Document
Strategy
and Tactics of Armed Struggle in Nepal
Strategy and
Tactics of Armed Struggle in Nepal was adopted by the Third Plenum
of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
[CPN(M)] in March 1995. This is a historic document representing
a break with wrong lines dominating the Nepalese communist movement
for decades. The understanding forged in this document laid the
basis for the initiation of the People̓s War in Nepal in February
1996. This document is reprinted from The Worker, organ of
the CPN(M), No. 3 — AWTW
Historical Background
When analyzing Nepal̓s history from a historical materialistic
perspective, it can be easily inferred that the Nepalese people have
been struggling against the complexities of natural forces and various
man-made problems for their own survival and development. Modern Nepal
was evolved through the struggle between and the intermingling of,
on the one hand, simple, innocent people struggling to live peacefully
on steep slopes with their natural economic system and tribal culture,
and on the other hand, against the Hindus who had periodically intruded
into this country from the south, especially about 1,000 years ago,
with their superior technology of production and art of war, after
they were defeated by the Muslims. In this historical process the
rise of princes and chieftains and the continuing struggle between
them has forced the people to be trained in violent struggle, which
has been proved by history. The Nepalese people who had acquired military
and fighting prowess in the course of their historical development
were able to fight bravely against the Britishers in the south and
the Chinese in the north, who were well equipped with modern knowledge,
techniques and weapons, during the later period. In the battles fought
for their own sovereignty, the children, old men, women and youths
have demonstrated unprecedented sacrifices, bravery and cleverness
on the basis of arms and equipment made in their own country. This
frightened and terrorized even large imperialist armies and their
commanders and established th Nepalese (Gorkhali) people as one of
the greatest fighters in the world. Even today any independent Nepalese
would feel proud when they remember the fighting prowess, bravery
and sacrifice of the Nepalese people in the past history. It is a
matter of no lesser pride that even Karl Marx, the proponent of communist
ideology and the leader of the world proletariat, had also appreciated
the sacrifice, bravery and skill shown by the Nepalese people in those
wars.
However,
from the point of view of the leadership, even yesterday and today
foreign imperialism and its running dog, the domestic reactionary
ruling class, have conspiratorially turned the brave Nepalese into
mercenary soldiers. For us it is necessary to pass this historical
legacy to the people through the struggle and encourage them to
take their fate in their own hands.
Here,
even after the development of the centralized Nepalese state, the
Nepalese people have been fighting and opposing in their own way
the atrocities let loose by the ruling classes, especially the Ranas
and the Shahas. Notable among these are many clashes within the
different ruling classes and the rebellion of Lakhan Thapa against
the Ranas. Against the background of the growing people̓s consciousness
and rebellion worldwide around the period of the Second World War,
the Nepalese people too began to fight violently against the oppression
perpetrated by the ruling classes. In this process, the Communist
Party was born in Nepal and Nepal entered into the stage of new
democratic revolution against feudalism and imperialism. The people
from different parts of the country rose to fight with arms against
the Indian expansionist ruling classes, their stooge the Nepali
Congress, and the feudal king, who had conspired to crush the people̓s
movement through the Delhi Accord. In this connection the armed
rebellion that took place in the Bhairahawa area is notable. Even
after that the people continued to be involved in small or big struggles
breaking the reactionary law and administration. Armed conflicts
against the local feudal tyrants in different places started taking
place.
Among
this kind of armed rebellion against feudalism and expansionism,
the armed rebellion that took place under the leadership of Bhim
Datta Pant in the western part of Nepal is historically important
— in the year 1952-53 alone, the way Bhim Datta Patta Pant
formed hundreds of armed squads, the way he was able to annihilate
corrupt government officials, the way he was able to capture grain
from the government granaries and other essentials and distribute
them among the poor and famine-stricken peasants, the way he was
able to attack the feudal tyrants one after another, was not unimportant.
The very fact that it was beyond the capacity of the Nepalese Government
to quell this rebellion itself proves clearly how popular and powerful
it was. Thousands of Indian troops were called inside to quell this
rebellion and the leader was killed in a most gruesome and inhuman
manner. It was from that period onwards that the present ruling
class had shown its anti-national, capitulationist and fascist nature.
