"Support the struggle for a Democratic Nepal "

"Oppose Indian Government's Military Support to Monarchy"

On the 1st of February 2005, King Gyanendra of Nepal dismissed the Deuba Government and declared Emergency. Many ministers of the dismissed Government were detained, censorship choked the press, telephone communication in the country was cut, and all protest was banned. Journalists were arrested, while protesting students were sought to be stifled by army bullets and repression. It was undeniably, a black day indeed for democratic rights in Nepal. Under the leadership of Gyanendra, the Nepal Army imposed a military dictatorship on the country, and the monarchy took over complete state power. It is actually the anti people Nepal monarchy out to crush the people's movement for a democratic Nepal under army boots.

Gyanendra has claimed that he has dismissed the Deuba Govt. for its failure to crush the armed struggle led by the CPN (Maoists) and to hold elections by March 2005. The puppet govt. set up by Gyanendra has decided to take three years to achieve the same ends! It is clear that by this step of Gyanendra, the army apparatus led by the Monarchy is directly confronting the democratic struggle of the people of Nepal.

King Gyanendra’s steps are premeditated. He has calculated that after some show of condemnation, Govts. of America, India and other countries would continue to help him against the CPN (Maoist). He had closed down two offices of the Dalai Lama in Nepal to win China’s support. China responded by calling the events in Nepal the internal affairs of that country.

 "Reaction of Indian Government"

Opposing Gyanendra’s move, the Indian Govt. pointed to it as one reason why PM Manmohan Singh would not attend the scheduled SAARC summit in Bangladesh. The SAARC summit was cancelled. Opposing Gyanendra’s royal proclamation the ruling parties at the Centre called for restoration of democracy. The reality is that the Nepal monarchy is existing on the strength of the military and economic backing of America and India. Despite all its condemnation of Gyanendra's proclamation the Indian Govt. has not recalled its military advisors from Nepal. Reports suggest that Indian Govt. had prior knowledge of Gyanendra’s move and intentionally remained silent. In the face of these facts, the ‘opposition’ by Indian Govt. of Gyanendra’s announcement is nothing but a sham and a shedding of crocodile tears. By this it wanted to satisfy CPI – CPM who are participants in the ruling alliance, as CPN (UML), the fraternal party of these two, was a participant in dismissed Deuba Government.

Similarly, while the Secretary General of UN, and Govts. of Britain and America have called Gyanendra’s step a ‘setback’ to ‘democratic rights’, the two Govts have not announced even any dilution in the military assistance being provided by them to it.

 "Nepal at the Cross Roads"

Today, our neighbouring country Nepal stands at the crossroads. The centuries old feudal monarchy is being challenged by people’s struggles, which seek to establish a democratic Nepal and to overthrow the monarchy. The struggle of the Nepalese people against autocratic, military-feudal monarchy, going on for several decades, has gone through many phases. This struggle is today in a situation where revolutionary forces are militarily challenging the feudal monarchy. Frightened at the prospect, reactionary govts. as of America and India have rallied in the monarchy’s support. The immediate issue for them is to crush the revolutionary movement advancing in the Himalayan mountains and the terai regions.

Many types of forces are active in the sociopolitical life of Nepal. On one side is the coterie of the big landlords and army officers under the leadership of monarchy. This coterie of big feudals, moneybags and army officers associated with the Shah and Rana families wants to keep Nepal under medieval feudal rule under the banner of monarchy. It wants full control over the state doing away with the rights won by peoples’ struggles. They want to stop the advancing steps of history and society and to save their rule with the help of army repression. The feudal monarchy under the flag of Hindu religion is opposed by all working people, oppressed nationalities and indigenous people of Nepal. The student community of Nepal has long been active in the struggle against monarchy.

The forces which are challenging the feudal-military coterie led by the monarchy can be divided into two major camps. The People’s War launched by the CPN (Maoist) on 13 th February 1996 has extended its influence over a large area of Nepal and is established as a major force on the political scene of Nepal. The rulers of Nepal are unable to hold elections without securing agreement of the CPN (Maoist). In the past few years CPN (Maoist) has come to the centre of Nepal’s political stage and the People’s War under its leadership is a major force against the feudal-military monarchy of Nepal.

