The Maoists went to war, some fourteen years ago, dreaming that they could, some day, defeat all other political forces, capture the state, and impose the kind of rule they want, unopposed by others.[break] The war failed them. But Gyanendra´s naked seizure of power offered them a reprieve, and an excuse to join hands with the mainstream political parties. The success of Janaandolan II put an end to the war and brought the Maoists into open, competitive politics. But there is a huge gap between joining competitive politics and becoming a party committed to democracy, especially to its values of pluralism and non-violence.
The UCPN-M never made this transition, but got lost somewhere in between and was beginning to backslide. Once into open politics, going back to war was never an option, but the party, provoked by hardliners, was seriously flirting with the idea of urban insurrection. Other political parties and even international forces had cautioned it against any such ambition; nevertheless, the party was increasingly gravitating toward it. The only force that could have stopped the Maoists from taking a plunge in that direction was the citizenry of this country. And that is exactly what they did when they resisted the general strike imposed by the Maoists across the country, and especifically on Kathmandu, the supposed epicenter of such an uprising.
Forced by the people to retreat, the Maoists will find it hard in future to think of uprising as an option for getting into power. When war and insurrection is no longer feasible or even an option, the Maoists will have to, willy-nilly, accommodate and adjust themselves to democratic processes. But the Maoist comrades will not covert easily into committed democrats -- their transformation will still be slow and painful. They will have to make a huge adjustment in their value system, something that cannot happen overnight. The party’s leaders and cadres still see many things in black and white: Our party is good, others are evil; our party has a plan for nation-building, others are just ruthless plunderers of the nation´s wealth; the proletariat class does all the hard work and others are just exploiters. But pitting one class or community against another is nothing but bigotry. Once the Maoists accept the notion of pluralism in society such bigotry will subside.
For a party that has believed, and engaged, in breaking the law for so long, learning to live by the rule of law will also not come easily. But as the Maoists gradually realize that there is no alternative road, they will go the democratic way. This will be good for the country since the Maoists bring so much energy, champion progressive agenda and represent the hopes of so many. The democratic transformation of the Maoist party will also force other parties to change and compete.
But for all these long-term, positive changes to happen, the parties should now strike a deal to break the current stalemate. The Maoists should learn earnestly from their general strike debacle but the coalition parties also should not see the Maoists as a weaker force because of it. As Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal told the mass meeting at Tudikhel today, we too believe that the ball is now in the court of the ruling parties. The ruling coalition should now reach out to the Maoists with a fresh proposal for reconciliation: They should agree that, as the largest party in the constituent assembly, the new national-consensus government will be led by the Maoists. But before the formation of such a government the parties should first reach a deal on the six-point agenda that they set out for deliberations. Don´t make the deal a zero-sum game -- a win-win is clearly possible and that should be the aim of the dialogues ahead. If that happens, May 7 will turn out to have been a turning point in the democratization of the parties and of Nepali society.
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