During
this period peasants in league with the Communist Party started
fighting against feudal exploitation in different districts of the
country. Amongst them the peasant rebellion developed in Bara, Parsa
and especially in Rautahat which was of special importance. Thousands
of peasants defied the law and administration to destroy the bond
papers of the local feudal tyrants, to break their granaries, to
start a cultural movement to snub the pride of the feudals, thus
spearheading the violent struggles. The peasants nearly captured
local political power, leading to panic flights by local feudal
landlords. However, it is a matter of sad concern that the then
leadership of the Communist Party — instead of analyzing the
peasant class war and armed rebellions that were taking place in
different parts of Nepal and without exploring the potentiality
of waging a guerrilla war — condemned them as extremist, and
went to surrender before the king. It tried to limit itself into
legal, peaceful struggle and to work within the parliamentary system.
This was a historical betrayal in the direction of revisonism that
would have a long-term impact in the Nepalese communist movement.
Even
after that the people̓s rebellion went ahead. Peasant rebellions
of different kinds continued. In this period, the peasants̓
long struggle against the feudals in Khaniyavas of Dhading and that
of Dang are worth mentioning. Illegal struggles of a small and big
nature continued against the signing of the Gandak Treaty by the
so-called elected Nepali Congress Government in the year 1959 and
against the bootlickers of the Indian expansionists. Violent struggles
in different places against the Royal coup of 1960 and against the
partyless Panchayat system were also seen. In this period, the leftist
youth and student movement continued despite the imprisonment, repression
and terror unleashed on them.
The
armed struggle of 1972-73 in Jhapa, in line with the protracted
people̓s war waged in rebellion against the right revisionism
prevalent in the communist movement, is the most noteworthy struggle.
That rebellion certainly represents the revolutionary trend and
spirit. Those who have been martyred in the process of consciously
establishing a new democratic republic are immortal martyrs. Although
there were deep shortcomings in the leadership in terms of petit-bourgeois
mechanistic and “leftist” adventurist tendencies, it
was however an important far-reaching rebellion against the autocratic
feudal rule of the king and against the rightist reformist tendencies
that had become deeply entrenched in the Nepalese communist movement.
In the armed struggle to pursue the new democratic revolution the
martyrs of the Jhapa rebellion will remain in the forefront.
Around
this time, the intense struggles against the feudals and exploiters
in the Eastern Terai consisting of Sarlahi, Mahottari, Siraha, Dhanusha
and Sindhuli have established a new record in the history of the
peasant movement. In this process, too, hundreds of thousands of
farmers under the leadership of the Party were involved in the class
struggle resulting in a kind of power vacuum in the villages. It
can be clearly seen that there was a possibility of initiating the
process of guerrilla war from the foundation of the peasants̓
struggle of that period. However, because of the reformist line
and the petit-bourgeois pretensions of the Party, the peasants became
helpless under the onslaught of the reactionary military operation.
During that time many brave sons of the Nepalese revolutionary movement
got martyred.
Amidst
this, in Chitawan, the peasants̓ struggle, including the Jugedi
struggle, took place. Even in that rebellion many peasant youths
got martyred. The historic students̓ movement of 1979 took
the form of the people̓s movement throughout the country. In
this process the development of the countrywide violent peasant
struggle took place. This brought in the waves of the big peasant
struggle in the Eastern Terai districts, mentioned above, and others
including in Chitawan, Dang and Bardiya. Different sections of the
people including peasants got involved in the countrywide struggle
against the Panchayat and the monarchy by defying the reactionary
law and administration. The king was forced to concede an alternative
choice against the so-called choiceless Panchayat because of the
strength of the violent struggle for people̓s power, although
behind it there was an inherent conspiracy plotted by the king and
the monarchical forces. Even after that the trend of people̓s
struggle forged ahead by becoming stronger day after day for the
sake of nationalism, democracy and the livelihood of the people.
The
historical people̓s movement of 1990 became the central expression
of all these movements. Here, along with the countless violent conflicts
all over Nepal including in the capital city, the movement began
to forge ahead to end the monarchical system. In this historic struggle,
hundreds of brave sons and daughters of Nepal had to lose their
lives. However the domestic and foreign reactionaries, including
the right reformists in order to get limited reforms, went ahead
to compromise with the king against the (high) level and spirit
of the movement and succeeded in their conspiracy to derail the
movement. It is clear that the end of thepartyless Panchayat and
the establishment of the multi-party system under the leadership
of the king is also the result of the people̓s violent struggle.