The other camp consists of those forces which want a parliamentary democracy in Nepal. There are differences even among these. While there are the supporters of limited parliamentary system under constitutional monarchy as was brought about by 1990-'91 movement, there are also those who are prepared to accept even further restriction of parliament under the current monarchy. Nepali Congress under Koirala and Jan Morcha (led by CPN (Mashal-Unity Centre)) have been opposed to Gyanendra's moves, whereas Nepali Congress (Democratic) under Deuba and CPN (UML) have supported cooperation with the Gyanendra monarchy. In June 2002, Gyanendra had dismissed the then Deuba government and dissolved the House of Representatives. After this, over a two year period, monarchy supporters like Surya Bahadur Thapa and Lokendra Bahadur Chand were appointed Prime Ministers. The Nepali Congress, UML, Jan Morcha and some other parties took up a joint struggle for reconvening of the House of Representatives. In June 2004, without reconvening the Representatives Assembly, Gyanendra appointed Deuba as Prime Minister. UML discarded the struggle for reconvening the Assembly and joined the Deuba government. This exposed the opportunist character of CPN (UML) and weakened the struggle for reconvening the Assembly. Without Representative Assembly, the Deuba-UML Government existed at the mercies of Gyanendra.

The usurpation of full state power by the Gyanendra led army-feudal coterie has brought a new turn to politics in Nepal. This is a serious challenge to the anti-monarchy forces of Nepal. Undoubtedly, if these forces unite against the monarchy it is not possible for the ruling Gyanendra clique to survive in power for long. But the division in the anti-monarchy forces of Nepal is a reality and the Gyanendra ruling clique is using this to its own fullest advantage. The UML, which had no compunction about joining hands with Gyanendra, is not ready for a joint struggle with CPN (Maoist) against the monarchy. The experience of Nepal is once more substantiating that revisionists are agents of the ruling classes and they do not hesitate to join hands with reactionaries once revolutionary forces become strong.

"Restoration of Democracy versus Democratic Nepal"

Revisionists in India – CPI, CPM, Liberation – and some NGOs have raised the demand for restoration of democracy in Nepal. By this they want to imply that what was in place before dismissal of Deuba Government was democracy. This has no relation with the reality of Nepal’s situation.

While discussing democracy in Nepal two recent important incidents must be kept in mind which have influenced Nepal’s politics to a large extent in the past 15 years. In 1990, the anti-monarchy people’s struggle finished off the Panchayat system tended by the monarchy and restored multi-party parliamentary system in place (the multi-party system had functioned  for some time in 1959). This glorious people’s movement dealt a severe blow to the autocratic rule of the monarchy. However, while this struggle forced the monarchy to retreat, it did not defeat it. In the Constitution made subsequent to the people’s struggle the entire control over the Royal Nepal Army was left in the hands of the monarch. The Constitution also gave the monarch unbridled rights to dismiss governments. While the establishment of multiparty system was a remarkable victory for the people it was not the end of the autocratic monarchy. The role of the king in Nepal did not become one of constitutional monarchy, and the monarch continues to enjoy many executive rights. In this situation the respect by the king of the multiparty system came up as an important issue.

The next important event after the institution (or restoration) of multiparty system came in June 2001 when the reigning King Birendra and his entire family were killed. In this royal palace coup Gyanendra became the new king. A deep conspiracy with foreign support behind the killing of Birendra and his entire family was apparent. (Many fingers were pointed at Gyanendra and his son in the context of the regicide.) No investigation was held into this dastardly regicide because all issues pertaining to the royal family are under a royal council which in turn is controlled by the royal family. The new king, Gyanendra, has been in favour of an autocratic monarchy and of crushing people’s struggles under army boots.

There was a lot of opposition by the people to the regicide. Larger section of the people were not ready to accept Gyanendra as king. It was the appropriate time to intensify struggle to finish off the monarchy. But the parliamentary parties, especially the Nepali Congress and the CPN (UML), holding that the entire events were an internal matter of the royal family, refused to direct the people’s anger against Gyanendra. Thus a good opportunity for doing away with monarchy was lost by the main parliamentary parties. Behind their stand was their appreciation that crushing CPN(Maoist) was more important than overthrowing monarchy even with Gyanendra as king. They had reproached King Birendra for not allowing full use of Army against the CPN(Maoist) and this opposition they shared with Gyanendra and leading Army figures. On his part, Gyanendra was eager to use the weakness of the 1991 Constitution and especially also his own control over the Nepali Army to re-establish an autocratic monarchy. The current royal announcement is in reality a full take over of state power by the Army under the leadership of Gyanendra. He has moved towards this in a systematic manner over the past four years. The announcement of 1st February 2005 is the last step of this plan of Gyanendra.

From the above facts it is clearly understandable that the real question in Nepal is not of re-establishment of democracy but of building a democratic Nepal by finishing off the autocratic monarchy. Forming Deuba – UML Government last June without reviving the House of Representatives was not a restoration of democracy but a mockery of it. The dismissal of the Deuba – UML Government by Gyanendra definitely is a condemnable attempt by the feudal army backed monarchy to restore a medieval, barbaric monarchy in the 21st century. But the response to this cannot be the mockery of a multiparty parliamentary system under the Gyanendra monarchy but building of a genuinely democratic Nepal with the people of Nepal having the right to give it a concrete form.

