The Future of the Communist Movement

The dominance of the Communists in the ruling power is maintained in various ways, while Communism has been established as the most influential ideology in the public mind. This is where the favorable ground for communists, both peaceful and armed, is seen. The main contribution of communists is in establishing the issue of economic-social transformation and gaining acceptance in Nepali society. Even the Nepali Congress, which once hesitated to cooperate with the Communists in a joint struggle against the Panchayat system, could not stay away from the Left agenda. Undoubtedly, communist parties have played a role in making issues like republicanism, federalism, secularism, proportionality/inclusion acceptable as a national agenda.

When the Communist Party, which is strong in different parts of the world, is weak, and the communists who participated in peaceful politics could not attract attention, why did the communist movement develop as a strong and popular force in Nepal? If the party and the movement were to be strong on the basis of promoting ideas only or on the basis of having an influential leader, the communists would be stronger in other countries than in Nepal. The main reason why the communists could develop themselves as a popular force in Nepal is that they have focused on three issues since their inception - democracy, nationalism and people's livelihood.

In Nepal, the communist movement and the democratic movement have proved to be complementary to each other. Communists started their journey by participating in elections in Nepal when there was a feeling that communists do not believe in competition, they believe in force (bullet) and not in election (ballot) and they are practicing accordingly. Communists participated and won in the elections held for the first time (2010, Kathmandu city) and won four seats in the parliamentary elections held for the first time in 2015. Even when the Congress chose to leave the country during the Panchayat period, most of the communists remained inside the country. So much so that the CPN (Malay) succeeded in sending five people's representatives to the parliament to destroy the panchayat in the 2043 national panchayat election with the policy of using the panchayat in favor of the people.

In the local panchayat elections of 2044, about 20 thousand candidates were raised and more than 10 thousand won. From the 4th Congress held in 2046, taking the policy of co-operating with the Congress and carrying out the anti-panchayat movement, the multi-party democracy of the people under the leadership of Madan Bhandari directed the communists to go among the people, win their hearts and test themselves. This strategy, which was carried out with courage when the communist powers were collapsing, played a decisive role in establishing the communists as an acceptable force in Nepal.

As Karl Marx said that by synthesizing Hegel's dialectic and Faibach's materialism, which was walking with his head, he made himself walk with his feet, the path shown by Bhandari through the new formulation of the people's multi-party democracy has brought the confused communists to this point. However, from Europe to Asia, the concept of participating in the Communist Party elections has not come before that. However, Nepal has added a new dimension to the world communist movement due to the fact that it has developed to the level of commitment by understanding the challenges that appeared when trying to win the election with tactics. In no other country in the world has the history of the Communist Party coming to power through elections.

Communists say that without the 'concrete analysis of the concrete situation', the armed struggle carried out by the Maoists has been immersed in peaceful politics. The Maoist "people's war", which was criticized as an "extremist insurgency" among the communists, had no chance of winning. The success of the communists through peaceful politics also played a role in avoiding total defeat. The peaceful landing of the 'People's War', which was declared by ignoring issues such as geopolitical sensitivity, national strength of the country, and the global defensive situation of the communist ideology, now confirms that there is no other way forward for any communist in Nepal other than the multi-party democracy of the people, which was put forward by the people's leader Madan Bhandari. The Maoist movement, which started with the ideals and name of Mao, who believed only in guns, has come to an exhausting stop through 'Prachandapath', 'Development of democracy in the twenty-first century', and 'people's democracy'. There is no other future for communists in Nepal except a peaceful and democratic path. has established that.

75 years is not a short time for any movement. A country that barely gained independence 75 years ago has become a model in the world today. For us, all the time in between has been spent in political struggle. The parties born from the womb of the Rana regime were not mature and had to fall under the wrath of King Mahendra in 2017. Even after the change of 2046, the country could not get stability. On the foundation of instability, chaos and incompetence, King Gyanendra opened the throat of democracy in two installments on 18 October 2059 and 19 January 2061. Although it was punished by abolishing the 240-year-old monarchy on June 15, 2065, public opinion has increased to look critically at the 15 years since then. Being the builders of Nepal's political change and new system, even the Communists cannot run away from the question. Communists who have produced presidents, vice presidents, 6 prime ministers, hundreds of ministers, chief ministers, MPs and ward presidents are not allowed to get away with blaming others for the country's lack of development. The new generation cannot be satisfied without answering the question of how the Communists, who are active in dividing themselves and accusing each other, will build a strong system and a strong nation.

