Part 2

One Year of People's War in Nepal

From The Worker

Revolutionary Worker #912, June 22, 1997

Over a year ago, the red flag of people's war was raised in Nepal. In February 1996 the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)--a participating party in the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement--opened a new and liberating chapter in the history of that country by launching a protracted people's war. Issue No. 3 of The Worker, published by the CPN(M), contains summations of the first year of the war and other important articles. The following is the second part of one of the articles from that issue. The first part, which appeared in RW #911, gave some background to the struggle in Nepal and analyzed the First Plan of the people's war.

THE SECOND PLAN:
Planned Development of Guerrilla Warfare

The basic objective of the Second Plan was to develop guerrilla warfare in a planned manner so as to prepare grounds to convert specific areas into Guerrilla Zones in the near future. For this the emphasis would be on creating radicalized (or militarized) mass base in specific areas and upgrading and expanding the fighting capability of the armed detachments. Accordingly, broad categorization and identification of Principal Zones, Secondary Zones and Propaganda Zones were made and the forces and activities were sought to be channelized and centralized in keeping with the envisaged roles of different zones. As earlier a short period of preparation would precede the launching of the Second Plan, and by the very objective and nature of the Plan it would not commence on a fixed date but would follow an approximate time frame.

There was a slight setback in the beginning of the Plan, as the enemy managed to sniff it and the important element of "surprise" had to be partially compromised. However, by October the execution of the Second Plan had started in right earnest, and gradually it unfolded in such a manner and scale that the reactionary camp was again caught in a surprise. A set of military and non-military actions were sought to be judiciously blended from the beginning; and this plus the gradual phasing of the major actions over time and space provided the key to the successful launching and progress of the Second Plan.

Of the major military actions so far, daring guerrilla actions to seize arms have been the most notable ones. Armed guerrilla squads raided police outposts at Lung in Pyuthan on December 14, at Triveni in Dolpa, on December 15 (both in Western Hills) and at Bethan in Ramechhap (Eastern Hills) on January 3 and the state-owned Nepal Bank Ltd. at Durandanda in Lamjung (Central Hills) on November 14. Out of these the Bethan raid was the most successful and was rightly hailed as the best example of daring military exploit and supreme sacrifice so far. Arms of local tyrants were also seized in different districts like Sallyan, Dolakha, etc. Also during this Plan period selected annihilation of local tyrants, police informers and policemen were carried out. Of these the annihilations of a police Sub-Inspector (responsible for killing Comrade Ram Brishya Yadav) in Dhanusa (Eastern Terai), a village committee chairman (responsible for the arrest of Com. Dev Gurung) in Gorkha and several police informers in Rolpa, Rukum and Sindhuli were highly appreciated by the masses and were of immense political significance. Similarly, a large number of sabotage actions including the ones against the Agricultural Development Banks (in Kavre and Baglung), INGOs (in Baglung and Mygdi), premises of comprador capitalists (in Kathmandu and Kapilvastu) and others were carried out all over the country. The instance of setting fire to the house of the Home Minister in Kathmandu on December 10 had sent chills down the spines of the ruling classes and was a favorite topic of media coverage for several days. Armed propaganda actions in the form of marches, corner meetings, etc. have been organized regularly all over the country.

Apart from these military forms of actions, other non-military (or political, economic, social and cultural) actions have also been organized either in overt or covert manner in large numbers for mass mobilization or propaganda purposes. In this context the highly successful Kathmandu Valley Bandh (or general strike) on August 21 and Nepal Bandh on December 12 under the banner of a generated organization, National Mass Movement Coordination Committee, helped to mobilize the masses in hundreds of thousands in favor of the revolutionary politics. Similarly, various village development programs, people's cooperative schemes, etc. have been launched at the local level under the aegis of the United People's Front with a view to prepare grounds for the local power in the future. Different front organizations have been organizing open and legal activities to mobilize different classes and masses of the people. Particularly in urban areas new forms of organizations have sprung up to propagate revolutionary politics and expose the reactionary state.

During the Second Plan period the reactionary state has let loose its armed might against the revolutionary forces with greater vengeance. The instances of outright massacre and shooting have multiplied. So have the instances of police brutalities in the name of combing operations, etc. Villages have been set on fire, properties looted, women raped! The Western and Eastern regions have been the worst affected. More than a dozen persons have been shot by the police in one village, Mirul, along in Rolpa, including Com. Dev Gurung and a number of important leaders of the front organizations, thousands of people are arrested and kept behind bars in inhuman conditions. Leading national and international human rights organizations have decried the gross violations of human rights by the state.

The Politburo of the Party met in December and made preliminary evaluation of the implementation of the Second Plan. The progress was found quite satisfactory despite some limitations. The meeting formulated additional program to celebrate the first anniversary of the Initiation in a grand and fitting manner. The Second Plan is still in the process of implementation.

THE IMPLICATIONS, LESSONS AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVE

6