Nepal: Chances of Prachanda behaving like active Monarch remains

Dinesh Sharma

Leader, Maoists Party, Nepal

Q1: Your Party’s Prime Minister Bhattarai is there. Important ministries have been allocated to your party leaders. In both CA and parliament, your party enjoys majority. Now you talk of street protests. But against whom? Whom to pressurize then? Or do you feel that Prachanda and Bhattarai have entered into the camp of the status quoists and become reactionaries? Do you mean this Mr. Sharma?

Dinesh: To be frank enough, both the Prime Minister and Chairman Prachanda are not in favor of the drafting of a new constitution that ensures and guarantee the people’s fundamental rights. Chairman Prachanda and Prime Minister Bhattarai are in favor of an “imported constitution”. Other forces too must have and do have important role to play in the draft of the constitution. Inside our own party, we have been pressurizing Prachanda and Bhattarai to go in favor of a people oriented constitution. For this we have been putting pressure on them. What at best we wish is to convince other parties as well for drafting a new constitution that understands and then incorporates the provisions in favor of the laymen expectations and aspirations.  But we are far from having consensus on this issue. The main problem creators are none other than Prachanda and Babu Ram Bhattarai. 

Yes! They have stood in favor of the status quoists. On matters related with the draft of the constitution, on nationalism issue, on army integration questions they have taken a status quoists stance. Their thinking, programs, and activities  appear to have been much guided by status quoists considerations. It would though be a premature conclusion to be taken as reactionaries yet they have been suffering from the status quoists syndrome. This is for sure I must say. Time changes and so is science which also changes accordingly. What we have been telling them is to provide new things by embracing changes through collective efforts. But they appear reluctant in understanding our appeal.

Q2: Isn’t it that your party’s manifesto, document takes Nepali Congress as a party of the status quoists? So should it mean that Prachanda and Bhattarai too have gone to that status quoists’ fold? Is it that what you want to claim? Or it is different!

Dinesh: Yes! Hundred percent. The NC from the very beginning have had nurtured this considerations. The NC waged a revolution in 1950 but yet kept the feudal monarchy on the top. The political thinking itself was a status quoists one primarily. To boot, the agenda(s) which the NC has raised on matters of economy, society and cultural aspects were all very close to the status quoists phenomenon. Monarchy that is the representative of feudalism is a very old institution. We know that France, United Kingdom, and Germany, the United States of America and others have attained economic prosperity by abandoning the monarchy long time back.  These countries are marching ahead. Even in neighboring India, the feudal mindset has been sidelined and to a greater extent they are practicing republican order. In the North, China too took great leap forward after embracing the republican set up. It has developed. But we had the feudal monarchy for over 240 years which was later carried over by the Nepali Congress in the form of a constitutional monarchy.  The UML too took up the same NC line of thinking. The 1990 movement had already sidelined the Nepali monarchy but the NC and the UML once again cheated the main spirit of the 1990 revolution and made a compromise.  It was this conciliation which took over two decades of struggle to overthrow the Nepali monarchy.  Had these lapses were not in place then, we could have institutionalized so many things which still remain to be done.

As regards your associated question, well, it is hundred percent correct. Yes, Prachanda and Babu Ram have already entered into the UML camp. The republican order what we have in place now in the country, will not be able to completely address the national issues confronting us all and the example is the republican order of the Indian republic itself. In India, the workers, farmers, proletarians and the dalit and the problems and their oppression remain intact.  If we can address their problems in a dignified manner then can only we carry the nation forward in order to attain a new height? This will also add to the stamina of the economy. Understandably, the NC and the UML are in the status quoists camp. It is because of Babu Ram and Prachanda’s toeing the NC-UML line, it has allowed an opportunity to pounce upon the gains of the people’s war.

Q3: Till the other day, you and your party men used to take Comrade Prachanda as a divine personality. Was this an incorrect evaluation?  Some even claim that new Kings have emerged. Have you felt so inside your party of the emergence of new Kings?

Dinesh: No we did not take him as a divine personality. At time of war, the leadership was just centralized. Look, there is the prevalence of Command System during a War. When the Commander orders, one has to obey his orders at any cost.  This happens everywhere at times of War and this is what we did then. We preferred to institutionalize his leadership in the party in a much more dignified manner hoping that he could be established as a real leader of the proletariats but not with an intention to award him the divinity role. But analyzing the changes that have surfaced in the thinking and the psychology of Comrade Prachanda, I must say that he has changed and he is not what exactly we expected from him. Prachanda changed his “class” He changed his ideologies. Later he changed his line of thoughts. He even changed his working styles. His life style changed. His attitude too have changed. A man once taken in high esteem can go so low too which is what the rule of the Science is as well. Understandably, at this time, Prachanda and Babu Ram have plunged deep into the status quoists phenomenon.

Well, it is not a situation where in one could say that Prachanda has already emerged or say surfaced like a new King but yet the manner some changes that have suddenly come inside him, if per chance, that gets developed or begins developing then we could see the possibility of Comrade Prachanda behaving like an active monarch. There is the likelihood of Prachanda to assume that role time permitting.

Q4: So does it mean that a fresh revolt is round the corner? Is it that?

Dinesh: Well it all depends on how the constitution is made? Whether it would be in favor of the people or ignores the people’s expectations and aspirations? If it is the latter then not only we in the Maoists party but the entire population will come to the streets which have already been exemplified by the Nepali population in the past. It would then not be a question limited to a single party. There was a revolution in 1950 but the problems remained intact. In 1980 there was a similar movement; however, this too could not address the existing people’s problems and issues. Yet another movement was staged in 1990 which also landed in failure. We have had ten years long People’s War associated with the revolution of 2005-6 as well. When issues and problems remain as it is then there is the urgency of a fresh revolt. When societal issues clash then also revolt becomes a necessary option with the people. We even can’t block the revolt-tide. 

Q5: As a man who has been observing the country’s politics over the years, do you think that a fresh revolt could be staged so soon and, if at all it happens, then who will take the lead role in the upcoming, as you said, revolt?

Dinesh: Yes. It will commence soon. Because the level of consciousness of the Nepali population no longer remains the same as it was in the 1950s, 80s, and 90s. They have come of their age now. Practically the entire communities, ethnic tribes, the Madhesis, the women folks, the Dalits, workers and farmers have come up with a hope to ensure and secure their fundamental basic rights in the new constitution. The population is closely watching as to whether the new constitution will address to their existing problems or not? They all were already and now in a mood for waging a sort of struggle to secure their basic rights.

If the new constitution comes to us just as a window dressing then that Charter is sure to be burnt the very next day of its coming into existence. We are ready to take up the lead role. In fact, we are in the preparation of that. I think we must lead the revolt as a responsible party or else anarchy may prevail ultimately.

For the preparation of which we are going to meet the people for over a month. We will forward the proposals which we will collect from the laymen during our impending visit across the country to the CA Speaker. If the constitution is drafted as per our forwarded proposals then that would be Okay or else the Revolt will follow the very next minute.

Text Courtesy: The Tarun Weekly dated April 9, 2012, Nepal. Thanks.

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