Chandra Prakash Mainali
Encyclopedia
Chandra Prakash Mainali (b. August 22, 1951, Chokpur, Taplejung District
) is a communist politician in Nepal
. He was born to Dhanpati and Chandrakumari Mainali.
From 1965 onwards he was involved in the student movement. In 1970, Mainali joined the Communist Party of Nepal
. During his years as a political activist, he had aliases ('party names') such as Jay, Subhas, Devi and Kanchan.
In 1971, Mainali was one of a group of young leaders of the Jhapa District
Committee of the Communist Party of Nepal
. The other main leaders of this group were Radha Krishna Mainali
, Mainali's brother, and Mohan Chandra Adhikari
. The group was inspired by the Naxalbari rebellion
in India
and its leader Charu Majumdar
. In May 1971, the group initiated an armed rebellion, killing landlords and other perceived class enemies.
The leadership of the party did not approve of the methods used by the Jhapa movement, and Mainali and his fellows were now an independent grouping. The rebellion was rapidly crushed by the state forces and hundreds of its followers were killed, jailed or forced into exile. Nevertheless, the group continued to conduct clandestine political work amongst the peasants of Jhapa.
In 1975, the survivors of the Jhapa movement took the initiative to found the All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee (Marxist-Leninist)
. Other small groups merged with ANCRCC(ML). On December 26, 1978, ANCRCC(ML) organized the founding congress of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist)
. Mainali was elected general secretary of the party. CPN(ML) was an underground party, and conducted small-scale, armed activities against the regime and feudal landlords.
The tactics of armed struggle, however, did not prove to be successful for CPN(ML). The party changed its political approach and started to focus more on mobilizing mass movements for a democratic change. Mainali, clearly identified with the initial militant phase of the party, was removed from his post of general secretary and replaced by Jhala Nath Khanal
.
Later CPN(ML) would merge into Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
. When CPN(UML), under Man Mohan Adhikari
's premiership, formed a minority government in 1994, C.P. Mainali was nominated to become the speaker of the legislative. He was, however, defeated by the Nepali Congress
nominee, Ram Chandra Paudel
. Mainali was then named Minister for Local Development and Supply.
In 1998 CPN(UML) was torn by internal strife. Mainali and Bam Dev Gautam
led a break-away group that was named Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist)
. CPN(ML) briefly joined a Nepali Congress
government led by G.P. Koirala. In the 1999 parliamentary elections
CPN(ML) failed miserably to challenge the domination of CPN(UML). The party did get an impressive 6.4% of the national vote, but failed to win a single seat.
At the time of the 2000 CPN(ML) party congress, Mainali challenged Bam Dev Gautam for the post of general secretary. Whereas Gautam upheld the line of People's Multiparty Democracy as formulated by Madan Kumar Bhandari
(which was also the political line of CPN(UML)), Mainali argued for a more radical political approach.
In 2002 CPN(ML) and CPN(UML) re-unified. C.P. Mainali did however refuse to go along with the merger and refounded CPN(ML)
. He remains the general secretary of this party.
During the anti-government protests in 2002-2006, Mainali is one of the main leaders of the United Left Front. He has served as ULF chairman for a period. Following the February 1, 2005 royal coup d'état, Mainali was placed in house arrest. He was released on February 25.
In January 2007, Mainali was inducted into the interim parliament
. He was the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee of the interim parliament. After the 2008 Constituent Assembly election
, Mainali became a Constituent Assembly member.
Taplejung District
Taplejung District of 134,698.The name Taplejung is derived from the words "Taple" and "Jung". Taple was the medieval Limbu King who used to rule the area and "Jung" in Limbu language means Fort. Literally, Taplejung means Fort of King Taple....
) is a communist politician in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. He was born to Dhanpati and Chandrakumari Mainali.
From 1965 onwards he was involved in the student movement. In 1970, Mainali joined the Communist Party of Nepal
Communist Party of Nepal (Amatya)
Communist Party of Nepal, also referred to as Communist Party of Nepal was a communist party in Nepal. It emerged out of a split in the original Communist Party of Nepal in 1962...
