Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

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Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
Leader Prachanda
Founded 1994
Headquarters Kathmandu
Official ideology/
political position		 Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, Prachanda Path
International affiliation Revolutionary Internationalist Movement, CCOMPOSA
Website http://www.cpnm.org/

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) (Nepali: नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (माओवादी)) is a Maoist political party in Nepal, founded in 1994 and led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal (otherwise known as Prachanda).

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The CPN (M) was formed following a split in the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) and it used the name 'CPN (Unity Centre)' until 1995. On February 13, 1996 it launched the "Nepalese People's War", and it controlled rural areas of the country's territory before the agreed ceasefire.

A family in a Maoist-controlled valley.
A family in a Maoist-controlled valley.

The party follows the Maoist guerrilla strategy of "people's war" in which they attempt to take gradual control of the countryside to encircle the cities, only fighting with government forces on their own terms when they can significantly outnumber their enemy.

Communism in Nepal
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In 2001, the Nepalese Army began a military campaign against the Maoists, especially in the western areas of the country, although there have been intermittent ceasefires.

The CPN (M) is a member of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement and the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organizations of South Asia.

The Trade union wing of the party is the All Nepal Trade Union Federation (Revolutionary).

The student wing of the party is the All Nepal National Free Students Union (Revolutionary).
'Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and Prachanda Path'. Mural in Kathmandu made by the Madhesi Rashtriya Mukti Morcha
'Long Live Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and Prachanda Path'. Mural in Kathmandu made by the Madhesi Rashtriya Mukti Morcha

The Maoists announced a ‘People's War’ on February 13, 1996, with the slogan "let us march ahead on the path of struggle towards establishing the people's rule by wreaking the reactionary ruling system of state." They strongly believe in the philosophy of Mao Zedong that "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" and that both military and civil power must be closely controlled. They also draw inspiration from the ‘Revolutionary Internationalist Movement’ and Peru's left wing extremist guerrilla movement, the Sendero Luminoso (Shining Path). The radical communist parties from different parts of the world have provided ideological sustenance for the Nepali Maoists. The ‘People's War’ aims to establish a ‘New Democracy’ in Nepal and constitutes a "historical revolt against feudalism, imperialism and so-called reformists." The immediate reason given by the Maoists for declaring the ‘People's War’ was the failure of the Nepalese Government to respond to a memorandum presented by its representatives to Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba on February 4, 1996. The memorandum listed 40 demands related to "nationalism, democracy and livelihood". These included among others the abolition of royal privileges and the promulgation of a new constitution, and the abrogation of the Mahakali treaty with India on the distribution of water and electricity and the delineation of the border between the two countries. CPN(M) upholds 'Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and Prachanda Path', claiming that Prachanda's ideological contributions are an adaptation of Maoism in Nepalese context. It should be noted that in Nepali language, the ideology is called 'Malemabad ra Prachanda Path', Malemabad standing for 'MA(rx)-LE(nin)-MA(o)-ism'.

Maoist rally in Kathmandu
Maoist rally in Kathmandu

The chief of operations of the CPN-M is its Chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal (better known as Comrade Prachanda). He is also Chairman of the ‘Central Committee’, Member of ‘Standing Committee’ and ‘Supreme Commander’ of the People's Liberation Army. Another front ranking leader Baburam Bhattarai heads the political wing of the Maoists called the United People’s Front (UPF). Bhattarai alias Lal Singh @ Jitbir @ Mukti Manab, a ‘Politburo and Standing Committee’ member, is reportedly responsible for planning and foreign affairs, and was co-ordinator of the dialogue team in 2003. According to the Nepal Police Website, he is in-charge of mid central command (since 3rd cc meeting in September 2004). Mohan Pokharel Vaidya @ Kiran @ Agam, a founder of the party and a ‘Politburo and Standing Committee’ member, is widely reported to be the political ideologue and is also in-charge of the Kathmandu valley and eastern central command. Another important Maoist leader is Post Bahadur Bogati @ Diwakar @ Ranadhoj who serves as a ‘Politburo and Standing Committee’ member and is also in- charge of the western central command. Ram Bahadur Thapa alias Badal @ Lakhan @ Bhimsen @ Prem, another ‘Politburo and Standing Committee’ member, is reported to be special central command in-charge. Krishna Bahadur Mahara @ Amar Singh @ Chattan, who acts as the Maoists’ spokesperson, is in-charge of the ‘Foreign Section (India)’.The top-level commanders of the insurgents include among others, Yan Prasad Gautarri alias Alok, Chitranarayan Shrestha, Shashi Shrestha, Hisila Yani, Man Bahadur Mahara, Santhosh Bura, Lekhraj Bhatt, C.P. Gajurel. In the political wing, the important Maoist leaders include, Comrade Parvati (a nom de guerre of Baburam Bhattarai’s wife Hsila Yemi), Matrika Yadav, Deb Bahadur Gurung, Krishna Dhoj Khadka, Rekha Sharma, Rabindra Shrestha, Bamdev Chhetri and Mumaram Khanal. The apex military institution of the Maoists is the Central Military Commission of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists), which was constituted in 1998.

