Revolutionary dreams of Nepal – a photoessay

[Years of the revolutionary People’s War in Nepal raised the sights and dreams of millions throughout the country, as well as throughout South Asia and around the world.  Peasants in rural areas marched to the fore, battling feudal and semi-feudal oppression and state repression with bold efforts to reshape the society, drawing rich lessons and strategic thought from Maoism.  The People’s Liberation Army was a powerful force, a work-in-progress, until the leadership of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) reversed course, abandoned the rural struggles and liberation zones, moved to the city (Kathmandu), bought into parliamentary-electoral post-revolutionary enticements in a dramatic peace/surrender, and dismantled and dispersed the PLA fighters.  The betrayal was lauded by regional powers like India and Western imperialists and neo-colonialists alike.  The following photo-essay on the former PLA fighters of Nepal brings to mind the famous poem by Langston Hughes:

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up

like a raisin in the sun?

Or fester like a sore–

And then run?:

Does it stink like rotten meat?

Or crust and sugar over–

like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags

like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

What happens to a revolution deferred? “Revolutionary dreams of Nepal—a photoessay” from Nepal by Pooja Pant and Bikkil Sthapit is now part of a traveling exhibition and published online in Raiot.in. —  Frontlines ed.]

June 17, 2016 / Pooja Pant & Bikkil Sthapit

I fell in love with my husband in the camp because he didn’t speak too much. We got the approval from our commander and married two years later. Now we both talk about how the leadership betrayed us.

Janaki Bhatta – Accham, currently living in Lamki, Kailali running a hotel

I get depressed when I look at my personal situation, my party’s situation and my society’s situation. A part of me has tied my dreams, my anger, my fire that I had as a Maoist fighter in a handkerchief and put them aside and another part of me has to work and make a living.

Ishwor Timilsina – Kuika, Accham, currently living in Lamki, Kailali runs a small hotel

Prachanda Interview Full of Illusions and Promises to Play by the Rules of Bourgeois Politics

[This interview with Prachanda in the June 2010 Red Star continues to promote the illusion that the Nepal Army can be “democratized” by a new Maoist-led government.  He says the party leadership will press to include the People’s Liberation Army as a “separate force” in the army, when in fact he has been engaged in intensive negotiations with the reactionary Nepali Congress and UML parties to integrate 3000-5000 PLA members (out of 19,000) into the army. He reaffirms that the party is not restoring the people’s governments in the countryside, and states that the main task is to take the peace process to the end.  This is in direct opposition to the need to re-establish the people’s war and re-launch the new democratic revolution in Nepal-ed.].

“The Government Must Be Formed Under the Leadership of Our Party”

By Prachanda, Chairman, Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist

The Politburo meeting that was held for the long time has decided that it will lead the national united government. If it’s sure that the national united government will be formed, who will be the prime minister?

The politburo meeting has decided that national unity government must be formed under the leadership of UCPN (M). When the time comes to form that government our part will finalise about the leadership. We didn’t discuss it this time. The main focus is that the government must be formed under the leadership of our party. It’s the party that counts not the person.

Your party has been demanding the formation of national united government. There are talks of majority government too. Are both the options open?

Both of the options are open. But, we also discussed about the possibility of the national unity government in the politburo meeting. We came to the conclusion that the possibility of a national unity government is getting weaker. Taking this situation into account, we have decided to remain prepared for both options.