Dispatches: Report from the People's War in Nepal
Hope of the Hopeless in Gorkha
By Li Onesto
Revolutionary Worker #1042, February 13, 2000
On February 13, 1996, a new People's War was launched in Nepal, led by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), aimed at sweeping away imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. Thousands of men and women participated in coordinated armed raids and attacks throughout the country. And for over three years now, the revolution in Nepal has continued to spread, sink roots and accomplish a lot. All this is a truly inspiring and significant development in the world and for the international proletariat. But it has remained a hidden story for most people in the United States and around the world. And for those of us who have been following the People's War in Nepal, there has been precious, but far too little news of this important struggle.
Now, the Revolutionary Worker has an exclusive story. RW reporter Li Onesto recently returned from several months in Nepal, where she traveled throughout the country with the people's army, meeting and talking with party leaders, guerrillas, activists in mass organizations and villagers--those waging this genuine Maoist People's War and beginning to exercise new people's power. The RW would like to give a "lal Salaam" (red salute) to all the people in Nepal who made this trip possible.
This is the twenty-second article of a new series of dispatches from this exciting trip. (See RW #1014-#1020, #1022-1024, #1027-1029, #1032-1038 and 1041 for Parts 1 through 21.)
One of the most interesting parts of my trip to the Middle Region is in the Gorkha district. The area we go to is very poor and the houses here are much more primitive and smaller than the ones I had stayed at in the East and West. Instead of clay, many of the houses are simply platforms made of wood with dirt floors and straw roofs--sometimes there aren't even any walls.
We arrive at the first village late at night and after a quick meal I get a chance to talk with two party leaders of this district, M.B. and B.K. There's only a single candle cutting a narrow and flickering swath of light, and it's a bit of a struggle to write clearly in my notebook. But in the dim light I can see, as well as feel, the comrades' enthusiasm for people's war.
A lot of the peasants here own small plots of land. But in Gorkha, compared to the areas I visited in the East and West, there are a lot more landlords and landless peasants. And the People's War here has led a lot of struggle to seize and re-distribute land. B.K. says:
"One contradiction the peasants face is with small agricultural banks. They have to pay high interest on loans, and many times the bank ends up taking their land away and they become landless. To solve this problem, we told the peasants not to pay the banks for their loans. We attacked one bank and destroyed all the loan documents, so the peasants were freed from their loans. A second contradiction is between peasants and landlords. We dealt with this by implementing a policy of land to the tiller. Land was seized and distributed to the peasants. The third contradiction faced by the peasants is with individual usurers, who give loans with high interest. This problem was solved by destroying documents for these loans.
"There are other contradictions as well. For example, in the name of religion, God and the royal family, the priests and government own property that they give to peasants to farm on a contract basis--the peasants work the land for wages. The peasants grow a lot on these lands, but don't get very much. So the party has led struggle to seize these lands and distribute them to the peasants. There are also some people who file false claims against the peasants and steal land through the courts. And the party has captured such people and brought them before the masses for public punishment. These people are made to confess their crimes and return the land to the peasants. We have also been able to seize some land of landlords and distribute it to landless people. The rice we ate tonight for our meal was grown on these lands."
The comrades tell me that when the People's War targeted agricultural banks, landlords, usurers, and local reactionaries, the peasants saw it was possible to take up arms against these enemies. The masses were inspired and emboldened to support the revolution and they started coming to the party to solve disputes over land, fights, etc.--instead of going to the government. M.B. continues:
"After the initiation we were able to seize arms from a bank security guard. We also seized arms from the Nepali Congress [the ruling party] and a Nepal Bank branch. After this action, two party leaders were arrested. But whenever the people have felt defeated, the party has given us a new plan and we have been able to make a comeback. Now, many young men and women are lining up to join the people's army.
"After these advances by the People's War the reactionaries got very aggressive in repressing the people. But the party here was able to carry out a big action against this landlord, who was also the district treasurer of the Nepali Congress and a member of the government District Development Committee. We did a surprise attack on him and captured his money and all his belongings. This man had committed many crimes against the people. Like he would charge huge interest for loans and do things like take away people's buffaloes when they couldn't pay back their loans. He took 300 buffaloes from the people in this way. So the masses of people were very happy to see him punished.