Even
after the establishment of the multi-party system, many people are
still in the process of the struggle for nationality, democracy
and the livelihood of the people. In this period we have also clearly
seen in the course of the general legal movements under our leadership
that people are willing to extend them full help and support with
great enthusiasm when there are direct attacks against the reactionary
state and there are violent clashes. Within a short period of the
establishment of the multi-party system hundreds of Nepalese have
lost their lives for the sake of liberation and their rights, in
which an important leader of our Party from Dhanusha and other cadres
throughout the country have also fallen.
The
conscious peasant class struggle developed in the western hilly
districts, particularly in Rolpa and Rukum, representing a high
level of anti-feudal and anti-imperialist revolutionary struggle.
Despite severe reactionary repression and terror, the movement not
only remains sustained but also is going ahead as a resistance movement
with a qualitative leap. That struggle has given birth to some new
factors in the Nepalese communist movement which have inspired us
to be more serious about the business of armed struggle.
From
the above historical review it can be concluded that:
1. The
reactionary propaganda that the Nepalese people are peace-loving
and that they don̓t like violence is absolutely false. It is
an incontrovertible fact that the Nepalese people have been waging
violent struggle for their rights since historical times.
2. Until today whatever general reforms have been achieved by the
Nepalese people, behind them was the force of the violent and illegal
struggle of the people.
3. The Nepalese people are very conscious and sensitive about the
question of nationalism and that they feel proud to lay down their
lives while fighting rather than submit to the pressures of the
foreigners.
4. From the year 1951 onwards until today, mainly the Nepalese
peasants, and other sections of the people, have been joining in
countless numbers of violent and armed conflicts against the reactionary
state, and the anti-establishment feeling among the Nepalese people
is very strong.
5. The Nepalese people are the great warriors of the world who
are known for their ability to bear the severe material and bodily
hardships while fighting.
6. The domestic and foreign reactionaries including the revisionist
element have been time and again ditching and conspiring against
the fighting tendency of the Nepalese people. Today the greatest
responsibility has fallen upon the revolutionaries to initiate armed
struggle methodically and consciously against feudalism and imperialism
and to complete the new democratic revolution by representing that
great historical legacy.
The Nepalese Communist Movement and the Question of Armed Struggle
In the development of class struggle in Nepalese
society the establishment of the Communist Party in the year 1949
represents an important historic achievement for the proletarian
class of Nepal. Even though the Party was not able to grasp the
essence and importance of armed struggle, it was able to take a
clear political stand to fight for new democratic revolution against
feudalism and imperialism. Thus with all its qualities of childhood
(immaturity), it waged propaganda and agitation from the communist
point of view on the question of nationality, democracy and people̓s
livelihood and it attempted to arouse the masses mainly in the rural
areas against feudalism. Because of this process within a short
period people from different parts of the country became attracted
towards communist politics and the peasants̓ struggle started
spreading in different places. Amongst them the peasants̓ movement
in the Terai has special importance. Because of the development
of the peasants̓ struggle the question of the correct political
line in concrete terms arose in the Party. But the then Party leadership
not only completely failed to lead the struggle in a revolutionary
direction but also in the year 1955 it decided to limit itself to
peaceful propaganda activities for socialism under the feudal monarchy.
From this point onwards the Nepalese communist movement got openly
dominated by the right revisionist line. After this for a long time
the Party was completely submerged into peaceful, parliamentary
and reformist activities.
Even
when in the year 1960 the king imposed autocratic rule in the country
by banning all the political parties, the leadership of the Party,
which had been submerged into reformism, limited itself to various
types of parliamentary slogans resembling those of other reactionary
parties instead of advancing revolutionary political slogans and
forms of struggle. At this very juncture the great debate between
China and Russia and the development of the Great Proletarian Cultural
Revolution under the leadership of Comrade Mao initiated a debate
in its own way about the necessity of armed struggle and the importance
of fighting against revisionism. One section of the Party nakedly
followed Russian revisionism and it began to get exposed thoroughly
amongst the people. The larger part of the old generation of Party
leadership supported Comrade Mao and China and the path of new democratic
revolution against the Russian revisionism. Pushpa Lal in his document
in the Gorakhpur conference even wrote, “It is impossible
to establish this kind of system without waging protracted armed
revolution.” (Moolbato, p.66)
However,
even then, the leadership of the old generation of that period were
not able to evolve even from a tactical point of view the concrete
political line of revolution and failed completely to determine
the revolutionary forms of struggle to achieve them. In this regard
the leadership of the Fourth Congress demonstrated extreme haziness
about the basic path of the revolution by bringing in even more
illusive and clearly reformist political slogans and by talking
of “armed peasant rebellion”. In essence in terms of
political line, this section talked of some revolution; however
in practice it assumed a reformistcharacter and moved along in a
pseudo-reformist direction.