KP Sharma Oli-led government, formed on the foundation of two-thirds of the votes obtained by an alliance between two communist parties in the 2074 election, can only fulfill the hopes raised by it, then we can reach a new stage of leading people's livelihood, i.e. prosperity. Also, while the communists are being accused of only showing dreams, some basic level-centered concepts and some 'game changer' projects put forward by the only communist government with a complete majority so far have not raised the hope of prosperity. However, both the government and the party could not avoid the conflict between the developed situation and the leaders' mindset. Even though he tried to return to the old situation after three years after losing a strong opportunity, with poor maths, he has to pay the price by falling to the frog.

As much as Pushpalal Shrestha's contribution in planting the seeds of Communist Party in Nepal, Madan Bhandari's contribution in growing and growing it. Because even Pushpalal himself could not keep the Communist Party together, could not create a movement within the country. There is no doubt that Bhandari united with a new line of thought in the background of the wave created by the Jhapa movement in the communist movement which was a victim of the clash of personalities of the first generation leaders Pushpalal, Manmohan Adhikari, Mohanvikram Singh, Shambhuram Shrestha, Nirmal Lama, Narayanman Bijukche etc. If in 2048 the strategy of boycotting the elections like Mohanvikram Singh's or keeping the party underground like Pushpa Kamal Dahal's and contesting the elections through fronts, it would not have been possible for the Communist Party in Nepal to rise above the level of Masal. The world-famous American newspaper 'Newsweek' presented Bhandari as Karl Marx under the title 'In Nepal, Karl Marx Lives' because he was able to popularize the Communist Party by tearing apart the accusations from 'revisionists', 'opportunists' to 'right-wing' for adopting a policy that is true to the competition. The interview was printed. Bhandari's contribution in globalizing the communist movement of Nepal is recorded in history.

Communism is not a philosophy of poverty. Deng Xiaoping was criticized for saying that whether a cat is white or black, it must kill a mouse. Today, communists in Nepal are not only in the place of asking questions, they are also in the place of giving answers. The ideals of yesterday, the sad days of underground life, the adventure stories of prison breaks, contributions to the movement, martyrdom are definitely the foundations of our democratic change. However, today's generation is not satisfied with hearing that much. A child born after the Maoist peace process in 2063 has become an adult citizen today. Why should a youth with a beautiful dream of a distant future in his eyes, a burning flame of dissatisfaction in his heart and an unpleasant certificate of unemployment in his hand choose the Communist Party today? It would be one thing to say that my grandparents were involved in this, but the main question is - how capable are the communists to address the issues raised today and can they attract the youth? Moreover, the 'file promotion' trend prevalent within the party is repelling rather than attracting the young generation. Mohan Vikram Singh, who became the Chief Minister of Spices at the age of 90, was offended when it was written that he had taken office for the 'sixteenth time.'

In Nepal, which is in a sensitive geopolitical position, the Communist Party has positioned itself as the guardian of nationalism from the beginning. From the opposition to the agreement between Rana, Congress and India in Delhi in 2007, the policy of national self-respect adopted by the Communist Party has attracted the people. Loving one's country, cautioning against oppression by others and standing in the forefront against any move that harms nationalism has become the characteristic of the Communists of Nepal. Being situated between two great powers, creating a nationalist mentality among the people here and giving priority to their nation based on that is not just a political issue, it is patriotism. Even though some communist parties have deviated from this from time to time, the basic trend of Nepal's communist movement is clear from the beginning. Since the first leaflet of the CPN issued after the establishment of the party, the Communists have been maintaining a consistent stand on it.

After 25 years, Nepal's communist movement will cross a century. What is the result of the debate that has been going on for a hundred years for progress, economic-social change and ensuring people's livelihood by looking at the indicators? In order to make the communist movement long-lived, people will not feel the difference between the communist and other parties if they do not make plans and implement them while the communist parties are in power under the leadership of the communist party leaders. At this time of celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, the communists can prove their justification only by assessing and finding solutions to the questions that may arise when the centenary is celebrated after 25 years.

– Rizal is a central member of UML.