.

The newly elected leadership is expected to prioritise journalists’ professional security, welfare programmes, training, institutional unity and capacity development in response to changing media technologies.

Khaling’s unanimous election is being viewed as a reflection of the confidence placed in his experience and leadership by Sikkim’s journalism community.