Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Prachanda's Shiva Sena


Prachanda in his freshest interview has said that he does not want to be president but he does want to fundamentally transform Nepal. I wonder if Thackeray of Mumbai is his role model. Thackeray never held any office, but nobody confused that for his lack of interest in power.

In the course of watching Prachanda in action I have been consistently impressed with the guy's knack for the intricacies of power. He has a sure feel for it. He is adept at it. He could be running a fast growing dot com company with ease.

So you are looking at perhaps Badal as president and Matrika Yadav as vice president, or perhaps Hisila Yami as vice president. There are a few other combinations also possible. Of all the big parties in Nepal today, it is the Maoists that are the most likely to manage a fair representation of women and ethnics in power, and the UML the least likely. Bahunbaad is too prevalent in the top echelons of the UML.

Prachanda is about to get 10,000 of the ablest members of the Maoist army out of that army for election purposes. Look at the speed of the execution of the decision. And Girija can not even unify the two Congress factions that are clamoring to unify. Or perhaps he is waiting for the interim parliament to be formed so that the unified Congress is 110 plus strong while the Maoists are only 70 plus strong.

You can not say the Maoists should become a nonviolent party within a multi-party framework, and then complain that they are managing to grow within that nonviolent framework a little too well. I am not complaining. It is just that I am a little amazed at the lethargy of the Congress.

Make no mistake Prachanda wants his party to emerge the largest in the constituent assembly, and has already started work. He wants someone from his party to emerge Nepal's first president. You can not begrudge him his competitive streak. When political parties compete through fair means, the people benefit.

How To Deal With Prachanda

The first thing is history. The guy cares about his place in history more than anything else. He uses the word "historic" at the end of most of his important meetings.

The second thing you have to respect the fact that he is a Marxist. You have to appeal to the aspect of him that feels he is responsible for growing Marxist thought for contemporary realities. He does not feel like he capitulated and accepted a multi-party framework. He has to feel like he grew the Marxist thought itself to work within a multi-party framework.

The third thing is the guy is a soccer player. He is adept at group dynamics. He knows the game. He can get carried away by techniques regardless of ideology. He is so hooked. He really enjoys his job. He relishes power.

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On The Web

Shiv Sena - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia As the president of the party Bal Thackeray takes all major decisions, and has claimed that he ran the Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government of 1995 to 1999 with what he called a 'remote control.' Activists and members of the Shiv Sena call themselves Shiv Sainiks, and carry out most of the party's grassroot work. In recent times, Thackeray does not concern himself with day-to-day activities of the party, which is run by his youngest son Uddhav Thackeray. The recently refurbished Sena Bhavan located in the Dadar locality in Mumbai has served as the headquarters of the Sena since 1976. The Sena's shakhas (local offices) spread throughout the state of Maharashtra as well as in selected locations in other states decide upon most of the local issues in their particular cities or towns.
Know your party: Shiv Sena
India: Hindu chauvinists block filming of Deepa Mehta's Water
The Shiv Sena's games
Shiv Sena condemns anti-state activities - Deccan Herald ...
RELIGION IN THE NEWS Spring 2003
Shiv Sena On The Threshold Of Disintegration By Kumar Ketkar
Islamic Voice
Shiva Sena and their threats to the Pakistan Cricket team and ...
JSTOR: Ethnicity and Equality: The Shiva Sena Party and ...
shiva sena - Sulekha Tag Search, Free Blog Tag Blogs Tags Bloggers ...
Narayan Rane quits of opposition leader; Indian politics, assembly ...
The Hindu : Karnataka / Bijapur News : Muthalik joins Shiva Sena
The Hindu : Shiva Sena to field candidates
Shiv Sena in crisis
[PDF] ‘‘City of Mongrel Joy’’: Bombay and the Shiv Sena in Midnight’s ...
Reference.com/Encyclopedia/Shiv Sena

BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Who are Nepal's Maoist rebels?
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Meeting Nepal's Maoist leader
This site is operated by Communist Party Of Nepal(Maoist),central ...
Nepal Civil War - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nepal Terrorist Groups - Maoist Insurgents
CNN.com Specials
FrontPage magazine.com :: Nepal’s Maoist Insurgency by Steven C. Baker
International Crisis Group - Nepal
International Crisis Group - Nepal's Maoists: Their Aims ...
Maoist Insurgency in Nepal
The Maoists of Nepal:Three perspectives
Nepal's Maoists prepare for final offensive --- Asia Pacific Media ...
Inside Nepal's Revolution Multimedia @ National Geographic Magazine
MIPT Terrorism Knowledge Base
Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Nepal: Maoists and the agreement
Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Nepal: Maoists and Democracy
IndianExpress.com :: New Nepal: Maoists sign political pact, say ...
NPR : Nepal Maoist Leader: Women Driving Movement
Political History of the Maoists in Nepal

