Monday, February 28, 2005

Major Indian Support For Democracy In Nepal


Nepal Democracy Solidarity Convention
Organized by the political parties and groups of India
24 February 2005
Constitution Club, Rafi Marg, New Delhi

Chandra Shekhar, Former Prime Minister: Any human who pretends to be a god, who wants to be a god will be destroyed completely. This king does not seem keen to learn and think. He wants to subdue the wishes of the tens of million of people for his personal ambition ..... If the king does not change immediately, more actions from India are necessary ..... I wish the king of Nepal had some brain.

Harkishan Singh Surjeet, General Secretary, CPI (M): The king has murdered people’s democracy in Nepal ...... We will not give any chance to this autocrat. Our government is solidly behind you.

Dipankar Bhattacharya, General Secretary, Communist Party of India (Marxist Leninist): .....the absolute king is back. This time, this monarchy needs to be abolished completely ..... If our government supports this regime in Nepal we will wage a struggle against our government from here ..... Nepal will certainly be a people democratic republic soon.

Romesh Bhandari - Central Working Committee Member, Indian National Congress: The king needs to learn that suppressing people is going to be dangerous for monarchy. I had told Birendra once, “look at what happened in Iran, how the king had to flee, learn from that" ..... People are like steam. If you suppress them they will burst. The more the king suppresses the people, the more dangerous it will be for him ..... The king should take back his step immediately. We warn him.

Dev Brat Bishwas, General Secretary, Forward Block: .....all of India is with Nepal, the people of Nepal, and for the movement for democracy. We give you complete support for your democracy movement ..... This king - how did he dare take this step? ..... We are the largest democracy in the world. We have to support democracy movements, especially in our neighboring country Nepal, with which we have special ties. We believe you will start a joint movement soon.

Prof. Bimal Prasad , Former Indian Ambassador to Nepal: We should not forget the Nepal issue after a few months ..... The Indian government had issued strong statement immediately after the king’s move. But statement by themselves mean little if not followed by concrete action ..... we don’t know how long the fight will go on for ..... I never trusted this king’s motives. This is a very cunning man (ye bahut dhurt aadmi hai). I know him since long. Maybe he’s compulsive.

Surendra Mohan, Senior Socialist Leader: The kings of Nepal have always been against democracy. After the coup of 1960, it took 30 years for democracy to be restored. But this time it won’t take that long. .... The political parties in Nepal, you need to go against monarchy now

Anand Sharma - Spokesperson and Member of Central Working Committee, Indian National Congress: You need to amend this constitution so that such type of incidents can never repeat in the future.

Vijay Pratap, Coordinator, Socialist Front: Now you have a clear choice to make - monarchy or democracy. The dark Feb 1 was a blessing in disguise..... I appeal to each political party in India to form a special Nepal cell..... The BJP needs to apologize to the nation, if you can’t get the Vishhow Hindu Parishad to retract its statement supporting the king’s coup...... What the king of Nepal did has nothing to do with Hinduism. ..... Differences will remain in terms of ideology. Such differences should indeed remain. But, you can still have a working unity. The Maoists should also realize this. ..... The Maoists support multi-party democracy only as a strategy, not as an objective. They need to compromise with the democratic political parties

A. B. Bardhan, General Secretary, Communist Party of India: The king has asked for three years. He wants three years to consolidate his autocracy. I tell you, this time, he will not have three years. See what happens within three months ..... The prime minister invited us in the evening of 1 February to discuss the situation in Nepal. I told him that evening that India should immediately stop military aid to this autocrat..... This king will not survive for long. .... The Nepali Maoists are Nepalis and the Indian Maoists are Indians. They are separate. India should not be paranoid about the Nepali Maoists...... We need to be conscious that this agenda should not die down after a few months.

Dilip Singh Bhuriya, President, Jan Bikash Congress: We are the largest democracy in the world. But in our neighbor democracy has been strangulated. Nepal is burning now.

Brija Bhusan Tiwari, Senior Leader, Samajwadi Party: My electoral constituency is near to the Nepal border. I have been meeting many Nepali friends. I was suspecting for long that this king would take such a step. He has always been against the people. He has been against the Nepali people of Indian origin ..... We need to put so much pressure on him that he is forced to retract his step.