In
this regard after the Naxalbari armed peasant struggle began under
the leadership of Comrade Charu Mazumdar in India after rebelling
against the reformist CPI-M, its clear influence was seen among
the revolutionary youths of Jhapa in the eastern part of Nepal.
Similarly even here some enthusiastic and revolutionary youths of
the eastern region went ahead with armed actions declaring armed
struggle under the protracted people̓s war strategy by rebelling
against the revisionism that had taken deep root in the Party. Despite
serious shortcomings due to petit-bourgeois mechanistic thought
and “left” adventurism, the armed action was a historic
rebellion which created flutters amongst the revisionists in the
Nepalese communist movement and the feudal state structure of the
king. At least the question of armed struggle became a topic of
great debate in the Communist movement. The Jhapa struggle played
an important role in intensifying inner struggle between the revolutionaries
and the newly emerging opportunists within the pseudo-reformist
groups following a reformist line. The debate on whether to accept
the line of armed struggle or not started taking place in their
own ways within the Fourth Congress, Pushpa Lal, Manmohan, Rohit
and the rest of the groups.
Most
of the reformist leaders of these groups provided illusions for
a large section of the revolutionary left forces by accepting the
necessity of armed struggle in abstract terms and for the future,
but they kept on mounting antagonistic attacks against the present
spark of revolution kindled by the armed actions. On this question,
the Fourth Congress group headed by Mohan Bikram was in the forefront
of those attacking it viciously. The revisionist essence of Mohan
Bikram — known for mounting a destructive attack on the leftist
revolutionaries of the Jhapa struggle and giving preference to make
Man Mohan Adhikari, the pro-king renegade, as the Chairman of the
Central Nucleus — is unchanged and well reflected even today
in his analysis of the UML as a friendly force, even when it has
degenerated into reaction and in his antagonism in practice towards
our Party.
Because
of intense repression by the reactionary forces, vicious attacks
by the known pseudo-reformists and mainly due to the leadership̓s
petit-bourgeois, mechanistic and “left” adventurist
thoughts, the Jhapa rebellion could not develop into a people̓s
war. As a result of the infiltration of incompatible forces from
different groups, together with the slow degeneration of the leadership
of the Jhapa rebellion into right revisionism, today they have even
gone to the extent of sitting in the reactionary ministry of the
king. However, the process of building a revolutionary trend by
rectifying past mistakes is still on. Some leaders of that period
are even today raising the banner of rebellion against reformism
and reaction despite long jail sentences, torture and enticement.
Because
of the contemporary national and international situation and the
influence of the Jhapa struggle, the debate and inner struggle within
the Fourth Congress increased in regards to the question of political
slogans and the line of armed struggle. Despite theoretical and
political unclarity relating to armed struggle, the immortal martyr
Comrade Azad also played a role in this debate. Ultimately, after
a long and complex struggle the genuine revolutionary forces within
the Party managed to save it from the representatives of pseudo-reformism,
Mohan Bikram and Nirmal Lama, by advancing revolutionary slogans
for political power and the inevitability of protracted people̓s
war for achieving it. Today it has become successful in forging
the revolutionary alternative in the country by assimilating all
the past revolutionary activities (including the Jhapa struggle)
of the Nepalese communist movement. The Unity Congress of the Party
has developed a clear outlook on this issue. In this hour of history
we must admit in unequivocal terms that we have yet to materialize
in practice what we have correctly formulated in theory regarding
the general political slogans and the path to be followed. The reason
behind this is, besides the complxities of the situation and the
inner struggle, the Party is yet to be cured of the petit-bourgeois
disease of revolution in words but opportunism in practice. It is
necessary to make a concrete plan of going ahead with the task of
armed struggle by doing this kind of self-criticism.
