Nepal is no exception as the world faces a new surge of COVID-19. With new cases increasing daily, Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population claims that the total number of infections stands at 343,418, while reporting 3,362 deaths. For the last several days, 8,000 cases have been reported daily.

Fue un gran éxito la primera reunión pública celebrada por la CMI en Katmandú - Nepal. A pesar de estar en el medio de la campaña electoral, la reunión sobre las lecciones de la Revolución de Octubre atrajo a 100 activistas comunistas, incluidos los principales miembros del Partido Maoísta y a jóvenes comunistas. A la reunión también asistió el camarada Gopal Kriti, un veterano activista de la clase trabajadora y miembro del Comité Ejecutivo del Partido Maoísta: una partido de masas en Nepal. La reunión se celebró en la sala de reuniones del Colegio de Abogados de Katmandú y fue dirigida por el camarada Yug Pathak, un periodista comunista; y el escritor y camarada Rob Sewell de la

The first ever public meeting held by the IMT in Kathmandu Nepal was a great success. Despite being in the middle of the election campaign, the meeting on the lessons of the October Revolution attracted 100 communist activists, including leading members of the Maoist party and the Young Communists. The meeting was also attended by comrade Gopal Kriti, who is a working-class veteran activist and member of the Executive Committee of the Maoist party: a mass party in Nepal. The meeting was held in the meeting hall of the Law College in Kathmandu and was addressed by comrade Yug Pathak, a communist journalist; and author and comrade Rob Sewell from the IMT.

The situation in Nepal is rapidly deteriorating. The living forces of the revolution are witnessing the withering away of a process that abolished one of the worst symbols of feudalism in the world, the monarchy. The hopes of millions of Nepalis have been put on hold. As yet there has been no meaningful land reform, poverty is still a major problem and the country’s economy is being taken over by foreign capitalists; all this with the former insurgency leaders in the government!

For the second time in Nepal since the election of the Constitutional Assembly in 2008, a Maoist is heading the Nepalese government. This time it is Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, who has become the new, 35th, Prime Minister of Nepal. But what does this mean for the Nepalese revolution?

In Nepal the stalemate in power is continuing while the ideological battle inside the communist movement intensifies. The struggle for power through constitutional means by the largest party in parliament UCPN (M) faced another defeat when on November 1st parliament failed to elect a new Prime Minister for the 16th time. [Originally published in the Think India Quarterly]

Many lessons can be drawn from the recent history of Nepalese revolutionary movements, and many dangers for the Tunisian and Egyptian masses can also be highlighted if we carefully study the situation in Nepal. [Note: as this article was being written the Maoists decided to return to government.]

After having mobilised the masses for a five-day general strike, the Maoist leaders in Nepal called it off without having achieved any of their demands. The mass movement potentially has immense power and it could overthrow the present regime and move towards a Socialist Nepal. The Maoists have a huge responsibility in this situation. Time is running out. They should take the power.

The calling of a general strike in Nepal is an important turning point in the situation. The Maoist leaders are using the classical method of the organised working class. It has the potential to go well beyond the drafting of a new constitution. The potential is there for the working class, backed by the peasants, to come to power.

The past experiences of the Nepalese Maoists, and the failure of their attempts to carry out a revolution by “stages” has led to an internal debate in which some of its leaders have drawn the conclusion that the “national road” has not produced the desired results and that what is required is an internationalist position.

This summer The Red Spark [Rato Jhilko - see photo], a journal of the Communist Party of Nepal published an article by Baburam Bhattarai, which stated that, “Trotskyism has become more relevant than Stalinism to advance the cause of the proletariat”. This is the result of concrete historical experience that has revealed the real essence of Stalinism and vindicated the ideas of Leon Trotsky, in the case of Nepal in particular of the theory of the Permanent Revolution.

After years of guerrilla struggle the Nepalese Maoists agreed to put down their arms, become a parliamentary party, and eventually enter government. Now they have been manoeuvred out of office and there is an urgent need to draw up a balance sheet and decide which way they are going to go.

We have received this interesting letter from a reader in Nepal who highlights the shortcomings of the Prachanda-led Maoists in the light of the latter’s resignation from government.