Surendra Shastri, President, Jay Jawan Jay Kishan Party: He has always been against democracy.

Ramesh Dixit, Professor, Luckhnow University: This is rare occasion and issue in India in which, for the first time, political forces ranging from CPI(ML) to the Congress are together at the same stage. Interestingly, one former prime minister of India inaugurated this event, and another former prime minister is going to close it.

VP Singh, Former Prime Minister of India: For India, the important issue is not the king, but the nation..... we do away with autocracy and reinstate democracy without any mess, very cleanly. As they say, lets skim off the fat, without disturbing the milk.
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Sunday, February 27, 2005

Ideological Overture To The Nepali Maoists


Maoism, or for that matter, Marxism, or Leninism, if followed like a dogma, leads one to a dead end. It has to be seen as a guidepost at most, and as one might apply it to one's local conditions, as the Nepali Maoists have tried to do, one has always to be taking into account the facts on the ground, as they stand and as they emerge, as well as lessons that can be drawn when Maoism was applied in other parts of the world, mostly to bloody, inhuman conclusions, like in Peru and Cambodia. If the Nepali Maoists were to ignore all facts on the ground, as well as those from distant lands, they end up being a closed cult, a dictatorial organization that leads its followers to disaster, and self-destructs its "movement" after the "fuel" might have run out, like that of a forest fire, taking a life of its own, coming to an end on its own, leaving little, if anything, in the form of legacy.

On the other hand, the Nepali Maoists can claim the theory of Maoism as their guidepost and inspiration that they have tried to apply to Nepali conditions out of a deep sense of patriotism as well as a non-compromising allegiance to social justice. And as they constantly seek empirical evidence to support their claims and goals, always keeping an open mind, not only to members of their organization, but also to those from other organizations with different ideologies, there is a possibility these Nepali Maoists could make major contributions to Nepali society, and help herald a new era of social justice, but only if they learn to harness the power of peace, compromise, and coalition-building, as they have harnessed the power of armed insurgency, and repeated statements that echo each other, only if they finally come around to the idea of co-existence with other political parties within a peaceful multi-party framework.

From the Encyclopedia Britannica Online: "Maoism has clearly represented a revolutionary method based on a distinct revolutionary outlook not necessarily dependent on a Chinese or Marxist-Leninist context ..... The young Mao was a nationalist, and his sentiments had been strongly anti-Western and anti-imperialist even before he became attracted to Marxism-Leninism about 1919–20...... Mao's nationalism combined with a personal trait of combativeness to make him admire the martial spirit, which became a cornerstone of Maoism...... Mao's political ideas crystallized slowly. He had a mentality that was opportunistic and wary of ideological niceties...... China's hundreds of millions of peasants, for he saw potential energy in them by the very fact that they were “poor and blank” ..... For a time after the creation of the Chinese Communist state in 1949, Mao Zedong attempted to conform to the Stalinist model of “building Socialism.” In the mid-1950s, however, he and his advisers reacted against the results of this policy, which included the growth of a rigid and bureaucratic Communist Party, and the emergence of managerial and technocratic elites—accepted in other countries, especially the Soviet Union, as concomitants of industrial growth...... Maoism's alternative to growth led by elites and bureaucracies was to be growth brought about by revolutionary enthusiasm and mass struggle. Maoism undertook to pit the collective will of human beings against the customary and rational dictates of economics and industrial management. The violent excesses of Maoism and its inability to achieve sustained economic growth led after the Chairman's death to a new emphasis on education and management professionalism, and by the 1980s Maoism appeared to be celebrated mainly as a relic of the late leader."

Also here: "His thought was complex, a Marxist type of analysis combined with the permanent fundamentals of Chinese thought and culture...... and the necessity of struggling against bureaucracy, wastage, and corruption in a country of 600,000,000 to 700,000,000 inhabitants, where very old civilizations and cultures still permeated both the bourgeois classes and the peasantry, where bureaucracy was thoroughly entrenched, and where the previous society was extremely corrupt..... In his effort to remain close to the Chinese peasant masses, Mao drew upon an idea of nature and a symbolism found in popular Chinese Taoism, though transformed by his Marxism. It can be seen in his many poems, which were written in the classical Chinese style."