The Nature, Target and Motivating Force of Armed Struggle in Nepal
According
to the theoretical directives of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism and the
general specificities of the Nepalese society our Party has formulated
a political strategy of completing new democratic revolution with
a people̓s democratic dictatorship under the leadership of
the proletariat based on the unity of the workers and peasants against
feudalism and imperialism. The long-term aim of the Party is to
move towards socialist revolution after the successful completion
of the new democratic revolution as an integral part of the world
proletarian socialist revolution and to achieve communism by waging
cultural revolutions based upon the theory of continuing the revolution
under the dictatorship of the proletariat. It is clear that the
nature and orientation of the Nepalese armed struggle will be directed
by and committed to the aim of this political strategy. Accordingly
the nature and orientation of the Nepalese armed struggle has been
clearly specified by the National Unity Congress of the Party as,
“The line of protracted people̓s war based upon the strategy
of surrounding the city from the countryside”.
The Target of Armed Struggle
The
aim of the armed struggle is to solve the basic contradictions between
feudalism and the Nepalese people, imperialism (mainly Indian expansionism)
and the Nepalese people, comprador and bureaucrat capitalism and
the Nepalese people, and in the immediate term the contradiction
between domestic reaction which is made up of a combination of feudal
and comprador and bureaucratic capitalist classes backed by Indian
expansionism and the Nepalese people. This way it is clear the target
of the armed struggle will be confiscating the lands of feudals
and landlords and distributing them amongst the landless and poor
peasants on the basis of the land to the tiller theory and to attack
them for this purpose; and in order to cut the roots of imperialist
exploitation through projects such as industries, banks, etc., in
the hands of comprador and bureaucratic capitalists and projects
run by government and non-government organizations and to attack
them for the same purpose.
This
way it is clear that the target of armed struggle will be against
feudals, landlords, comprador and bureaucratic capitalists.
Motivating Force
(A) The Proletariat: It is the fundamental motivating force
of new democratic revolution. Although the numeric strength of proletarian
workers in the modern industries and factories of Nepal is small,
it is, however, increasing. Even though the number is small, this
class, which is completely alienated from the modern production
processes and productive forces, is the most revolutionary class
of the society. For the success of new democratic revolution, this
class has the historical responsibility of identifying and giving
leadership to other allied classes.
(B) The farm workers, bonded labourers, landless peasants, porters
and poor peasants, and in our case in the cities the cart pullers,
rickshaw pullers, drivers of tempos, taxis, and the transport and
hotel workers etc., are the most reliable, consisting of a big section
of the population, and the main motivating force for the Nepalese
new democratic revolution. (Here, by “poor peasants”
is generally meant those peasants who cannot make their livelihood
from their land alone.)
(C) Middle peasants: Those who live with difficulty even after
working hard on their land throughout the year and who also take
some land on a contract or on a share-cropping basis. In the hilly
regions of Nepal these peasants outnumber other classes. For the
new democratic revolution this class is an important motivating
force.
(D) Rich peasants: Those who can have a good livelihood from their
land; they are able to employ one or two labourers in their work
despite their own participation in their farm work and are able
to accumulate part of their income through exploitation. This class
is a vacillating ally for the new democratic revolution.
(E) Petit-bourgeois class: In this class are included the teachers
of schools and colleges, students, doctors, engineers, lawyers,
junior office workers, petty traders of towns, retail traders, craftsmen,
etc. Because of the nature and conditions of its production process
this class remains vacillating. Despite this, this class can play
an important auxiliary role for the new democratic revolution. Today
the imperialists and the reactionary forces are focusing their attention
to keep the intellectuals of this class away from the revolution.
(F) National bourgeoisie: In Nepal although it (i.e. the national
bourgeoisie) doesn̓t have an independent role it is slowly
taking form. These kinds of capitalists who are involved in small
handicrafts and modern industries and trade are at one end dreaming
of amassing the wealth by exploiting the workers, and at the other
end they are being run over by the monopolist comprador and bureaucratic
capitalists. Hence they nturally show a contradictory character
towards the revolution. Used to changing its character according
to the situation, this class will remain a vacillating ally of the
revolution.
It is obvious that the Nepalese armed struggle should formulate
its strategy and factors by taking into consideration the above
general condition and character of the enemy and the motivating
forces of the new democratic revolution.
