Nepal's political woes and why
Nepal is a land-locked nation and a Least Developed country and the territorial size is almost the same as that of Bangladesh with only 28 million people. The country needs desperately peace and unity for economic progress but political instability has endangered its economic progress.
It is a country that has huge potential for hydropower and can sell hydropower to its neighbours including Bangladesh. The people are hardworking, peaceful and liberal minded. Their version of Hindu religion is a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism as the King worships in both places -- temples and pagoda. Although Raanas (former ruling class) have lost political power, they remain affluent and still hold great influence in the country. (The writer had the privilege to represent Bangladesh as Ambassador to Nepal in the early 80s).
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Why did the Maoist rebellion erupt in an otherwise peaceful country? There are many reasons and some of them deserve mention:
First, Maoist rebels received a new lease of life with discredited democracy and an increasingly authoritarian monarchy. The Nepali newspaper columnist C.K. Lal described Maoist rebels as " political entrepreneurs", able to exploit the cracks in the democratic system with an unsympathetic monarchy. He said: "We are living in a time warp. An absolute monarchy belongs to 14th, 15th century. One anachronism invites another."
King Gyanendra's elder brother late King Birendra opened the door for parliamentary elections, a new constitution and a free press in 1990. What 1990 failed to deliver was the unity of people. The new constitution paid lip service to Nepal's diversity, but Hinduism remained the state religion and calls for local autonomy to reflect the country's true demographic mix were ignored.
Second, upper caste Brahmin and Kshatriyas -- priests and warriors, respectively, in the Hindu pecking order -- continued to run everything. The army remained beholden to the King rather than to the Parliament. Politicians, local and national, indulged in corrupt dealings. There was no meaningful land reform and most enterprising Nepalis gradually continued to leave Nepal. These shortcomings the Maoists were able to exploit.
Third, in 1994, Nepal communists had splits. One faction, led by guerrilla chief Prachanda, what would become the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) was kept out of the election. Many Nepalis regard that as the crucial moment in the political history of communism in Nepal. Many Nepalis believe that had the CPN (Maoist) been allowed to contest for power, it might never have resorted to armed conflict.
Prachanda procured weapons from the border in India. Even when the Communist Party of Nepal engaged the democratic system, (once winning the second largest bloc of seats in Parliament) preparations by CPM (M) for armed confrontation were under way. In February, 1996 the Maoists launched a series of co-ordinated attacks, starting in the midwest. In a village called Holeri, on the road from Nepalganj to Maoist country, a gutted police post still stands as a monument to that first strike.
Fourth and finally, in 2002, King Gyanendra dissolved Parliament. In February 2005, he imposed emergency rule, jailed some of Nepal's most prominent elected officials and vowed to crush Maoists. But the Maoists have not been crushed. In fact they have become bold.
Strategy of Maoists
The Communist rebels in Nepal are called "Maoists" because they follow the guidelines of Mao Zedong in winning popularity among rural people to advance their ideology. They are locally known as "Lal Sena". Their strategy is to systematically take over the countryside using the 'carrot' (ownership of land to poor people) and 'stick' armed violence. The Moaists are reportedly being helped by Communists in Bihar (India). China has disowned them.
Maoists are shrewd at the political level. At a time when the King is being isolated from mainstream political parties, the Maoists carried out assaults across the countryside, at the same time they started cosying up to politicians they once regarded as "class enemies". They began reaching out to Nepal's most powerful allies too -- India, the US, and Britain.
Maoists's best strategy is to pay respects to the lower caste people -- the Dalits. It has been reported by an old man, a tailor named Irkha Bahadur Pariyar in Thabang who said: " We Dalits, we were not even considered human beings". Dalits could not fetch water from the upstream village tap, he reportedly stated. They had to go to the downstream, so as not to pollute the water for those higher up the caste ladder.
In their own controlled territory, the Maoists have introduced new laws. Untouchability is banned, in theory and practice. Alcohol and child marriage are prohibited. New polygamous marriages are not tolerated. Migrating to India is not approved. Legal disputes are easily resolved by them. Law and order is carried out by a people's militia. Local people like them because they respect the Dalits and disapprove social injustices. The Maoists are designated even as "Nice People Around".
For Maoists, schools represent a vital source of both revenue and recruits. Teachers can either be roped in as allies or eliminated as enemies. Schools in the rural areas are the best place to assert control and propagate their ideology. They have introduced communist song-and- dance shows to schoolyards. Royal history is being replaced by people's history. Teachers are to impart revolutionary values: patriotism, selflessness and the principles of "scientific communism". Those in grade 5 would learn about the Spartacus (Roman slave) revolt and receive a lesson on making " explosives, grenades and booby traps".
In September last year came the Maoists' biggest surprise: a temporary ceasefire. It was a clever move designed to isolate further the King at home and abroad. By some measures, it had success. The King cancelled a scheduled appearance at a summit of world leaders in New York. In the august and September, street protests called for the ousting of the King, making it apparent that the King's clampdown last year had begun to turn the nation against monarchy.
The local elections this year were boycotted by most of the country's largest political parties and no one knows what would be the fate of parliamentary polls in 2007. Meanwhile a seven-party alliance called for new talks with the Maoists.
On 3rd April the Maoists adopted the strategy to announce an indefinite ceasefire in the capital and surrounding valley to please political parties in response to their call. They realise that they can achieve some of their goals in cooperation with political parties. This announcement manifests that they do not wish to alienate political parties.
Since the Maoists' armed confrontation, about 12,000 lives are lost and the Maoists have become the most resilient communist insurgency in the world today. Their impact is being felt in West Bengal. In recent times, the CPM (Marxist) government in West Bengal is confronting a serious security and political threat from the Maoists. It is reported the Maoist insurgency has spread mostly in Midnapore and adjoining areas.
Conclusion
Many political observers believe that King's action of taking over absolute power created a two-way power struggle involving monarchy, and a joint opposition to the King's action by Maoist movement and Nepal's political parties.
Furthermore, the political turbulence causes concern among Nepal's neighbours because it is a destabilising factor for South Asia. It is desirable that a delegation of eminent persons from SAARC countries may visit Nepal and attempt to reconcile political differences to stabilise the situation.
What lesson do we learn from Nepal's situation?
It is poverty and inequality that breed frustration, helplessness and unrest and any revolutionary or orthodox party can exploit the situation to its own advantage. Unless poverty is removed and participatory government is installed, there will always a be threat to country's stability. Security threat may not emanate only from external sources. It may arise from internal situation where equal opportunity is denied for a prolonged period to all segments of people. Many sociologists believe that elimination of poverty and establishment of social justice are the pre-conditions of maintaining peace.