Communist Party of Nepal (Burma)
Encyclopedia
Communist Party of Nepal (Burma) , initially known simply as Communist Party of Nepal or Communist Party of Nepal (Rayamajhi Group), was a communist party
in Nepal
. The party emerged out of a split in the original Communist Party of Nepal
in 1962, representing the pro-Soviet
sector of the party. Its main leader until 1983 was Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
, who had been the general secretary of the original CPN.
In 1966 the group organised a 'Third Central Conference', with delegates from 17 districts
. The conference amended the old CPN party constitution, adopting 'National Democracy' as the line of the party. The conference stated that the royal takeover in the country had been a backlash for the democratic forces, and called for a united front
to be formed with Nepali Congress
. Moreover, the conference made a call for the holding of a party congress.
In 1967 the group held its 'third congress' in Kathmandu (considering the two first CPN congresses as theirs). The congress elected a 21-member Central Committee
and a five member politburo
. The politburo consisted of Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (general secretary), Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar, Krishna Raj Burma, Kamar Shah and Krishna Prasad Shrestha. Manmohan Adhikari and Shambhu Ram Shrestha, both in jail at the time, were nominated to the Central Committee. The congress stated that the Soviet Union was the international centre of socialism, and condemned the positions of China. The congress called for a peaceful political struggle in Nepal, and condemned the idea of armed struggle as 'adventurism'. The congress branded the rival CPN
of Tulsi Lal Amatya and Pushpa Lal Shrestha
as 'extremist'.
When King Birendra declared Nepal as a 'Zone of Peace', the party wholeheartedly supported this move.
The party was able to maintain its unity until 1979. However, there were intense debates inside the party on how to relate to the Panchayat system. This dispute intensified in 1976, as the King amended the constitution of the country. In the wake of the people's movement of 1979, sharp differences arouse between Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar and Rayamajhi. Manandhar called for participation in the popular protests against the regime, and accused Rayamajhi of favouring status quo
. Manandhar branded Rayamajhi as a 'Royalist', due to his membership in the Raj Sabha appointed by the King. In 1981 the followers of Manandhar, a major section of the party, broke away and formed their own Communist Party of Nepal
. After the split, Rayamajhi labelled the dissidents as being under the influence of the CIA.
The party led by Rayamajhi contested the 1981 Rastriya Panchayat election
, launching over 50 candidates. None of them were elected though.
Two years after the split, the Rayamajhi-led CPN held its fifth party congress. The congress, attended by 125 delegates from 32 districts, elected Rayamajhi as chairman of the party and Krishna Raj Burma as the new general secretary. Soon after the fifth congress, divisions reappeared inside the party. Again the participation in the Raj Sabha by Rayamajhi and accusations of his workings with the Panchayat system were the focal points of disagreements. In September 1983, Rayamajhi was expelled from the party at a national council meeting. Rayamajhi himself was absent at the meeting as well as a least 13 other members of 35-member national council of the party. Rayamajhi's followers regrouped and formed CPN. After the expulsion of Rayamajhi, the party became known as 'CPN(Burma)' (alternatively 'CPN(Varma)' or 'CPN(Verma)').
After the split, CPN(Burma) reoriented itself towards leftwing unity. The party developed good contacts with the Amatya-led CPN. During the 1990 Jana Andolan (People's Movement), CPN(Burma) formed part of the United Left Front
. During the negotiations for starting the rewriting the constitution after the victory of the movement, CPN(Burma) was clearly amongst the most moderate elements inside ULF. When the interim government and the Constitution Recommendations Commission were formed, CPN(Burma) was left out.
CPN(Burma) had 35 candidates in the 1991 parliamentary election
. It got 16698 votes (0.23%), and no MPs. Burma himself contested the Saptari
-5 constituency.
The party had merged itself with the Manadhar and Amatya-led groups to form the Communist Party of Nepal (United) after the 1991 parliamentary election. Soon thereafter, however, Burma split from CPN(United) and re-established his own party.
On June 28, 2001 CPN(Burma) merged into the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
.
in 1956 and adopted by the 1960 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties in Moscow
. The party saw Nepal as a semifeudal and semicolonial country. As of the 1980s, it considered workers, agricultural workers, poor and middle peasants, middle class and intellectuals as friendly classes, and feudalists and capitalists as class enemies. CPN(Burma) considered restoration of democracy, i.e. freedom of speech, press and assembly under multi-party system
, as the main task. Regarding chances in the economic structures, the party favoured gradual reform of the economy of the country. The party identified the contradiction between the people and the panchayat system as a direct contradiction, and the contradiction with feudalism as an indirect contradiction. Its programmatic documents did not specify a single main enemy of the party. The party proposed peaceful struggles against the panchayat system, discarding the idea of armed struggle against monarchy.
