The ‘disunited’ UCPN (Maoist) never tires of proclaiming its idea of the People’s Republic; but it has given us the Looters’ Republic instead. The word ‘loot’ has featured in many news items and radio chitchats this past week. What little I know of the history of People’s Republic in North Korea, Cuba, China, convinces me that the ‘Looters’ Republic’ precedes the radical communists’ ultimate goal. How can it be any different in Nepal under the very venerable Maoists?
MAO’S SUPREME EXAMPLE
Bhattarai keeps a bust of Mao Tse-tung in his office. We can imagine our PM reciting a silent prayer daily to his deity, “Chairman Mao, make me as great as you’ve been!” Mao’s spirit perhaps answers, “OK, child, to reach the heights I have scaled, you’ll have to diligently follow my example!”
Mao Tse-tung initially cheated his sponsors, the Russians; then, looted his own people and country. On June 3, 1921, top-level representatives arrived from Moscow to formalize the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Invitation to attend the congress in Shanghai came with generous money to Mao, who had joined the CCP at the age of 27, in the city of Changsa. He received 200 yuan, worth nearly two years of his teacher’s salary. Mao’s first cash payment from Moscow would soon lead him to cheat his benefactors who provided 94 percent of the CCP’s expenses. The CCP’s first congress in Shanghai, July 23, 1921, designated Mao Tse-tung as the key worker in the province of Hunan. After it, Mao started receiving Russian money, up to 160-170 yuan per month for recruiting youths to the CCP. He resigned as the headmaster, gave up journalism and lived in luxury, reading most of the time.
By October 1921, Mao had a house to himself and his wife Kai-hui, although he claimed that it belonged to the CCP. Not having oratory skills, Mao asked others to gather members for the party. Mao evicted his first rival, Min-fan, a great recruiter and looted the latter’s property. Later, in Changsha, he incited the public to regard anyone having land as a tyrant. At Mao’s orders, the peasants tortured landlords and confiscated their property. For these acts of loot, Mao relied on his role model—the Russian Lenin, for whom it was said, “His law has no detail. It just kills all opposition. His workers and peasants can just kill off all the landed tyrants, bad gentry, landlords, capitalists, with no need to report...”
Later, Mao formed an army of his own through 1,500 mutineers from the Chiang Kai-shek led Kuomingtang government. He fed them by looting villages nearby. Wherever Mao and his “mountain bandits” went, they occupied schools, temples, and churches. Eventually, 41 year old Zhu De (another mutineer), brought his 4,000 men to Mao, who entered the coastal province of Fujian, captured its city Tingzhou and lived by looting the rich. After Stalin came to power in Russia, Mao denounced the Russian leader’s rival Trotsky to win his favor. In 1934, Stalin increased Moscow’s monthly subsidy to the CCP to 7,418 gold dollars. When Chiang Kai-shek attacked Mao, the latter managed to coax the Russians to send 550,000 dollars in aid.
There are ample reasons to justify people’s belief that they live under the most corrupt government post 1990.
To fight the Japanese, Mao received three million dollars and to wipe out the nationalists, he accepted 300,000 dollars per month. In spite of all the Russian money Mao received, his army had three levels of kitchen. The lowest cadres got half the meat and cooking oil the middle rankers received. The top leaders gobbled up the best food. By October 1, 1949, Mao had the whole of China under his thumb. State wealth became Mao’s pocket money, though he once grilled 3.83 million officials on the evils of corruption. While people starved, Mao built 50 bomb-proof villas, with heated swimming pools, in 27 years.
REALITY UNDER BHATTARAI
By now, most Nepalis believe we live under the most corrupt government post 1990. To stay in power, Bhattarai has to rely on Madhesi parties. He also lectures on “zero tolerance” towards corruption while himself promoting blatant loot. He has 49 ministers, and openly declares that he doesn’t know most by name. Initially, the Nepali population rejoiced to see so many Madhesis as ministers. But most of these seem to follow the motto, “Previously, the Pahadis looted the country; now, it’s our turn!” Thus, we have Jaya Prakash Prasad Gupta in jail, forest minister Mohammad Wakil Musalman raping the jungles as some Maoist soldiers still do, health minister Rajendra Mahato trying to bribe the journalists, irrigation minister MahendraYadav verbally abusing his secretary, labor minister Sarita Giri (who was recently asked to resign) playing with lives of Nepalis working overseas for her own benefit, personal assistant to the state minister for forests and soil conservation receiving kickbacks (probably for his minister Laxman Mahato) and land reform state minister Jwala Sah accusing minister Bhim Prasad Gautam in the same department of outright corruption.
Bhattarai’s party has become the richest by looting the treasury of Rs 3 billion for 3,000 cadres that didn’t exist. Yet, fearing backlash, no lawyer has dared take the party to court. Without paying taxes, the Maoists own the most SUVs. Confiscation of checks received by Maoist combatants has revealed the heartlessness of their leaders. Those stationed at the Shaktikhor cantonment have complained that leaders there have misused Rs 40 million. Bhattarai has dished out money from the PM’s Relief Fund to his cronies (citizens should avoid donating to this Fund in the future). Just as Mao grabbed land in China, the Nepali Maoists took over 12,000 pieces of properties during the 10-year-war. They have no intention of returning these to their rightful owners. Mohan Baidya’s faction continues to grabs more land.
Last week, the government secretly declared two dead Maoists as martyrs, thus doling out Rs1 million to each of the two families. Ever eager to please his chairman, Bhattarai dished out Rs 20 million to Prakash Dahal (Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda´s son) for his Everest bid. After much public outcry with some calling him another Paras Shah and others even suggesting a ‘no tax paying’ movement, the young Dahal declined the money. However, he vows to continue his Everest trek by collecting “voluntary donation”, thus making industrialists and business community nervous. Who knows what kinds of loots will take place in the name of donations!
When most Nepalis struggle for something as basic as clean drinking water, Prachanda’s swimming-pool-equipped residence in Lazimpat reminds us of Mao’s villas. Instead of becoming the Lionel Messi for peace and constitution, Prachanda has created the big mess we find ourselves in today. Thanks to the Maoists, the utopia of the ‘People’s Republic’ has degenerated into the ‘Looters’ Republic’.
Related story
Republic Day to be celebrated for three days