. During his years as a political activist, he had aliases ('party names') such as Jay, Subhas, Devi and Kanchan.
In 1971, Mainali was one of a group of young leaders of the Jhapa District
Jhapa District
Jhapa District, a district of Mechi Zone, is one of the seventy-five districts of Nepal. The district, with Chandragadhi as its district headquarters, covers an area of 1,606 km² and has a population of 688,109.-Location:...
Committee of the Communist Party of Nepal
Communist Party of Nepal (Amatya)
Communist Party of Nepal, also referred to as Communist Party of Nepal was a communist party in Nepal. It emerged out of a split in the original Communist Party of Nepal in 1962...
. The other main leaders of this group were Radha Krishna Mainali
Radha Krishna Mainali
Radha Krishna Mainali is a Nepalese politician. In the early 1970s he was one of the radical communists who led the Jhapa rebellion, inspired by the Naxalite movement in India.R.K. Mainali was imprisoned in 1973, and was not released until 1986...
, Mainali's brother, and Mohan Chandra Adhikari
Mohan Chandra Adhikari
Mohan Chandra Adhikari is a former communist politician in Nepal. He hails from a Brahmin family in Morang District. Adhikari studied up to B.A. level, but didn't appear in the final exams. Adhikari had been a follower of Pushpa Lal Shrestha, but turned more radical than his mentor...
. The group was inspired by the Naxalbari rebellion
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and its leader Charu Majumdar
Charu Majumdar
Charu Majumdar was a communist revolutionary from India. Charu Majumdar's life is a story of "riches to rags". Born in a progressive landlord family in Siliguri in 1918, he not only dedicated his entire life to peasants' cause but also authored the historic 1968 Naxalbari uprising, the ideology...
. In May 1971, the group initiated an armed rebellion, killing landlords and other perceived class enemies.
The leadership of the party did not approve of the methods used by the Jhapa movement, and Mainali and his fellows were now an independent grouping. The rebellion was rapidly crushed by the state forces and hundreds of its followers were killed, jailed or forced into exile. Nevertheless, the group continued to conduct clandestine political work amongst the peasants of Jhapa.
In 1975, the survivors of the Jhapa movement took the initiative to found the All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee (Marxist-Leninist)
All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee (Marxist-Leninist)
All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee was a revolutionary communist movement formed in Nepal in 1975. ANCRCC had its roots in Jhapa District Committee of the Communist Party of Nepal as well as the Morang-based Nepal Revolutionary Organisation...
. Other small groups merged with ANCRCC(ML). On December 26, 1978, ANCRCC(ML) organized the founding congress of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Nepal , was an underground political party in Nepal. It was founded 1978 by the All Nepal Communist Revolutionary Coordination Committee . The founding congress was held December 26, 1978-January 1, 1979. The first general secretary of CPN was C.P...
. Mainali was elected general secretary of the party. CPN(ML) was an underground party, and conducted small-scale, armed activities against the regime and feudal landlords.
The tactics of armed struggle, however, did not prove to be successful for CPN(ML). The party changed its political approach and started to focus more on mobilizing mass movements for a democratic change. Mainali, clearly identified with the initial militant phase of the party, was removed from his post of general secretary and replaced by Jhala Nath Khanal
Jhala Nath Khanal
Jhala Nath Khanal was the 34th Prime Minister of Nepal having taken office in February 2011. He holds the positions of Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal and Leader of the Constituent Assembly Parliamentary Party of the CPN .-Life and early career:Born in Sakhejung in the Ilam District,...
.
Later CPN(ML) would merge into Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
The Communist Party of Nepal , also known as CPN-UML, CPN, is one of the largest communist parties in Nepal. It was created on January 6, 1991 through the unification of the Communist Party of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal...
. When CPN(UML), under Man Mohan Adhikari
Man Mohan Adhikari
Man Mohan Adhikari was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1994 to 1995, representing the Communist Party of Nepal . He was the first democratically-elected Communist Party member to be PM in Nepal....