Like Mao broke with the Soviets, the Nepali Maoists should have the guts to break with Mao himself, the most important might be to do with violence. Real social change ultimately exists in a realm of peace. That peace has to be part of the Maoists' vision. It has to be added to their portfolio.

The first step could be an aggressive overture on their part to the Nepali parties with a vision of a Democratic Republic, with a Constituent Assembly as a first step, with a clear willingness to accept the verdict of the people, even if it might come in the form not of a Democratic Republic, but in the form of a reformed Constitutinoal Monarchy, and Multi-Party Democracy. They could still hope to mobilize the public opinion in some later referendum to turn the country into a Democratic Republic.

The second step could be to work within the multi-party framework to create a Nepal that (1) abolishes the army, just as the Maoists disband their own armed units, (2) dramatically increases state expenditures on education upto the secondary level, and primary health care, making both free of cost and universal, and letting the poor have universal access to micro-credit to start small businesses, and (3) bans fund-raising by political parties, and instead the parties get funds for party building and election campaigns from the state that is directly proportional to the number of votes they might have earned in the last held national elections.

The vision becomes one of attempting to create a classism-less society through peaceful, democratic means, the way of the ballot box. Classism-less, as different from classless. Classism-less allows for diversity in income due to the fundamental role of the market in wealth creation, but it does its very best to make sure no person's socio-economic background prevents that person from reaching his or her maximum potential.

I urge the Nepali Maoists to take their ideology to the next level by breaking up with Mao himself so as to no longer be a slave to a way of thinking that necessarily depends on unending violence, as if it were a group addiction, and not an intermediate step to liberation.

Paramendra's Reading Lists: Maoism
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In The News



