Communist Parties In Nepal : A Different Breed Altogether

Ritu Raj Subedi

A section of the people, especially of the right leaning, strongly believe that the communist forces will dictate terms to the democratic parties and rule the country after sidelining the king and pro-palace elements. They have blown up the 'scarecrow' of communism out of proportion in a way that it sometimes sways those who are standing at the borderline between the monarchy and republicanism. Citing the overwhelming number of Left supporters across the country, they warn the democrats that the communists are riding on the back of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala only to subdue him and his followers in the long run.

Pro-democracy elements

It is true that the communists have outnumbered the people of their rival camps, going by the ballot papers cast in the general elections in 2048 BS. However, Nepalese communists are not orthodox Marxists and cannot be totalitarian even if they reach power. Unlike those communist parties that captured power and established one-party dictatorship through class struggle and violent means of revolution as in the former Soviet Union, China and other parts of the world, Nepal's communist parties bear a different historical background.

They were born in the course of fighting dictatorships - be it the Rana oligarchy or the partyless Panchayat system. In Europe and elsewhere, democracy was reinstated when one-party communist rule collapsed, but in Nepal, the popularity of communism grew dramatically when the dictatorship of the king broke down. Nepalese communists have been an integral part of the country's democratic movements since their inception.Here I want to present one contrasting example related to my own experience about communism. During my stay in Seoul some months ago, I met some journalists from Eastern Europe, once satellite states of the former USSR. We were participants of the same programme. When I asked them to share their experiences about the Red reign, they had bitter feelings about it.

Ms. Maria, a veteran journalist and a pro-democracy fighter from Poland, appeared to be highly critical of the communist regime. She had spent decades of her life underground fighting the one-party communist rule. "What would you like to suggest the Nepalese, many of whom are under the influence of communism and likely to see a Red government?" I asked. She compared the people in communist rule to a person who has fallen down from a tall building. "How can I suggest you to jump from a building and break your hand and legs?" she said. She said that the people in Poland had no alternative other than to live a difficult life under communist rule. When I said that Nepali communists had struggled against various dictatorships to restore multi-party democracy, she couldn't believe my statement.

Maria and I represent different contexts. In her country, communism was imposed from outside and the people had to fight against it for democracy. In my country, communists waged relentless battles against dictatorships. As communism fell like a house of playing cards in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, the jolt too reverberated in Nepal and it served as an inspiration in ushering an era of democracy. There in Poland communists were villains in people's eyes. Here in Nepal, communists were heroes in the public's eyes. What a pleasant contrast?In 1950 when late Puspalal Shrestha founded the Nepal Communist Party and called on the Nepali Congress (NC) to wage a joint struggle against Rana rule, his request went unnoticed because of the insignificant influence of the communists in Nepalese society. He continued to voice for the creation of a joint front of democrats and communists after King Mahendra hijacked democracy and established the Panchayat system. But B. P. Koirala refused to join hands with the communists only to lengthen the age of the autocratic regime.

In 1990, Ganesh Man Singh heeded the call of late Puspalal and led a peaceful revolution jointly participated in by Nepali communist parties and the NC. He became a hero of Nepali politics, as he was an acceptable figure for the two opposing political parties. Even during the April uprising last year, the communists - radical and the moderate - and democrats jointly came to the streets against the dictatorship of king Gyanendra, resulting in the restoration of lokatantra and the comprehensive peace agreement. The April movement became successful after G. P. Koirala agreed to lead a bunch of Nepali Left groups to deal a blow to the kingship, which was a departure from the policy of senior Koirala, who rather wanted to collaborate with the monarch. One of the basic trends of the Nepalese communist movement is that major communist parties have into existence as a radical outfit and gradually turned into a centrist or moderate political force. This applies to major communist parties - the CPN-UM and the Maoist. However, one might question regarding the rise of the CPN-Maoist that orchestrated a guerilla warfare against none other than the parliamentary forces in the mid-1990's to become a major player in politics.

But going by the Maoist history ever since they waged the People's War, one can find a metamorphosis in their positions. In the beginning, it called for establishing a proletarian state through a class struggle in Nepal. As the Maoist leadership realised the limitations of waging a war and Nepal's typical geo-political situation, it continued to adjust their policies and became more pragmatic in pursuing their goals. They have now accepted competitive politics with all the tenets of bourgeois democracy. They say they will eventually establish full-fledged democracy that fits Nepali soil. Unlike the NC and the UML, they have brought to the fore burning issues such as the rights of the ethnic groups, dalits, women, Madhesis and backward communities, which have been neglected till now. It is the Maoists who catapulted the idea of the constituent assembly polls in the political circle, which subsequently became the agenda of virtually all the major parties. There are good and bad aspects of the Maoist insurgency, but it would not be an exaggeration to say that the country is now following their agenda. Their desire to be a reliable democratic force should not be undermined.

Threat of communism

It will be a futile exercise for the conservatives or pro-palace elements to push the NC into the rightist camp by showing the threat of communism. In fact, not only the communist parties but no single political force can rule the country like a dictator given Nepal's complicate power structures, people's growing democratic awareness and its economic and political dependency on foreign powers. However, the Maoists must lessen their 'ultra-Left' or militant behaviour to take those democratic forces into confidence for its bid to establish a democratic republic in Nepal.

Source: The Rising Nepal, July 9, 2007