Amidst Pledges of Support from Stalinist and Maoist Parties, the Regime of Capitalists, Stabilises in Nepal

-Rajesh Tyagi/ 22.10.2015

On 11th October, Nepal’s Parliament elected K.P.Sharma Oli, the leader of CPN UML, united Stalinist Party in Nepal, to head the newly formed bourgeois democracy, as country’s Prime Minister.

Oli defeated Sushil Koirala of Nepali Congress by securing the support of more than a dozen small parties, that include core right-wing casteist and regionalist parties, from among the 31 represented in Parliament, winning 338 votes against Koirala’s 249.

Last month, Stalinist and Maoist parties have been instrumental in adoption of the constitution, resolving the long standing political crisis in the Himalayan country.

Over the past decade, burning flames of revolution in Nepal were doused by the Nepali bourgeoisie with active assistance and criminal treachery of these parties under Stalinist and Maoist leaders. At the end of the decade, the counter-revolutionary dictatorship of the capitalists and landlords has re-founded itself in the form of a bourgeois republic.

The year 2006 was the climax of the revolutionary struggle of the working and toiling masses of Nepal that wiped out monarchy and the Himalayan kingdom under it. The moment was all set for the working class to take power in Nepal and trigger a revolutionary wave in South-Asia. Army had vapored away at the first blow of the revolution in Kathmandu, the capital city of Nepal and the workers and peasants got armed themselves.

The old regime was however rescued by Maoist leaders, who first delayed the revolution decade after decade on the false pretext of its protracted nature and through isolation of the working class and ultimately beheaded it in their endeavor to cut it short to suit their bogus program of a ‘democratic revolution’. Instead of fighting for power against the powerless capitalist-landlord combine, Maoists led by Prachanda & Co. adhered to Nepali bourgeoisie, to form a coalition, a ‘bloc of all classes’.  The result was- preservation of all medieval structures including the criminal monarch, King Gyanendra himself and the army under him, with mere cosmetic changes. In fact, Monarchy that supervised development of capitalism in Nepal for decades, had grown over peacefully into a bourgeois democracy.

Contrary to all calculations of the Maoist leaders, the peasant war remained incapable of turning over the monarchy, but it provoked a city uprising, a revolutionary upheaval in May 2006, that proved fatal for the regime.

But having no faith in the strength of proletariat, the parties of stalinism and maoism in Nepal, instead of leading the revolution forward, became chief stumbling block in its way and started to drag it back to channels of bourgeois republic.

Revolution in Nepal is almost wiped out. It happened because its leaders equipped with bogus Stalinist program failed to understand that this economically most backward region in south Asia was more than ripe for a proletarian overturn.

The program of Stalinism, based on Menshevik ‘two stage theory’ of revolution stirred the Maoist leaders alongside Stalinists, to oppose any possibility of the working class taking power its own hands. The political worshippers of the routine parliamentary process, stalinists rejected the idea of proletariat taking power in Nepal against the bourgeoisie. The result is establishment of dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, in the form of a bourgeois republic.

“Ours is the democratic revolution” exhorted Maoists, echoed by Stalinists, “thus there is no question for the workers to fight for power. The turn is for a regime of all classes”. Unable to understand the idea of revolutionary democracy and the democratic revolution, these false leaders rejected the idea of working class fighting to take power in its hands.  Nepali bourgeoisie, though thoroughly weak and incapable to even raise its hand to claim the power, grabbed the opportunity, took the power, restabilised the army and pushed aside the workers and toilers from the streets.

Revolution failed in Nepal as the bogus program of Stalinists and Maoists, dragged a century behind the consciousness of the revolutionary masses of workers, youth and peasants.

The Menshevik-Stalinist idea of a coalition government, based on unity of irreconcilable classes of bourgeois and proletariat, was advanced and materialized in Nepal with active connivance and assistance of both Stalinist and Maoist Parties. Instead of seeking an opportunity in the revolutionary upheaval to fight against the capitalist-landlord combine for power of workers and peasants, these leaders of menshevism tied up the working class to the bourgeois and continued themselves to get closer and closer to the regime under it. Without this critical support from Stalinists and Maoists in Nepal, the bourgeoisie could not have doused the flames of revolution, nor could have asserted its power.

Criminal stupidity, treachery and disgusting conservatism of the Stalinist and Maoist leaders in Nepal has blocked the proletariat's path to power. Parties of political opportunism- Stalinism and Maoism- could not and would not dare to take power in their hands in struggle against capitalist-landlord combine, under eternal pretext of 'democratic stage' of revolution. The product everytime thus be the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.

In Nepal, the revolutionary wave receded slowly over time and capitalist regime perfected itself to perpetuate its rule. After pushing the workers and toilers aside, the leaders of menshevism still integrated themselves more closely in service of the bourgeoisie, unfurling red flag to mask the dictatorship of the bourgeois as ‘democratic republic’.    

Before this, Stalinist and Maoist parties had even agreed to the proposal to delete the proclamation of ‘secular’ character of the state from its constitution, a tacit recognition of the country as Hindu religious state.

The bourgeois republic is however marred with new ethnic conflicts and reactionary violence. While other ethnicities continue to struggle for their pie in power, the issue of Madhesis in the south of Nepal has acquired much political significance. Intriguing division of madhesi region into three constituencies, is the bone of contention and wide unrest.

Revolution is taken over by counter-revolution and revolutionary struggles are replaced by reactionary ethnic violence. The power of the workers and peasants that appeared at the pinnacle of the revolutionary struggle in May 2006, has disappeared, paving way for the power of bourgeoisie by default.

This total defeat of the revolution and emergence of the power of the bourgeoisie is being passed on by Stalinists as victory of the democratic revolution. This shameful invoice is being issued to the young cadres trained in the workshops of Stalinism. If this is victory of the revolution, then what the defeat would look like?