The Problem of Strategy and Tactics of Armed Struggle in Nepal
In
the present era of imperialism and proletarian revolution, the enemy
class is practicing various forms of conspiratorial strategies to
stop revolution in countries like ours. Amongst them we must focus
our attention on the following because we can̓t arrive at a
correct strategy without understanding the strategy of the enemy.
1. Because
of its monopolistic hold over the communication over the whole world
at this time, the enemy is launching a disinformation campaign with
the deliberate propaganda of “terrorism”, “fall
of socialism” and the “superiority and success”
of capitalism and attempting to lower the morale of people through
the strategy of psychological warfare.
2. It is unleashing a vicious cultural war through the flooding
of vulgar culture and literature in order to distort the minds and
souls of the people.
3. All the imperialist forces and the reactionary ruling classes
of each country are campaigning strategically by spreading the network
of well trained and technically equipped spies and attempting to
infiltrate into the revolutionary Party in order to collect information,
to create illusions inside the Party, to do destructive activities
and to arrest or kill the genuine revolutionary leaders or activists
of the Party.
4. They are inventing new forms of reforms and democracy in order
to confuse the people politically.
5. Under the strategy of preventing revolution in a country like
ours the network of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) have been
spread in order to engage some educated middle class people, to
prevent them from falling below the midde class and to entrap the
people in a petty reformist mirage.
6. They are encouraging unemployed youths to get scattered all
over the world and to wander into India in the name of employment.
The youths are being used as mercenary soldiers in foreign armies.
7. The imperialists are polluting the minds of the people through
the propagation of religion and other means after entering into
rural areas with attractive slogans.
8. If despite all these and other innumerable traps the revolutionary
movement rises up then they start a campaign of heinous genocide
through their powerful permanent army. In short, in the present
era, the strategy of the enemy of the people is that of total war.
In such a situation the strategy of a revolutionary party that
wants to go ahead with armed struggle to make a revolution should
also be clearly based on total war. It is necessary for us to adopt
the strategy and tactics of tit for tat against the imperialist
and reactionary forces by uniting with the people in all spheres
of national and international life. The ideological weapon of MLM
which has proved successful in destroying the enemy is an invincible
weapon of the proletarian class. In this light it is necessary to
determine the strategy and tactics of the Nepalese armed struggle
by focusing on the overall state of the enemies together with the
basic specificities of Nepal and Nepalese society.
1. Nepal is a landlocked country which is surrounded on three sides
by expansionist India and in the north by reformist China. Although
it is small in terms of area, however except for 17% of the Terai
plain lands, the rest of the country is geographically replete with
remote hills and Himalayan mountains with different climates, ethnic
groups, cultures and languages.
2. In Nepal for a long period, a centralized reactionary state
equipped with a modern and powerful permanent army and bureaucracy
has been in existence. This is especially centralized in the cities.
The enemies of the Nepalese people are not only within the country
but also present outside of it in the form of imperialists, especially
the Indian expansionists.
3. The economic and political development of Nepal has been uneven.
Nepal is predominantly rural and the exploited peasants who represent
90% of the total people are spread throughout the villages. The
process of urbanization s on the rise; however we must say it is
still small.
4. The Nepalese peasants and other sections of the masses have
passed through a process of different forms of struggle both local
and countrywide for a long time. There is a widespread attraction
towards communism among the people. However, here the influence
of reformism and right revisionism is also strong. In Nepal there
has been virtually no direct experience of armed struggle under
the leadership of the Communist Party.
5. The reactionary ruling class of the semi-feudal and semi-colonial
Nepal, where the medieval monarchy system exists, is undergoing
intense crisis and this crisis has started manifesting politically
as well as in a serious manner.
6. A big section of the Nepalese people are spread in different
countries for employment, mainly in India for the army and other
kinds of work.
It is through the above specificities that the orientation and
politics and tactics of the Nepalese armed struggle can be discerned.
