There were none left astray and there was no disarray among the supporters—it was a coordinated movement.[break]
This in itself may come as a surprise of city dwellers who have witnessed unmanaged protests with low-intensity violence in the past. But this peaceful and disciplined, maybe not. And it’s no easy task. For those who have been given the responsibility of managing, coordinating and ensuring the smooth running of the movement, it’s a constant effort and a job in itself.
Gunja Man Tamang came to Kathmandu from Pokhara a week ago. As a leader of Pokhara University’s revolutionary student wing, for the duration of the andolan, the 25-year-old is responsible for the coordination and management of around 3,000 people from districts surrounding the Valley. His area of organization is known as the Padmodaya arc, for the school in the vicinity that starts from prohibited zone in the Ram Shah Path to Putali Sadak crossroad, including the always-ire Shankar Dev Campus area.
While many supporters danced to the revolutionary songs emanating from the blow-horn speakers in the middle of the street, Tamang stood on the side ledge watching them.
“To keep it peaceful, the management and coordination play an integral role,” he said.
The Lamjung native said that all the instructions come from “a chain of command” after their evening meets every day.
According to Young Communist League’s Valley In-charge Chandra Bahadur Thapa aka Sagar, these meetings are held on different levels wherein they analyze the successes and failures of the day’s rallies and programs and plan for the next day accordingly.
While some are responsible for coordinating the daytime rallies, others look after the logistic side of the daily affairs, like fooding, lodging and sanitation.
Tej Raj Khadka has been given the responsibility of making sure that the 15,000 under his arc are kept in good form, spread out amongst four colleges in the vicinity. Along with 200 team members, they assure that the supporters have their daily meals.
Khadka, who is a graduate of Budhanilkantha School and currently pursuing his final year at Nepal Engineering College, Bhaktapur, said that proper hygiene is being maintained to the best of their abilities.
“Aside from a few cases here and there, we are equipped and even have staff nurses working for us,” he said.
Tamang also agreed that on a practical level, there are issues of sanitation and hygiene but “while it is difficult, it is still manageable”.
However, it’s not always easy. Rajan Bhandari of Thumpakhar, Sindhupalchowk brought 2,500 party cadres and sympathizers with him. Now staying at the Indreni Complex and three other buildings in New Baneshwar, Bhandari found it hard the day before when suddenly he had an additional 200 people.
Looking for a new place was more than hard. It was impossible.
“I went to Columbus College in Shankhamul to ask for a place to house those 200 cadres. The guy who first came to talk disappeared and never returned. After waiting for one hour, we went inside the complex to look for someone; everyone had fled,” Bhandari told Republica, adding he had to squeeze those additional in the same Complex.
For YCL chief Thapa, who is also a Constituent Assembly (CA) member, the main duty for this andolan is to “lead collectively those who have come from outside of the Valley.”
As a leader, he currently manages a population of about 9,000 youths within the Bagbazar arc, which starts from where Tamang’s arc ends in Putali Sadak crossroad.
He specified the difficulties of bringing together Maoist supporters who are from the Valley with those from outside.
“They don’t know the ways of urban life and don’t have any experience of traveling around the city,” said Thapa, who came into the CA by winning in his home Constituency No three of Gulmi.
He also pointed to the notion that those who have arrived from elsewhere do not have an understanding of how the party’s urban andolan differs from that of the rural andolan in their far-flung villages.
Nonetheless, their mission is the same.
“Everyone who is here is committed and came with hope,” Khadka, a Nepalgunj native, said about their will to stay on the streets until “the puppet government” is overthrown.
Puppet government or not, this strike is costing the people a lot. Most of the shops stay shut and the country has come to a virtual standstill, even the younger generation is bearing its brunt. While many of the city dwellers are complaining about the general strike, the Maoist supporters have their justifications. They say people need to make “some sacrifices on their levels for change”.
“This strike is also costing our education,” said the engineering student Khadka who said the ongoing movement would cost them a semester. “But we need to do this for a change.”
And he said he is ready to face the brunt, regardless of how long it takes, and how costly the price.
The price is not just about the economy. Thapa, who was a Maoist army commander and left for popular politics, said the group is capable of taking the movement further if necessary.
“We have been preparing well in advance,” he said of the coordinated efforts.
According to him, there is enough ration for 95,000 YCL members to remain in the capital for two months.
However, a two-month-long strike in the country would mean an immense loss for the economy.
For young people like Khadka, Thapa and Tamang, their belief in their ideology of the party has garnered their full support. They all said that certain personal experiences of inequality and social injustice in their dwellings have incited the passion for change through joining the party.
But the price of this strike is only growing by the day.
In a country just emerging from the decade-long conflict and having had very minimal economic progress, a strike of this nature does not seem sustainable. Whether this fight is worth it on either side will only be known in the days to come.
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