March 4, 2005
  • PeaceJournalism.com ...... Nepali democracy had not worked for sometime ..... solution should have been sought through further democratizing by addressing the problems that had been encountered in the last one and half decades ..... Until and unless major democratic political reforms are conducted, the problems Nepal has faced will not be solved. We have to address the underlying problems, not symptoms of those problems like corruption, Maoist insurgency, or even the King's intervention...... the attitudes of the cabinet, the capability of the State and the increased power concentration does not provide much hope ..... how can we establish a system whereby corrupt and irresponsible leaders are pushed aside democratically ...... the negative consequences of extreme centralization may take place at a faster rate now ..... could lead to an explosive situation ..... they do not consider a country democratic that is governed by a single party for a long time ..... support to the Maoist by some Nepalis and to the monarch by others is an indication that the Nepali people are seeking alternatives that they did not get from the political parties in them last decade and half ..... The solution is to accommodate them through institutional reforms. We must not forget that the Maoist have popular support as well ..... if genuine reforms are carried out, even if the Maoists do not agree to a settlement, their support base could erode ..... no democrat can question the issue of election for a constituent assembly ...... The king should not be too worried about the constituent assembly...... The longer he is involved directly, the more threat to the crown. The possibility of a coalition among the Maoists and the political parties increases as well...... polity should be reformed to diffuse power among different level of governments and different branches of government ...... In between the elections, other mechanisms are necessary to hold public officials accountable...... Many governments have objected to UN's mediation because they perceive that it could lead to the formal recognition of the rebels. In such cases, other international agencies or countries have mediated...... a substantial section of the Nepalis support them ..... a substantial population is not happy with the status quo of extreme inequality and discrimination they are facing and would even support groups that promise radical transformation through violent means ..... the Nepali mainstream media has totally failed to represent the perspectives of the marginalized groups like the indigenous nationalities, dalit, madhesi, Muslim, and women
  • India firm on Nepal democracy Calcutta Telegraph, India .....India was in touch with the international community over the developments in Nepal in an effort to evolve a coordinated response
  • Nepal tightens grip, extends detention of Opposition leaders Economic Times, India .....
  • Nepal regime cracks down on college teachers: New Kerala, India ..... Security forces Thursday marched inside the campus of Kathmandu's Trichandra College where about 20 to 25 college teachers had assembled at the office of Nepal Professors' Association to celebrate the release of fellow lecturer Shoubhagyajan Karki......being released Thursday after his family moved the district court.....They made some of the teachers sit in the van for nearly half an hour and then allowed them to go."It was a naked show of might to intimidate teachers," the association said...... the administration is trying to harass teachers ..... 58-year-old mathematics teacher Man Bahadur Bishwakarma, still continues to be detained in a prison in Bhaktapur
March 2, 2005
  • Nepal army flushing out rebels: New Kerala, India ..... track down rebels who escaped following a major battle with government troops ...... 70 rebels and four members of the security forces died ..... Bloodshed in Nepal has continued, despite King Gyanendra's takeover of direct power a month ago, which he said would help contain violence.
  • Crackdown on rebels in Nepal continues Times of India Information and Communications Minister Tanka Dhakal defended the action and called on the media to restrain itself. "This measure is not censorship," he said
  • US, India working together to restore democracy in Nepal Malayala Manorama, India "India, in our view, plays an absolutely critical role. As far as Nepal is concerned India is a major power. The United States is far away. India is right next door" ....."India has been very, very firm in its conviction that the King must move very quickly." New Delhi has taken the position, like the US has, that what the King has done is "not in the interests of Nepal," he added.
  • US may suspend military assistance to Nepal: New Kerala ..... the Feb. 1 dismissal of Nepal's government by King Gyanendra was a "serious setback" for democracy and risks eroding Kathmandu's ability to fight the Maoist insurgency .....
  • US Faces Dilemma Over Nepal Security Aid -Official Reuters ..... the king "probably emboldened the Maoists and made it more likely that the Maoists have a stronger position than they did before February 1." ..... New York-based Human Rights Watch said this week that many of the hundreds of Nepalis who have disappeared since the insurgency began in 1996 were probably victims of extrajudicial execution by security forces...... The United States was thinking seriously about whether to push for censure of Nepal by the U.N. Commission on Human Rights
  • US ambassador prevented from meeting detained Nepal leader Daily Times, Pakistan Moriarty had sought a meeting with Nepal Congress president and ex-prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala at his house in Maharajgunj, on the outskirts of Kathmandu ..... the second time Moriarty has been denied access to Koirala
  • Nepal prevents US envoy from meeting Koirala: New Kerala .....several envoys, including Moriarty and Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, India's ambassador to Nepal, had tried to meet Koirala but had been turned away .....The refusal comes even as the US State Department released its reports on human rights practices in nearly 200 countries, including Nepal. The report on Nepal called the Nepalese government's human rights record poor with continuation of serious abuses...... It also came down on the Maoist insurgents, saying they have continued their campaign of torturing, killing and forcibly conscripting children.