From the first specificity it can be seen that for waging war in
Nepal it has neither a large area, or any possibility of using any
sea; nor is there a widespread forest nor is there any possibility
of direct help or support from any other neighbouring country. However,
the geographical situation is most favourable for waging guerrilla
war with a direct link with the people. And because of the struggle
against the national oppression of the majority of the nationalities
this will also provide a good mass base for the guerrilla war. The
second specificity shows that there is no situation of a direct
military clash between the enemy forces for political power, which
the armed forces of the people could take advantage of to seize
a definite area. This clearly proves that the Nepalese armed struggle
cannot take the form of direct or positional warfare against the
enemy at the beginning. It is necessary to expand the people̓s
armed strength by attacking the enemy̓s weak spots piecemeal
and by weakening it through attacks in guerrilla style in favourable
areas for the people. When the first and second specificities are
viewed together it is found possible to establish and survive independently
in certain specific areas just as in China̓s Ching Kang-shan
and to be able to expand from these onwards. The third specificity
shows the possibility of starting guerrilla wars in different parts
of the country and developing them by taking peasant revolution
as the backbone by centralizing in the rural areas and by relying
on and uniting with the peasants. The fourth specificity clearly
shows that people̓s support will go on increasing if the right
revisionists are thoroughly exposed and the tactics of armed struggle
are pursued vigilantly. The fifth specificity indicates that the
pace of development of the armed struggle to establish the people̓s
alternative revolutionary power would be faster and inspires undertaking
bold actions to achieve it. And the sixth specificity demonstrates
the necessity of mobilizing the Nepalese people working in foreign
countries — mainly those Nepalese working in India —
by conducting political work among them and using the aea for the
supplying of various necessities for the success of the armed struggle
in Nepal.
The
synthesis of all the specificities shows clearly that it is impossible
for the armed struggle in Nepal to make a quick leap into an insurrection
and defeat the enemy. However, it is fully possible to finally crush
the enemy through systematic development of the Nepalese armed struggle.
It can be derived clearly from this that the Nepalese armed struggle
must necessarily adopt a protracted people̓s war strategy of
surrounding the city from the countryside. It is also clear that
that path can be trod only after paying attention to our own specificities
of the country.
The
fundamental principles of this path are: To grasp firmly the fact
that the people̓s war is the war of the masses, that it can
be developed only by relying on the masses and principally on the
peasants and that the masses are the creators of history; to acknowledge
the need and importance of the stages of strategic defence, stalemate
and offence of the people̓s war and to make plans accordingly
by accepting the strategic role of guerrilla war as it is the principal
form of war in the initial stage of strategic defence; to grasp
the importance of developing guerrilla warfare into positional warfare
and of establishing base areas to capture central power; and above
all, in the ideological directives of MLM to establish the leadership
of the party over the army and not to permit at any cost to arise
a situation where the gun would control the party. It is by practicing
the main strategic principles of protracted people̓s war and
by refraining from making mistakes that one can unfold the laws
of the Nepalese people̓s war. It is important to note the truth
that the laws of war can only be learnt by participating in war.
The overall strategic and tactical aim of war is to preserve one̓s
force and to destroy the enemy̓s force. That is why it is important
to be clear right in the beginning about the policies needed to
develop the Nepalese people̓s war by understanding the overall
national and international situation and the specificities mentioned
above.
In
our situation — give priority to the rural work, but do not
leave urban work; give priority to illegal struggle, but do not
leave legal struggle too; give priority to specific strategic areas,
but do not leave work related to the mass movement too; give priority
to class struggle in the villages, but do not leave countrywide
struggle too; give priority to guerrilla actions, but do not leave
political exposure and propaganda too; give priority to propaganda
work within the country but do not leave worldwide propaganda too;
give priority to building the army organization, but do not leave
building front organizations too; give priority to rely on one̓s
own organization and force, but do not miss forging unity in action,
to take support and help from the international arena; it is only
by applying these policies carefully that the armed struggle can
be initiated, preserved and developed. Neither by being one-sided,
nor by giving equal emphasis to all work, can in the present context
the people̓s war be initiated, preserved and developed. From
this point of view the people̓s war will go ahead as a total
war.
The
successful development of the Nepalese people̓s war will be
determined by decentralizing actions based on central policy, by
launching actions at different isolated spots of the enemy and by
applying a large force against small forces in order to get quick
victory, by adopting hit-and-run tactics, by going ahead with guerrilla
actions under the centralized plan from different parts of the country
but also by giving special attention to specific strategic areas,
and as Mao has said, by organizing and mobilizing as many people
as possible and as fast as possible and as good as possible by placing
the question of capturing political power at the centre.