"Led by the party, the local masses have also punished local spies and informers by beating them. And we carried out an action where we attacked a Pepsi-Cola truck and threw all the bottles off the truck. During this action we called on all the teachers to expose to their students how imperialism is exploiting the people, and how people should oppose this. We did agitation among the people, like pointing out that while there is no clean drinking water for the people, Pepsi-Cola is sold all over. During all these actions we made some mistakes, but we were able to correct them."
B.K. tells me that even though there was a lot of government repression throughout this whole period, the party was able to build organizations among the peasants, students and women. And they also carried out a successful campaign to raise funds for the party and the people's army. He says: "Through this fundraising campaign, we were able to assess the political support and views of small merchants, teachers and low-level government workers. The party learned about their views in this way and found that, in fact, the overwhelming majority of them are sympathetic to the People's War."
He also explains that as the People's War gained strength, the reactionary forces in the area became more isolated:
"As far as the Nepali Congress and UML [the revisionist Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist)], they cannot come into the villages now, and they have all left. None of them dares to come into this area to campaign for the elections. In two districts here, there are about 800,000 people, and about 50% support the People's War. There is especially more support among the women, and in this area, the women make up about 30% of the people's army. Now, so many people want to join the mass organizations and the party--so many that the party doesn't have enough organizers to meet this demand.
"Today when I meet the martyr's families and the relatives of those who are in jail, I see that they are not discouraged. They tell me to work to advance the revolution and they are involved as much as they can to give the People's War support. And even though the police are repressing the people, the masses of poor people are not discouraged. Among the more well-off farmers there is some discouragement though. And so our plan is to go mainly to organize the lower caste and landless people--and these are the people who are coming in large numbers to join the People's War. This is the main force of the People's War.
"The main thing is political line and ideology, and we give political classes in the party and among the masses. In the party, everyone goes through political education classes and there is discussion of political documents on Marxism-Leninism-Maoism, philosophy, politics, history, economics, etc.
B.K. has several hours to travel and must reach his destination before daylight. But before he leaves, he says some final words for me to take back to the United States:
"We give solidarity and a red salute to Mumia Abu-Jamal who is in prison in the United States. Our party, our leaders are successfully leading the People's War in Nepal and we're also proud that the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement is supporting our People's War. And so after you come here to talk face-to-face with us and learn about our People's War, we hope you will spread it all over the world."
Zig-Zags in the Revolution
The next day, I spend many hours talking to another district party leader, and I get a real sense of how hard it was to make the transition to the armed struggle. They have had to go through a lot of changes in the way the party functions, and they have also had to deal with many setbacks because of the heavy repression from the government. Many comrades have been killed in this area, and this has put a lot of demands on people at every level. The comrade begins by telling me about the difficulties they encountered right before and at the start of the People's War:
"In the past, the party members here were mainly more educated intellectuals who could not leave their jobs and be full-timers. And when the Central Committee decided to start the People's War, this presented us with a problem. Before the initiation, we held district committee level meetings with all the members and united with the decision to go to armed struggle. We decided it was necessary for all the members to become full-timers, but most said they didn't want to do this. So the party decided to dissolve this district party committee and form a new district committee--made up of dedicated persons and young people who had participated in the class struggle and were willing to do revolutionary work full time.
"Then, at the time of the initiation, some party leaders in this district dropped out--they said they politically agreed with the plan to start the armed struggle, but didn't think they could deal with the difficulties of being underground. The rest of the members of the district leadership all went underground. After this we faced new difficulties. The new young comrades were dedicated to carrying out the armed struggle but had not established their leadership. So the veteran comrades had to learn to lead the new young leaders."
