The
year 1996 marked the launch of the ‘P eople’s War’ against
the Nepali state. The impetus behind the war was to fundamentally
al ter the ‘historical re lations of oppression’ in Nepal. To what
extent this is a ‘People’s War’ as opposed to a coercive ‘insurgency’
on the people remains a deeply contentious i ssue in Nepal and
worldwide. Nevertheless, the outcome, in 2006 (after ten years
since th e war) has been control over 90% of the rural areas
by the ‘People’s Government’ fo rmed by the Communist Party
of Nepal- Maoist (CPN-M from henceforth ) party. In the early stages
of the Maoist movement, the government had termed the movement as
‘a n insurgency’, condemned the CPN-M as ‘terrorists’, and
reacted with brutal force to suppress the movement. At the moment and
as this paper is being written, the governme nt and the
international community at large have come to realize that the
Maoist moveme nt is a force to reckon with. As the country has
embarked on the process of redefining itself, CPN-M has gained
an unprecedented political recognition. For instance, one of th eir
central demands for electing a constituent assembly to draft a new
constitution has been accepted by all the major political players in
Nepali politics. Given this current scenari o, it is crucial to
understand why the Maoist movement started in 1996 and escalated
since then. This has ramifications not only for understanding a
powerful social movement in contemporary South Asia, but also
in inferring how the current initiative for state-building is going
to unfold
Post a Comment