Some Important Questions Regarding he Initiation of the Armed Struggle
How
to transform a Party like ours which has been for a long period
used to the reformist and parliamentary activities despite a clear
political line, favourable material conditions, an appropriate and
increasing mass base, into a Party for armed struggle? Is it possible
to transform gradually through study, training, reformist struggle,
and a small-scale resistance struggle? Or for that any leap, a rupture
with the past, a decisive step or any big push is necessary? Will
our Party be able to enter into armed struggle smoothly, without
causing any damage to the fundamental class organizational structure?
After the start of the guerrilla war what will be its consequence
and the process of its development? Regarding this, what do Marxist
dialectics, the experience of the International Communist Movement
and our own experience show? Without being clear about these questions
we can̓t start guerrilla war.
Marxism
is a philosophy of struggle. The law of development according to
Marxist dialectics is that each process of development in nature,
society and human thought takes place through the struggle of opposites
and its obvious result will take the form of a leap. Any thought
that sees any kind of development process as an ordinary addition-subtraction
scheme and as gradual evolution should be exposed as bourgeois evolutionism
by the Marxists. It is clear that transformation from one process
to another process does not take place gradually, but through leaps,
through qualitative change, through revolution.
In
this regard Lenin says development is the struggle of opposites;
there are basically two outlooks regarding development, the development
in the form of increase and decrease and the development as a unity
of opposites. Mao has given the name of vulgar evolutionism to the
thought that looks at development as increase and decrease or as
repetition, and said instead that the inevitable result of the unity
and struggle of opposites is a qualitative change — or leap.
This he formulated as unity-struggle-transformation.
In
regards to the theory of knowledge, Mao developed the theory of
two leaps, i.e. from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge,
and from rational knowledge to revolutionary practice. Among these
Mao has termed the phenomenon of leap from rational knowledge to
revolutionary practice as “extremely important”. On
this Mao says: “Only this leap — the first leap of acquiring
knowledge, or the thoughts, theories, policies, plans and means
crystallized as a reflection of the objective external world, verifies
the right from the wrong. Not only this — the only intention
of the proletariat to know the world is to change it”.
Thus
Mao has emphasized on the need and importance of the leap in the
process of transformation of thought into practice.
Leap,
qualitative change and revolution is not gradual evolution but a
state of rupture, or a state of transformation of the opposites
into each other as Mao, while talking of revolution as not being
polite, restrained, etc., had mentioned about qualitative change,
its process, etc.
From
this it is clear that the essence of Marxist dialectics on this
issue is to transform thought into practice. The conscious side
has to make a plan of not gradual evolution but that of a leap.
After having formed an opinion about the character of the Nepalese
revolution, ways of achieving it on the basis of understanding the
material conditions of development of the class struggle in the
Nepalese society and the international situation, it would not be
revolutionary Marxism and will be mere vulgar evolutionism or petit-bourgeois
reformism if we continue to repeat in practice the ways of gradual
evolution or of reform. It is impossible to transform from one process
to another in a gradual manner, for that it is necessary to have
a qualitative leap. Hence it is only through the process of push,
leap and qualitative change tha our Party, which has not taken to
armed struggle even after developing thoughts about it, will be
transformed into a Party capable of leading armed struggle. This
matches with the past and the present experiences of the International
Communist Movement.
Besides
this we must also be clear that this leap will bring a big change
in the structure of a Party like ours which has a predominance of
representatives of the petit-bourgeois class and which has been
used to a reformist work style. That is also not going to be smooth
and easy; there will be a big change in the overall class structure
of the Party because of the process of the coming and going of its
members. This process will unfold amidst big losses and achievements.
In this process, many mistakes, weaknesses and inadequacies of the
Party will have to be paid for by blood.
After
the guerrilla war has started, it will go ahead with the process
of rise and fall, victory and defeat according to the law of war.
But it is important to pay attention to the fact that once one has
raised the banner of rebellion one should be determined to not lower
it until the end, and if done without such a determination it will
mean sinning against the people and it will be against the theory
of MLM.
After
having a Communist Party with an ideological weapon, political line
and means of achieving it, the remaining problem is actually the
problem of starting people̓s war. Lacking clarity on this question,
it is not possible to get liberated from reformism. It has been
verified by history that the people will judge positively all the
historical deeds done for the sake of the people and when done with
a profound belief in the principle of “the masses are the
makers of history”.
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