Prachanda - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
eKantipur.com - Nepal's No.1 News Portal
RW ONLINE:Red Flag Flying on the Roof of the World
BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Prachanda interview: Full transcript
BBC NEWS | South Asia | Prachanda - hero or villain?
This Site is Operated by the Communist Party of Nepal(Maoist ...
TIMEasia Magazine: "We Are Trying to Crush Feudal Autocracy"
Interview with Prachanda
exclusive interview with prachanda maoist leader
Prachanda: Information from Answers.com
RW ONLINE: Statement by Comrade Prachanda, Communist Party of ...
Blogdai: Prachanda: "A Man in Control"
Gary Leupp: the Prachanda Path Towards Urban Insurrection
The Hindu : International / India & World : Prachanda likely to ...
Nepalnews.com Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Nepalnews.com Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd.
Nepal Deputy PM in Delhi, Prachanda claims 'breakthrough' in ...
The Hindu : Front Page : Prachanda unveils road map for change in ...
Prachanda on Screen - Nepal
Prachanda Path - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United We Blog! for a Democratic Nepal - We Blog For Peace And ...
Democracy For Nepal (DFN): Prachanda's Transitional Republic
Prachanda hints at breakthrough on arms management, summit meet ...
Global Voices Online » Blog Archive » Nepal: Moriarty Drowns Out ...
eKantipur.com - Nepal's No.1 News Portal
The Hindu : Front Page : Koirala, Prachanda reach historic accord
Prachanda Bhairavi (1965)
Urban Dictionary: Prachanda
Prachanda likely to visit Delhi to attend global summit ...
Joint Letter to Prachanda By Human Rights Organisation
Nepali Netbook: Enter Prachanda The Geo-Politician
Nepali Netbook: Sitaula: Between Prachanda And Ganapathy?
News: Nepal, Nepal: Prachanda discusses arms management with UN ...
Prachanda and Koirala meet again | Citizen Journalism Nepal
Toe Nepalese Maoists' line: Prachanda- The Times of India
Prachanda - Yahoo! News UK
My mouse, Prachanda and Nepali politics « My world, my perspective
Yahoo! Answers - who is prachanda?
Quote from Interview with comrade Prachanda
Prachanda Discusses Arms Management with UN Representative
AsiaMedia :: NEPAL: RSF removes King Gyanendra and Prachanda from ...
Prachanda meets Indian ambassador
Monthly Review August 2005 | Commentary | CPN (Maoist)
Editors’ Face To Face With Prachanda « United We Blog! for a ...
The Rising Nepal
The Rising Nepal
Democracy For Nepal (DFN): Prachanda, Madhav, Devendra
Samudaya.org: Interview with Prachanda
Reporters sans frontières - Nepal
Prachanda, Indian Envoy Discuss Peace Process

In The News

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NC-D leadership under pressure to adopt republican agenda At the ongoing meeting of district presidents of the party, the Nepali Congress (Democratic) leadership has come under pressure to adopt republican agenda. "Almost all of the speakers at the meeting (which started on Tuesday) have asked the leadership to adopt republican agenda," said Dr. Minendra Rijal ..... the speakers told leaders that without taking up the agenda of republic the party would not be able to win votes from the people in the coming days.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paramendra Jee,
Thanks for nice analysis. Yeah, it is true that Prachanda has remarked that he does not like to assume any seat of power. Then, instant comparison that we can make is with Balasaheb. The remote control democracy practiced by Balasaheb has many critics and if Prachanda,too, prefers that way, he,too, will have to face criticisms. At the same time, like you have said, Prachand wants to etch his name in the pages of history along the lines of Gandhi. And Gandhi is a figure who,too, ruled the heart of millions without ever-decorating any seat of power in India. So, the choice is definitely Prachanda's whether he wants to be Thackerey or Gandhi.

You are right that he is a through Marxist. But, he himself claimed that he is not dogmatic and so he may not feel that he has capitulated. Fundamentalism would put him together with Thackerey not together with Gandhi, he must have known that.

I agree with you that this guys relishes power and has good knack of understanding the intricacies of power. But, I am not sure that he gets carried away by the technique. Coming days will definitely tell what moves this guy.

Anonymous said...

Paramendra,

Boy, you've turned into a Maoist lover right before our eyes!

You think Prachanda doesn't want to be the President, you bet your ass he does! Power and ambition is written on his forehead in case you didn't notice. He has openly said he would go with the party's wishes for his role [if they want him to be the President]. Isn't that clear enough?

You guys are banking on Prachanda because of his "federalism", aren't you? When you see to create a federal state based on ethnicity, you might as well create different countries. Is that what you want -- another Kashmir in the region? Pretty soon, there might be no country to talk about dividing up!