Party People’s Army United Front
Standing committee Central military commission United people's district committees
Politburo Regional military commissions United people's area committee
Central committee Sub-regional military commissions United people's village committees
Regional bureaus (five) District military commissions United people's ward committees
Sub-regional bureaus (in some places special sub-regional bureau) Included in this are: Temporary battalion
District committees Companies
Area committees Platoons
Cell committees Squads (separate people's militias also exist under united village people's committees)

A considerable number of retired Gurkha soldiers of the British and the Indian Army inhabit many of the Maoist-affected areas and Nepalese security agencies have suspected that these former soldiers along with those retired and deserters from the Royal Nepalese Army (RNA) have/are involved in training the insurgents. Government estimates provided in early 2003 on the CPN-M strength indicated that there are approximately 5,500 combatants, 8,000 militia, 4,500 cadres, 33,000 hard core followers, and 200,000 sympathizers. The main fighting and support forces consist of Magars, Tharus, Janjatis (Gurungs, Rais, Limbus, Tamangs, Dalits, Brahmins and Chhetris, the last two also providing the political and military leadership). Among the Maoist fighters – about 60 per cent – are deployed in the mid-west and west in their strongholds. Another 10 per cent are in the far west with around 10 percent in Gorkha, the rest is located in Kathmandu valley and east of it.

Women have been prominent in the recruiting profile. Available reports indicate that one-fifth to one-third of the cadre and combatants may be women. Reportedly, every village has a revolutionary women’s organization. According to a Jane’s Intelligence Review report of October 2001, there are usually two women in each unit of 35-40 men, and they are used to gather intelligence and act as couriers. Baburam Bhattarai was quoted as saying in Spacetime on April 18, 2003, that fifty percent of cadres at the lower level, thirty percent of soldiers and ten percent of members of central committee of the outfit were women. Durgha Pokhrel, Chairman of National Women’s Commission, who visited more than 25 Maoist-affected districts, stated on July 3, 2003, during a talk delivered at the Nepal Council of World Affairs that percentage of women cadres could be as high as forty. A women’s group, the All Nepal Women's Association (Revolutionary), is alleged to be a front outfit of the CPN-M.

The All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union (Revolutionary), or ANNISU-R is the student wing of the Maoists. Its membership comprises students from school to the university level. The general success in all the strikes called by ANNISU-R, especially in the educational institutions, (at present it is also one of the key student organization in the anti-King agitation) shows the strong hold of the organization. According to a report of June 2003, the ANNISU-R comprises approximately 400,000 members.

Reportedly, weaponry in their possession include AK-47 rifles, self-loading rifles, .303 rifles, country guns, hand grenades, explosives, detonators, mortars, and light machine guns. Nearly 85 per cent of these weapons are reportedly looted from the police and RNA.

The guerrillas operate to varying degrees in 68 of the 75 districts that comprise Nepal. Their influence varies between moderate to extreme in these districts. In the districts of Rolpa, Rukum, Jajarkot, Salyan, Pyuthan and Kalikot in mid-western Nepal, Government presence is limited to the district headquarters with the rest of each district under Maoist control. The Nepalese Home Ministry has designated these districts as 'sensitive class A'. Nine districts, namely Dolakha, Ramechhap, Sindhuli, Kavrepalanchowk, Sindhupalchowk, Gorkha, Dang, Surkhet and Achham, are classified as 'Sensitive Class B', while 17 'Sensitive Class C' districts are Khotang, Okhaldhunga, Udaypur, Makwanpur, Lalitpur, Nuwakot, Dhading, Tanahu, Lamjung, Parbat, Baglung, Gulmi, Arghakhachi, Bardiya, Dailekh, Jumla and Dolpa. The Maoist insurgency initially commenced in the three districts of Rolpa, Rukum and Jajarkot and eventually spread throughout Nepal. Maoists have very strong bases in Western and mid-Western region and partially in Eastern region.

