Communism refers to a political theory that emphasizes a classless community where economic benefits are shared equally by everyone. Such ideology seems to be suitable in our country decades ago when the Ranas were ruling and feudalism was existing in the society. That was the time when iconic political figure Pushpa Lal Shrestha, the brother of martyr Ganga Lal Shrestha introduced the ideology of communism to the Nepalese politicians for the first time.
Since Comrade Pushpa Lal Shrestha was unsatisfied with the movement against the Rana regime led by Nepali Congress as Congress members were ready to include Ranas to the interim government, he established Nepal Communist Party in 1949 in an Indian city, Calcutta. He founded it with the help of four other colleagues after a meeting with the popular Indian Communist Leader Nirprendra Chakrawarti. He also translated the Communist manifesto along with his original writings and it exhibited that he was influenced by the school of Stalin, Marx, Lenin and Mao. Though socialism was hovering the atmosphere of India and the rest of the world during that time, his bold initiative influenced many Nepali politicians to embark on Communist Movement.
His influence can still be seen among the existing Nepali communist parties. But Nepal’s Communist Movement has been turbulent from time to time.
The history of Nepali communism has been marked by periods of rise and fall. Pushpa Lal Shrestha himself had to go through lots of hardships to maintain his position. Manmohan Adhikari, one of his committee members, launched a coup against him and threw him down from his top position despite the support of a majority of committee members. He faced similar consequences many times in his life.
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Subsequently, after 47 years of the establishment of Nepal Communist Party, another warrior of Nepali communism emerged in the communist movement widely known as Prachanda, aka Comrade Pushpa Kamal Dahal who is the supreme leader of Nepal Communist Party (Maoist Center), currently the opposition leader in parliament. Pushpa Lal Shrestha fought for eliminating the autocratic Rana regime whereas Pushpa Kamal Dahal fought for removing monarchy and the traces of feudalism from Nepal. Former prime minister Prachanda also had written his version of Communist manifesto known as ‘Prachandapath’ which inspired Maoist cadres at the time of insurgency.
During the 1990s when the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched an insurgency against the monarchy which led to a decade-long civil war that ultimately saw the monarchy being ousted, Pushpa Kamal Dahal played a vital role in ending the conflict with the signing of the peace accord and establishing a constituent assembly that gave Nepal a new constitution turning the nation into a federal democratic republic in 2008. Another prominent figure is Baburam Bhattarai, who also played a crucial role in the Maoist movement.
We can see that there has been a mixed impact of communism in Nepal lately. On the positive side, the Maoist insurgency brought attention to the issues of marginalized communities, leading to greater inclusion of marginalized groups in the political system. Similarly, the abolition of the monarchy and the establishment of a federal democratic republic were seen as steps towards a more democratic society. However, there have been few negative consequences as well. The civil war resulted in widespread human rights abuse issues and displacement of thousands of people. The Maoist government also struggled to effectively govern the country post-conflict, but couldn’t reach its fundamental agendas as Prachanda himself acknowledged in his public speeches. Like Pushpa Lal, he also had to face hurdles from his own followers. Such conditions are leading the nation to political instability and economic challenges.
Looking towards the future, the role of communism in Nepal remains uncertain. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) continues to be a significant political force in the country whereas other communist parties such as CPN (UML), Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Socialist) and some minor parties like Nepal Workers Peasant Party and Rastriya Janmorcha despite having their hold on Nepali political scenario, faces challenges in delivering on the promises of social and economic justice. Some of the smallest groups of Communist believers such as Mukti Mocha Samuha, Communist Party of Nepal (Manmohan), Communist Party of Nepal (Janmukti), and various other groups that split from NCP (Maoist Centre) and their cadres yet believe in revolution through civil war which may not be really appropriate in recent political situations.
While pondering the history of communist and other political movements in Nepal, it’s essential to know the drawbacks of these changes. The Nepalese people are yet in dilemma about the accomplishments of Communist movements as they undergo the frustration due to corruption, massive unemployment, economic hardship and unjust system prevailing in the country. The major hindrance is the multiple splits in communist parties. Furthermore, internal power struggles and factionalism have also threatened the communist movement’s strength and credibility in recent years. The CPN (Maoist Centre) has experienced several splits and mergers in recent years, reflecting deep divisions in leadership and membership. Nepal continues to face political and social challenges, including corruption and poverty, and the Communist Parties of Nepal must confront these challenges in order to achieve meaningful and effective results. Other political organizations and public institutions have promised cooperation to address common goals and issues. The CPN may also want to reassess its values and strategies to better respond to the changing needs of the Nepalese people.
Meanwhile, the northern neighbouring country China which has risen both politically and economically after the collapse of Soviet Union in 1990s is eyeing the political development of Nepal very closely. The recent visit of Nepali Premier, K P Oli to China and undergoing to BRI has attracted the multipolar perspective of world’s geopolitics. Through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and globalisation, China hasn’t changed its communist ideology but also the political perspective of various regions and countries including the USA, the superpower nation of the world. Experts have expressed their concern over the lack of political literacy of communist parties regarding the changing multipolar viewpoint of the world’s geopolitics. Although a communist party is leading our neighbour China, the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) believe in the footprint of their leader and ancient doctrine but also understand the importance of growing capitalism in the world. So, China is rising as another super power from the global South.
This may be a reason why Mr Prachanda had been calling for the unification among all the communist forces in Nepal . He had recently appealed to all the Communist parties to unify and create a single front to combat the shortcomings of political instability in Nepal during a public March held in Kathmandu.
In a nutshell, it is no exception to say that Nepali Communist Movement is still under the waves of upheaval. The Communist leaders and parties need to go through deep self analysis and understand the changing and demanding situations of the world political background. Then only, the Communist Movement could take its original shape and meet the real communist objectives in Nepal.