The comrades explain that as the party led more class struggle among the masses, this gave the leadership and the cadres confidence to start the armed struggle. But, still, a big contradiction was that while there was a lot of support among the masses, there were only a small number of party leaders. This was the situation leading up to the start of the People's War. Then on the day of initiation:
"On February 13, 1996 at 3:45 p.m., we succeeded in raiding an agricultural bank, targeting it as a symbol of imperialism. This was a new experience for us as we had no practice in armed struggle before this. The bank is run by the government and involved in carrying out IMF (International Monetary Fund) and World Bank loans and policies. We took all the documents there and burned them. The same night we bombed a liquor factory as a symbol of cultural oppression. Another place we targeted was Save the Children, a U.S. aid program that we hit on February 23. We went at night and seized equipment and money. This organization gives money for education and does social work, but they direct people away from the real revolutionary solution and promote Christianity.
"The repression was very heavy in the weeks after the initiation and people had to stay hidden in supporters' houses. Up to the end of February, no one was killed. But about three dozen people had been arrested. Then on February 27, the police went to arrest the headmaster in one village. The students opposed this and Dilbahadur Ramtel, an 11-year-old, lower caste boy was killed. He was in the fourth grade when he died and became the first martyr of the People's War.
"The success of our actions during and right after the initiation gave a boost to the party and masses in this district. And the First Plan helped the party to transform to the armed struggle. The lower castes began to join the party. More party members went underground. But some full-timers couldn't stand the repressive situation and left the district. And others also decided to leave the struggle--about half of our supporters and activists.
"So the party decided to raise up the mass movement, and the party went out to visit people in their houses and organize support for the People's War. We went to the families of those in jail. We went to the homes of full-timers. We talked with the masses about the People's War and they started to think about the party and how it could help solve our problems. The party was able to win back a lot of the people who had dropped away. In this way we completed the First Plan, with many difficulties but gaining much experience."
"At one point we set up a political class with 32 people, and the police raided this meeting and arrested a leading member of the party. Another party leader was also arrested--who was the national chairman of the revolutionary peasant association. Other district committee members were able to escape, but the enemy captured equipment, money and documents. The police filed cases against 54 people, and the two leading comrades are still in jail.
"People felt bad that they had failed to save the leading party members, and the material loss was also a setback. This created a big crisis of political leadership because we had to fill the gap of the leading comrades who had been arrested. One comrade from here was promoted to the Central Committee level and this created a gap on the district level. After a couple of months though, we were able to overcome this crisis."
After the completion of the First Plan, the party outlined the goals of the Second Plan for this district: 1) organize the masses to support guerrilla warfare; 2) seize arms; and 3) convert areas of support (still contested by reactionaries) into guerrilla zones and recruit people into the people's army. The slogan at the time was: "Develop and promote guerrilla warfare with a plan." The comrade explains:
"At the start of the Second Plan we only had a few security forces. By the end we had seized a lot of arms and formed a number of armed squads. We also led a boycott of the local elections. There are 66 VDCs in this district and one municipality (Pokhara).
"There was one place where no one ran for VDC chairman and everyone observed the boycott. In nine places there was a partial boycott, and in 13 places, the masses, together with security forces, threw out the ballot boxes. The army had been sent into the area for the elections, but even in the face of this, people boycotted and threw out ballot boxes. Through leading this successful boycott, the party was strengthened and built more confidence and support. We were able to build up more full-timers, including many women. And we were able to carry out a larger number of actions and more advanced military actions--like the seizure of weapons and raiding of police stations.
"At the same time we had to face the repression of the government's Kilo Sera 2 operation, and we lost many full-time comrades. One woman activist, who was a main leader of the women's organization, was martyred. A district committee comrade and seven guerrillas plus six other activists were also murdered. From one and a half months after the initiation to October of 1998, 14 people were martyred, and there was much grief for these comrades.
"During the Third Plan there was a real zig-zag development of advances and setbacks. During Kilo Sera 2 Operation, the police surrounded the district. This was during the monsoon rainy season and the rivers were flooded, and the police were guarding all the bridges. So people could not travel outside the district, and we lost connection to the Central Committee. The police also destroyed all the revolutionary newspapers coming into this area so people couldn't get them.