According to available information, the Maoists of Nepal have well-established linkages with Indian left-wing extremist organizations, primarily with the People’s War Group (PWG) and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC). The first signs of contacts were reportedly registered during 1989-1990, when the two groups started collaborating in order to expand their influence. Towards this end, they began the process of laying a corridor, which is now widely referred to as the Revolutionary Corridor (RC) extending from Nepal to across six Indian States, including Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. This entire area has been identified in Maoist literature as the Compact Revolutionary Zone (CRZ). The CRZ was organized by the Nepal and Indian members of the Naxalite (the popular term for left-wing extremism in India- the movement originated in Naxalbari [hence the term Naxal] in the State of West Bengal in the late 1960s) Movement, in a meeting at Siliguri in the Indian State of West Bengal during August 2001.

Gradually, the interaction between Maoist insurgents and the PWG increased with the sharing of knowledge about guerilla warfare, bomb manufacturing techniques and arms training. Nepalese Maoists had sent their delegates to the March 2001 Congress of PWG held at Abuz Marh in the Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. The establishment of CRZ gave a wider space and platform for all the proscribed Nepal and Indian left-wing extremist organizations to strengthen their bases in both the countries.


The more radical forces in South Asia, including both the PWG and Nepalese Maoists, are members of the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM). In July 2001, about 10 extreme Left Wing (Maoist) groups in South Asia formed the Coordination Committee of Maoist Parties and Organization of South Asia (CCOMPOSA), in which the Nepalese Maoists, PWG, MCC, Purbo Banglar Movement (Bangladesh), Communist Party of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and other Indian left-wing extremist parties became members. The appearance of graffiti in remote villages in Naxalite-strongholds, in Rayakal and Mallapur mandals (administrative unit) of Karimnagar district in Andhra Pradesh, hailing CCOMPOSA points the spread of the idea of a common front of left-wing extremist groups in South Asia. Moreover, the Central Committee of the Maoists, in late-January 2002, passed a resolution stating that it would work together with the PWG and the MCC in fighting the ban imposed on the latter two organisations in India, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002. A year earlier, in 2001, the Maoists had sent a senior leader named Gaurav as a fraternal delegate to attend the 9th Congress of the PWG. Reports indicate that the Maoists and the PWG have also formed the Indo-Nepal Border Region Committee to coordinate their activities in North Bihar and along the India-Nepal border.

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The U.S. Department of State has placed the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on its list of Specially Designated Nationals (SDN list), and has sent $20 million in aid to the government of Nepal. Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell met with the Nepalese government in 2002, the first U.S. cabinet-level delegation to visit the Himalayan nation.

In August 2005, the European Union condemned CPN(M) for using children as soldiers in the civil war of Nepal. It claimed that about 400 child soldiers had died in the country's civil war. The CPN-M responds that while it cares for orphans among those killed in the war, this is different in kind from having child soldiers.

The post-Mao People's Republic of China also opposes the group as a destabilizing force in the region. The Maoist rebels, like Maoists internationally, accuse the PRC of restoring capitalism in the formerly socialist nation. Few modern communist parties today consider the PRC to be a socialist state any longer. China aided the monarchy until the spring 2006 popular uprising. India had provided the Nepali government with aid to combat the insurgency and is currently holding two commanders of the CPN-M in jail. The government of India has also engaged in negotiations with CPN-M leadership. The CPN-M is politically allied with the Communist Party of India (Maoist), an organization waging a revolutionary war against the Indian government and social structure.

In 2004, a small group split from the CPN(M) to form Janatantric Terai Mukti Morcha.

  • Jun 16, 2006 - The CPN (M) signed a 12 point agreement with the Seven Party Alliance in order to further the Loktantra Andolan. Following this, a three month ceasefire was declared yet the process of 'forced donations' is alleged to be continuing.
  • Jan 14, 2007 - The new 330-seat parliament, including 83 Maoists, was sworn-in after the cabinet approved an interim constitution.[1]
  • April 1, 2007 - A new government is sworn in,[3] with five Maoist ministers and one junior minister.[4] The Maoists were placed in charge of the ministries of information, local development, planning and works, forestry, and women and children.[3]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

  1. ^ Nepal Maoists join parliament after 10 years of war - AFP
  2. ^ US condemns Gaur massacre
  3. ^ a b "Nepal swears Maoists into cabinet", BBC News, April 1, 2007.
  4. ^ "6 Former Rebels Join Nepal's Government", Associated Press (CBS News), April 1, 2007.
  5. ^ "Maoists quit govt; announce protest movement", Nepalnews.com, September 18, 2007.

http://www.satp.org/satporgtp/countries/nepal/terroristoutfits/index.html >

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