All is not well for India in Nepal where the shadow of China and Indian Naxalites looms
Interesting times ahead as China is extending Railway line from Lhasa to the Nepal border
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, August 30, 2006 - The Indian rulers are in a tizzy over an interview given to BBC's Nepali service program, by Nepal's powerful Maoist supremo Prachanda, in which he has said that the people of Kashmir should be given the right to self-determination to resolve the problem. Prachanda also said the same right should be given to people in India's North-eastern states. He did not mention right to self-determination for the Sikhs in Punjab, Khalistan. Perhaps the interviewer forgot to ask. We are sure he will have no problem in endorsing that too.Prachanda born Pushpa Kamal Dahal in Chitwan, Nepal, in1954, is the powerful revolutionary leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) CPN (M), a Nepalese political party. The CPN (M) leads the Nepalese People's Army, of which Prachanda is the supreme leader. He is called Nepal's 'Che Guevara' the famous Argentine-born Marxist, leader of Cuban and internationalist guerrillas in South America. Under Prachanda's leadership, the CPN (M) launched the Nepalese People's War on the 13th of February 1996. His party - mustering over 30, 000 men/women under arms - now controls large portions of land-locked Nepal (area 54, 363 sq miles or over one hundred forty thousand sq. kilometers; population over 27 million; 86% Hindu, 8% Buddhists and 4% Muslims) sandwiched between China and India. Prachanda's extension of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism to take specific account of Nepal's grim situation is known as the Prachanda Path. Prachanda takes the strategy of Shining Path insurrection in Peru, South America, as an important point of reference, along with the Chinese Revolution. "Prachanda" is a nom de guerre along the lines of "Pancho Villa," "H? Chí Minh," or "Subcomandante Marcos." The word can be literally translated as "the fierce one."
In April 2006 the Nepalese general strike and mass protests in Kathmandu, and elsewhere, mostly led and organized by Prachanda's party workers forced King Gyanendra to give up the personal rule and restore the parliament that he had earlier dissolved in May 2002. After that a new government was established in Nepal by the Seven-Party Alliance, under 85 years old Prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, under Indian patronage. The parliament and new government supported a ceasefire and asked for negotiations with Prachanda on the basis of the twelve-point agreement. The two sides agreed that a new constituent assembly must be elected, it must write a new constitution, and the king's grip on power must be ended within three months. The Maoists want this process to end with Nepal becoming a republic while Koirala wants a weak monarch. Prachanda met for talks with Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, on June 16, 2006. That meeting resulted in an agreement to dissolve parliament, incorporate the CPN (M) into a new interim government, drafting of a new constitution, and the dissolution of the CPN (M)'s "people's governments" in the countryside. The two sides also agreed to disarm at a later date, under international supervision. Three months have already passed with nothing much to show! Many are skeptical of Prachanda's call for a multi-party democracy as it does not seem to be compatible with orthodox Maoist ideology and it would entail the disarming of over 30, 000 armed party workers of Parchanda's party. This is highly unlikely, as who is going to do it?.
According to a front page story headlined, “Prachanda and the politics of Kashmir”, by IE, (www.indianexpress.com/story/11556.html) published in the Indian Express newspaper yesterday, New Delhi is getting worried as India enjoys a strange and wary relationship with Prachanda and the Communist Party of Nepal. The Nepalese Communists bracket India as an ally of the US which makes it a natural enemy of the 'revolutionaries' despite the fact that India has been home to most Maoist leaders for the past 11 years of insurgency. Last November the Indian establishment brought the Maoists and Nepal's seven-party alliance together after the rebels pledged to join competitive parliamentary politics which saw the Prachanda's party toning down their rabidly anti-Indian stance.
New Delhi's reaction to this sudden support for self determination by Prachanda - in fascist India talk of self determination for captive 'nations'is treason - is not known but, the newspaper predicts that the statements will certainly not go unnoticed. “Perhaps”, the newspaper speculates, “Prachanda's main interest may seem to be to generate some kind of reaction. But why did he choose to comment on something (like Kashmir) which Nepal has long considered an 'internal matter' of India? One explanation is that Prachanda, faced with doubts over his party's anti-imperialist and anti-feudal credentials after pursuing 'politics of compromise' with Indian assistance, felt the need to dispel the impression effectively. What could be a better way of doing things than what he did?”
The newspaper further speculates that, “Maoists in Nepal who are engaged in dialogue with the government in search of a negotiated settlement of the insurgency, that has already taken a toll of around 13,000 lives, have said they would not go back to the jungle even if the talk fails. They know, more than anyone else, that they cannot resume activities in India as they had when the anti-Royal political movement was gathering steam, with full Indian support.” The newspaper forgets that Parchanda and his cadres don't need any permission from any government to coordinate with the Indian Naxalites who rule the roost in two hundred fifty districts of India and are getting stronger by the day and are quite capable of hosting a few thousand Nepalese Comrades.
The paper goes on to say that, “Encouraging Maoists to be part of the competitive parliamentary party system was part of that plan. But India is also insisting that the Maoists should not be included in the interim Government till they have laid down their arms. This, Prachanda feels, is a betrayal by India. And on this pre-condition, Maoists also see India moving closer, in alliance with the US, to retain the Monarchy, something the rebels want to uproot once and for all. Even Prime Minister Koirala was accused by the Maoists of having followed a "diktat" from these two countries when he said he wants the 'ceremonial monarchy' to retain some space.” When one speaks of monarchy it is the 90, 000 Royal army behind the throne, everyone is talking and thinking about.The newspaper concludes by day dreaming that, “it would be interesting to see if Prachanda sticks to his opinion on Kashmir and north-east once the decks are cleared for his party's entry into the interim Government.”
What the nervous writer of the Indian Express newspaper has not mentioned is that perhaps Prachanda, a visionary and a genuine revolutionary genuinely feels that self determination is essential for progress not only for the people of Kashmir and the North Eastern states, but also for the areas (250 districts in India with ongoing insurgency) where Naxalites are getting firmly established and Nepal itself. Self determination in Nepal specially will allow them to look forward to a better tomorrow free from the evil exploitive nexus of the King, the Brahman and the Bania and interference from India.
The Chinese are watching closely and they will never allow an Indian putsch, like the one carried out in the 1970's against the Sikkim ruler, as Nepal is of great importance to the Chinese in Tibet where they have just built a strategic railroad which connects Lhasa in Tibet, over the 'roof of the world' to every city in China. Perhaps Parchanda has received an assurance of support (via the Chinese Foreign minister who visited Nepal recently) of support from their administration in Tibet for any confrontation with India. Last week the Chinese announced that they are extending a railway line from Lhasa to the Nepal border.
One can expect some interesting times ahead in the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal, Nagalim and the captive Mongoloid states of Eastern India.