While the slogan in Nepal of “restoration of democracy” i.e., restoration of Deuba-UML Government, may sound timely but in the political reality of Nepal this is a regressive slogan. Those people who are supporting it unknowingly, are unaware of the strength of the democratic struggle of the Nepali people, are unaware of the breadth and strength of this struggle and democratic aspirations of people of Nepal. They are also unaware of the real strength of the monarchy in Nepal i.e. Royal Nepal Army and of the opposition of the large sections of masses to it.

The Hindutva forces like RSS, VHP, BJP are out to support the ‘Hindu’ king Gyanendra. They are eager to extend support of Indian Hindus to the Hindu king of Nepal though they can do so only on behalf of hardcore RSS supporters as the overwhelming majority of Indian people sympathize with anti-monarchy struggle of people of Nepal. On the other hand, sections of Indian ruling classes are deliberately raising this slogan of "restoration of democracy". The raising of this demand by CPM-CPI and other revisionist parties is a conscious attempt. The rulers of India especially the ruling Congress and the revisionist parties want that the monarchy, the Nepali Congress and UML should share a platform against the people’s war under the leadership of CPN (Maoist). It is noteworthy that the revisionist parties have not even demanded that the Indian government (which exists on their support) should recall military advisors from Nepal. On the other hand, the people of Nepal hope that the parliamentary parties and the CPN (Maoist) will come together on one platform against the Gyanendra monarchy. The ruling alliance in India wants that the multiparty system be restored under the aegis of the monarchy in Nepal. On the other hand, the people of Nepal want that the parliamentary parties and the revolutionary forces together finish off the monarchy. The ruling alliance in India and the governments of imperialist countries want that the parliamentary parties and the monarchy should together crush the people’s war under the leadership of CPN (Maoist); their real targets are the continually strengthening revolutionary forces of Nepal. On the other hand the urgent need of the struggle for a democratic Nepal is for finishing off the Gyanendra monarchy by bringing the revolutionary forces and the parliamentary parties together. Their real target is the monarchy, whose real strength is its control over the Nepali Army.

“Restoration of Democracy” and “Democratic Nepal” – these two slogans are inspired by two different aims, at their root are two different understandings of the forward march of Nepal’s society, there are two differing class perspectives. One perspective wants to isolate the monarchy in Nepal and finish off this medieval feudal army machinery. This is a progressive perspective for the society of Nepal. The other perspective wants to isolate the revolutionary forces especially CPN (Maoist) and finish them off. This is a regressive perspective about Nepal’s society.

In today’s world, American imperialism and its allies have launched a war against the world people in the name of “war against terrorism”. An important aspect of this is to crush revolutionary movements world over, especially those in the third world countries. The reactionary rulers of India essentially are following this American plan, though due to the contradictions between imperialist countries, there are differences on some points. American imperialism and its followers support the most reactionary sections of the third world countries in order to crush the revolutionary forces. Those who praise ‘democracy’ have no qualms about supporting Gyanendra. The support extended by America and its allied imperialist countries to Emirs and Sultans in Middle East is evident throughout the world. The ruling classes of India also are extending their support to the imperialist drive. Support to the monarchy in Nepal is part of this support. They want to ally some parliamentary parties with monarchy.

"Tasks of the Progressive & Democratic Forces of India"

The usurpation of full state power by the Gyanendra monarchy in Nepal has placed before the progressive and democratic forces of India the task of supporting the struggle against monarchy in Nepal. The struggle for a democratic Nepal is an inalienable part of the revolutionary struggles of the world people especially the people of South Asia. There are strong historical and cultural ties between the people of India and of Nepal. Nepali citizens live in India and Indians live in Nepal in large numbers, for their livelihood. The people of India and of Nepal have a long tradition of support to each other in struggles.

Today when the people of Nepal are fighting against the attacks of Gyanendra monarchy, it is the duty of progressive and democratic forces of India that they support the struggle for finishing off monarchy and establishing of a democratic Nepal. It should be demanded of the Indian Government that the military advisors to Nepal be recalled. A strong and broad based people’s movement should be built in support of these demands. All forces supporting struggle for democratic Nepal should come together and raise these demands.

The step taken on 1st February 2005 by the Gyanendra monarchy will prove to be the last nail in the coffin of the feudal-military monarchy. The ruling Gyanendra clique and their reactionary supporters cannot stop the forward march of the struggle of the people of Nepal. They will surely try to do so, they will increase the burdens and difficulties of the people of Nepal but these efforts of theirs will as surely fail. This is because the people of Nepal will not allow them to succeed. The forward march of history, the tide of the democratic struggle of the people cannot be stopped by reactionary rulers. The progressive and democratic forces of India will support this struggle.