"The district was trapped and isolated by this repression for two months. Then the police found out where we had stored most of the weapons we had seized during the Third Plan. For three days, they brought in a helicopter and the guerrillas had to flee the area and leave behind the stored arms. So the government was able to capture these weapons.
"During the Third Plan, the repression was so great it became impossible to do any revolutionary work among the people for three months. Party members lived with the people and continued to talk with them but could not do more active organizing. Then on December 26, we celebrated the birth date of Mao Tsetung by seizing crops from some landlord. About 500 people took part in this action, and the guerrillas came out in uniform and defended this action. The police tried to stop the people, but they could not attack such a big crowd.
"After such a long period of repression, we also decided to resist by setting off a bomb outside the quarters of the Chief District officer, who controls all the government offices in the district. In another incident, we were able to ambush the police, kill two of them and capture arms, with no guerrillas injured.
"This district is somewhat near to the capital and it is easy for government forces to come into this area. So we are trying to build up regions farther north that are far from the highways, in the rear part of the hills.
"At the start of the Fourth Plan, a Nepali Congress goon in a student organization was killed near the district headquarters. The comrades did the job with a khukhuri and a pistol, in one minute--with police and NC supporters nearby. After this, five months ago, the NC raided some Maoist student supporters and the campus was closed. This school of about 1,000 students was a stronghold of Maoist supporters and this is why the NC wanted it closed. We opposed all this and called for a city bandh (strike). The bandh was completely successful and a police van was bombed on the day of the strike.
"During the Fourth Plan a supporter of UML (the revisionist Communist Party of Nepal, United Marxist-Leninist), who was the secretary of the local Village Development Committee, was annihilated. He had been an informer and had given information to the police that led to the incident in Keribari where five comrades were killed. In five months we lost 19 full-time comrades who were martyred. Two were district party committee members, six were platoon members, eight were squad members and three were security forces. In addition, nine people have disappeared--five women and four men. And more than 50 people are still in jail."
Hope of the Hopeless
Late in the evening, we leave for another shelter. There has been too much activity at this location, and it is dangerous for us to stay any longer. By the time we hit the trail, the moon is long gone and we have to walk in the complete dark. A woman guerrilla leads the way and I follow right behind. After a while, my eyes get used to the dark a bit and I can see well enough to make out the path--for about a two-stride length. I focus on catching the motion of the comrade's feet right in front of me--her green canvas shoes move in a steady rhythm even though the trail is unpredictable and I try to follow in her footsteps.
Close to midnight, we arrive at the house of a very poor family and climb to the second floor -- which is just a dirt floor with a straw roof, but no walls. I look out, far away to a mountainside across from us, and see huge fires burning. There has been no rain for months and the countryside is dry like a tinderbox. Fires like this are burning in several different areas in the countryside and many peasants have lost their homes and some people have died.
During the day I saw the snakey lines of smoke, which created a heavy haze throughout the area. But now night has taken charge, revealing the extent of damage and danger. I can really see how big the fires are and how many there are. Big, jagged lines of flames are traveling the mountain ridges, consuming the terrain. The landscape is hidden, completely covered by the moonless dark. So it looks like some kind of crazy, orange lightning is zipping through the night sky. We are miles and miles away. But loud popping and crackling reaches our ears, as if we are standing next to a stove of frying bacon and popping corn. I wake up several times and notice that the fires actually seemed to be dying down a little. But after the sun coms up, winds start fanning the flames with meanness. The infernos begin to build once again, and the roar becomes even louder. Many people believe the police actually start these fires in order to counter the People's War.
We set out again as the sun inches toward the horizon, replacing darkness with a faint gray. We get to a small group of simple houses, and the extreme poverty here is immediately apparent. As soon as we arrive the villagers put some mats down on the ground for us to sit, and everyone gathers around to talk. At first it is mainly men and children, but then, a little later, a number of women emerge from their chores and come and join the group.