's premiership, formed a minority government in 1994, C.P. Mainali was nominated to become the speaker of the legislative. He was, however, defeated by the Nepali Congress
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress is a Nepalese political party. Nepali Congress led the 1950 Democratic Movement which successfully ended the Rana dynasty and allowed commoners to take part in the polity. It again led a democratic movement in 1990, in partnership with leftist forces, to end monarchy and...
nominee, Ram Chandra Paudel
Ram Chandra Paudel
Ram Chandra Poudel or Ram Chandra Paudel is a Nepalese politician, belonging to the Nepali Congress. In the 2008 Constituent Assembly election he was elected from the Tanahu-2 constituency, winning 18970 votes....
. Mainali was then named Minister for Local Development and Supply.
In 1998 CPN(UML) was torn by internal strife. Mainali and Bam Dev Gautam
Bam Dev Gautam
Bam Dev Gautam , born July 11, 1944 in Pyuthan District is a senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal...
led a break-away group that was named Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist)
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) (1998)
Communist Party of Nepal , a splinter-group from the Communist Party of Nepal formed on March 5, 1998. Sahana Pradhan was the chair of the party and Bam Dev Gautam the general secretary. Within the CPN a power struggle had taken place after the death of Madan Bhandari...
. CPN(ML) briefly joined a Nepali Congress
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress is a Nepalese political party. Nepali Congress led the 1950 Democratic Movement which successfully ended the Rana dynasty and allowed commoners to take part in the polity. It again led a democratic movement in 1990, in partnership with leftist forces, to end monarchy and...
government led by G.P. Koirala. In the 1999 parliamentary elections
Nepalese legislative elections, 1999
A legislative election was held in Nepal on May 3 and May 17, 1999.-Background and outcome:The last elections to the Pratinidhi Sabha prior to these had been in 1994 when the Communist Party of Nepal and been victorious and formed the first ever 'communist monarchy'. Yet by 1999, infighting, such...
CPN(ML) failed miserably to challenge the domination of CPN(UML). The party did get an impressive 6.4% of the national vote, but failed to win a single seat.
At the time of the 2000 CPN(ML) party congress, Mainali challenged Bam Dev Gautam for the post of general secretary. Whereas Gautam upheld the line of People's Multiparty Democracy as formulated by Madan Kumar Bhandari
Madan Kumar Bhandari
Madan Kumar Bhandari was a Nepali politician and communist leader.Bhandari was born in Taplejung. He studied in Varanasi, India and in 1972 was named central committee member of the Janabadi Sanskritik Morcha , a student's movement launched by Pushpa Lal Shrestha...
(which was also the political line of CPN(UML)), Mainali argued for a more radical political approach.
In 2002 CPN(ML) and CPN(UML) re-unified. C.P. Mainali did however refuse to go along with the merger and refounded CPN(ML)
Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) (2002)
Communist Party of Nepal , a political party in Nepal formed by C.P. Mainali when the CPN reunified with Communist Party of Nepal...
. He remains the general secretary of this party.
During the anti-government protests in 2002-2006, Mainali is one of the main leaders of the United Left Front. He has served as ULF chairman for a period. Following the February 1, 2005 royal coup d'état, Mainali was placed in house arrest. He was released on February 25.
In January 2007, Mainali was inducted into the interim parliament
Interim legislature of Nepal
On January 15, 2007 the Pratinidhi Sabha, the legislature of Nepal, was dissolved and a new Interim legislature was formed. The old parliament was elected in 1999...
. He was the chairman of the Natural Resources Committee of the interim parliament. After the 2008 Constituent Assembly election
Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, 2008
A general election for the Constituent Assembly was held in Nepal on 10 April 2008 after having been postponed from earlier dates of 7 June 2007 and 22 November 2007. The Nepalese Constituent Assembly will draft a new constitution; it will therefore decide, amongst other things, on the issue of...
, Mainali became a Constituent Assembly member.
External links
- "We cannot think of any association with the UML" - 2003 interview