  • New Nepal rebels brutalize old friends Seattle Post Intelligencer ......Armed with guns, iron rods and carpenters' tools, militants swarmed through a Nepalese village and banged at one door. Inside, they threw a woman to the floor, beat her and drilled holes into her legs...... They beat 40-year-old Pun with iron rods for hours, kicked her and attacked her with a hand-powered drill. Then they fled, leaving her to die...... "The only cure for fear is to not to fear" .....in 1996, the ragtag Maoist rebels began their armed campaign. They began to sweep through the country, taking control of vast swaths of remote terrain where there had been no roads or government presence, setting up kangaroo courts and instilling fear among poor villagers...... In August, Thapa met the Maoist top brass when they came to Katmandu for peace talks with the government...... some 70 rebels raided their home and broke open the door. The women fighters said: "Take off her clothes!" ..... Naked from the waist down, Pun was beaten and tortured until she fainted. Electrical wires from a solar power panel were rigged to her arms...... Today, she lives in constant pain, able to walk only with assistance.
  • ADB distances itself from reports on Nepal aid: New Kerala, India Contrary to government-run media reports that the ADB had pledged to continue its assistance to Nepal, Rahman said: "In view of the recent political and security developments in Nepal, ADB is reviewing the implications for its operation in Nepal." ..... Newly appointed Nepalese Finance Minister Madhukar Shumshere J.B. Rana last month confronted reports of aid suspensions by saying though bilateral donors could be influenced by political considerations, global donors like the ADB and the World Bank were likely to continue assistance.
  • Nepal official denies reports of secret mission: New Kerala, India ......The present regime has been trying to woo the support of New Delhi, saying it should support the king since the Communist insurgency is a problem shared by both India and Nepal. ..... Sharad Chandra Shaha ...... Shaha, who was advisor to the previous government headed by Lokendra Bahadur Chand and was considered close to the present king's father, late king Mahendra, said he had gone to India to attend a two-day conclave hosted by India Today.
  • Censorship in Nepal enters second phase Statesman ....asking journalists to write only what the security forces told them about the Maoists or face punishment
  • Fidel Castro supports Nepal king Times of India, India ..... After China, Russia and Pakistan, a fourth country has expressed support for Nepal's beleaguered King Gyanendra - Cuba.
February 28, 2005
  • Nepal's king under pressure inside and out The Japan Times
  • Nepal royal takeover raises risk of disappearancesReuters India, India ....."Even before the coup, the army was more likely to terrorise Nepali civilians rather than fight the Maoists. They had complete impunity," Saman Zarifi, Human Rights Watch's Asia deputy director, told Reuters. "After the coup, there's even less accountability for the army. The fear is that the army is going to go on the rampage."
  • NEPAL: Focus on the impact of the conflict on rural healthReuters AlertNet, UK ..... Health facilities in rural Nepal have been contracting as the nine-year rebellion has left up to 80 percent of the country in the hands of the Maoists. Most government-employed health workers are afraid to make field visits to regions controlled by the rebels in case they are abducted and forced to work for the insurgents. If they do offer health care in Maoist regions, they are at risk of being targeted by security forces and accused of "helping the terrorists"...... An estimated 48,000 female health care volunteers (FHCVs) play a key role in reaching out to people in the rural areas. But most of them are now reluctant to go to the villages ..... pressure from both sides of the conflict made the work impossible
  • Nepal rebels vow to keep up resistanceTaipei Times, Taiwan ..... lifted the blockade but are now threatening a military campaign and a`mass movement of the people' against the king ..... "We are lifting the indefinite blockade of transportation to show our deep responsibility toward the people" ..... The monarch, who says he was forced to act because of the insurgency, has ignored repeated calls from the international community that he restore democracy
  • Declaration by the European Union on the situation in NepalReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland ..... the action taken by the King is a serious setback to the prospects for a negotiated and democratically based solution to the conflict in Nepal .....
  • Nepal Maoists find support in ChhattisgarhIndo-Asian News Service, India ..... "In February, the Maoists have held over 35 rallies and more than 72 meetings in Dantewada district of Bastar that borders Andhra Pradesh" ..... the Maoists had flooded the rural areas of Dantewada with banners and posters pledging support to the rebels in Nepal ..... some of the banners vowed to hit government installations in Bastar as what they called a "punishment for the Indian government for not acting tough against the Nepal king
  • Nepal: The King Says Terrorism No Longer AcceptedScoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand ..... King Gyanendra said ... we are fighting for democracy and against terrorism..... "When we have chosen to uphold democracy and fight against terrorism, why are they shying away from helping us? I can see one thing clearly emerging out of it. Our objectives are the same. We are going to meet somewhere. But we have chosen may be different paths in attaining that objective" ..... "They must say what they must say and we must do what we must do" ..... "There is so much work to be done and that work has to be done together"
  • 5 Nepal parties to launch stir from Mar.8:- Webindia123 ..... protest meetings, flag demonstrations ..... Balbahadur Rai of Nepali Congress, Jhalanath Khanal of CPN-UML, Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar of NC (Democratic), Chitra Bahadur Ale of Janamorcha Nepal and Bharat Bimal Yadav of Nepal Sadbhavana Party (A).
February 27, 2005
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