This is a village that supports the People's War, providing shelter and food to the party and guerrillas. The first thing they tell me is that when the police come and interrogate them, no one tells them any information or secrets. They are very proud of this. Then they take turns telling me about their lives--the daily, hard routine, necessary to survive. A 50-year-old man tells me:
"We work more than 18 hours a day and still can't grow enough food to feed our family for a whole year. I borrow money from the money lender with high interests-- 36% interest for one year. We get loans to be able to eat, celebrate festivals, or arrange a marriage celebration. I went to the city to work as a laborer and brought back home only enough money to pay the interest. One of the conditions of the loan was to work one to two days a month for the landlord. Plus I had to give him milk from the goats. The landlords are happy, getting money and doing no work. They live in the city and other areas. I only own 0.1 hectare of land. The People's War is for our class against the bourgeoisie and reactionaries, and when we win we will be able to have a better life. So I am looking to the bright future of the People's War in Nepal."
I ask a 27-year-old woman to tell me about her day, and at first she says she has nothing to say. But then, once she gets started talking, the words tumble out. And I can hear in her voice, how it is liberating, to even speak out about how hard her life is. She says:
"I wake up at 5:00 a.m., prepare a simple soup for the family, get grass for the goat--which takes five hours to get, about three kilometers away--and return about 12:00 noon. Then I have to clean the pots and dishes. I prepare food and eat and then take the goats and cows to graze them. We have five goats, but we just take care of them for a landlord or someone else. We have three cows but own only two. I take them to the same area far away to graze. I also gather roots in the forest (Githa) which are boiled and put in salt and ash which neutralizes the bitterness. It's five o'clock by the time I get back from grazing the animals. Then I have to prepare another meal. I also have to gather firewood from the forest. I finally go to sleep at 9:00 p.m. I have three children, one son and two daughters. I am not educated so it is hard to express my grief. We give shelter to the people's army and through this find out about the struggle. I listen to the discussions that go on when they come."
A 23-year-old woman speaks next and says: "I have a one-month-old son and two other children, 7 and 3 years old. I didn't go to school because my father and mother didn't send me. If I went to school there would be no one to tend the animals and do other chores so I didn't get to go. I got married when I was 15 years old.
"Women here usually get married between 15 and 22 years old, and my people, of the Praja nationality, don't do arranged marriages, so this was a love marriage. I didn't go to live in my husband's house. I live with my father and mother.
"My husband is 24 years old and used to work as a laborer. But now he's been working in a restaurant for the last three years near the roadside. He works a one-hour walk away and comes home once a week.
"The People's War is good and after it wins people will be equal."
Like this woman's husband, many other men here have to leave the village for many months to find work. A 45-year-old man tells me: "I have six in my family, four kids. I have about 0.1 hectare of land and can grow food enough for only four months. The rest of the time I work on the roadside as a coolie. Sometimes the landlord will give us food out of charity. When we work on the road we get 60 rupees (less than $1.00) for a day with no food. This is not enough to save any money."
When I ask him what he thinks about the People's War he says: "When we talk with the people's army and the party we feel this is the way forward. And if the revolution is successful the future will be good."
*****
The rough faces of these peasants are etched forever in my mind. Like the many other villagers I have spent time with, the thing that strikes me most is how much the People's War is giving them hope. The party and the people's army is providing not only a way to fight and defeat the enemy but the vision and practice of building a new and liberating future.
By now it is almost 9:00 a.m. and it is time to go. But before we leave, the two squad members who are escorting us prepare a little farewell ceremony. Everyone delivers some heartfelt parting speeches. Then one of the guerrillas sends us off with a revolutionary song about how it feels to say good-bye to comrades. The people in the village gather around to listen to his sweet voice. Then we are on our way. The walk down the mountain goes by quickly, and then we are near the main highway. It is dangerous for the guerrillas to go any further, so we say our last good-byes and exchange red salutes.
As we leave, I turn to look back up at the towering countryside. And I think about all the dreams of the fighters, deep in the crevices of this incredible terrain. Geologists have reported that every year the Himalayan range pushes further up towards the sky. Now, in the foothills of these majestic mountains, another force is trying to change the landscape.
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