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
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...
. The party emerged out of a split in the original Communist Party of Nepal
Communist Party of Nepal
The Communist Party of Nepal was founded in Calcutta, India, on April 29, 1949. CPN was formed to struggle against the autocratic Rana regime, feudalism and imperialism. The founding general secretary was Pushpa Lal Shrestha....
in 1962, representing the pro-Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
sector of the party. Its main leader until 1983 was Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi is a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the communist movement in the country, but later turned into a royalist. Rayamajhi hails from a landlord Chetri family in Tansen, Palpa district....
, who had been the general secretary of the original CPN.
In 1966 the group organised a 'Third Central Conference', with delegates from 17 districts
Districts of Nepal
Nepal's 14 administrative zones are subdivided into 75 districts . These districts are listed below, by zone...
. The conference amended the old CPN party constitution, adopting 'National Democracy' as the line of the party. The conference stated that the royal takeover in the country had been a backlash for the democratic forces, and called for a united front
United front
The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionaries. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international communist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.According to the theses of...
to be formed with 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...
. Moreover, the conference made a call for the holding of a party congress.
In 1967 the group held its 'third congress' in Kathmandu (considering the two first CPN congresses as theirs). The congress elected a 21-member Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
and a five member politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
. The politburo consisted of Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (general secretary), Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar, Krishna Raj Burma, Kamar Shah and Krishna Prasad Shrestha. Manmohan Adhikari and Shambhu Ram Shrestha, both in jail at the time, were nominated to the Central Committee. The congress stated that the Soviet Union was the international centre of socialism, and condemned the positions of China. The congress called for a peaceful political struggle in Nepal, and condemned the idea of armed struggle as 'adventurism'. The congress branded the rival CPN
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...
of Tulsi Lal Amatya and Pushpa Lal Shrestha
Pushpa Lal Shrestha
Pushpa Lal Shrestha was the founding general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal as well as the leader of the Communist Party of Nepal ....
as 'extremist'.
When King Birendra declared Nepal as a 'Zone of Peace', the party wholeheartedly supported this move.
The party was able to maintain its unity until 1979. However, there were intense debates inside the party on how to relate to the Panchayat system. This dispute intensified in 1976, as the King amended the constitution of the country. In the wake of the people's movement of 1979, sharp differences arouse between Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar and Rayamajhi. Manandhar called for participation in the popular protests against the regime, and accused Rayamajhi of favouring status quo
Status quo
Statu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
. Manandhar branded Rayamajhi as a 'Royalist', due to his membership in the Raj Sabha appointed by the King. In 1981 the followers of Manandhar, a major section of the party, broke away and formed their own Communist Party of Nepal
Communist Party of Nepal (Democratic)
Communist Party of Nepal , was a splinter group of the Communist Party of Nepal formed in 1979, in the backdrop of the popular movement that surged in that year. The party was led by Bishnu Bahadur Manandhar. CPN was clearly pro-Soviet Union.Ahead of the 1991 parliamentary election the party...
. After the split, Rayamajhi labelled the dissidents as being under the influence of the CIA.
The party led by Rayamajhi contested the 1981 Rastriya Panchayat election
Nepalese Rastriya Panchayat election, 1981
Elections were held to the Rastriya Panchayat in Nepal on 9 May 1981. 80% of the seats were elected through adult universal suffrage; this was the first election through universal suffrage held in Nepal in 22 years...
, launching over 50 candidates. None of them were elected though.
Two years after the split, the Rayamajhi-led CPN held its fifth party congress. The congress, attended by 125 delegates from 32 districts, elected Rayamajhi as chairman of the party and Krishna Raj Burma as the new general secretary. Soon after the fifth congress, divisions reappeared inside the party. Again the participation in the Raj Sabha by Rayamajhi and accusations of his workings with the Panchayat system were the focal points of disagreements. In September 1983, Rayamajhi was expelled from the party at a national council meeting. Rayamajhi himself was absent at the meeting as well as a least 13 other members of 35-member national council of the party. Rayamajhi's followers regrouped and formed CPN. After the expulsion of Rayamajhi, the party became known as 'CPN(Burma)' (alternatively 'CPN(Varma)' or 'CPN(Verma)').
After the split, CPN(Burma) reoriented itself towards leftwing unity. The party developed good contacts with the Amatya-led CPN. During the 1990 Jana Andolan (People's Movement), CPN(Burma) formed part of the United Left Front
United Left Front (Nepal) (1990)
United Left Front, an alliance of communist parties who opposed the authocratic regime in Nepal. ULF was formed in 1990. It conducted joint movement together with the Nepali Congress...
. During the negotiations for starting the rewriting the constitution after the victory of the movement, CPN(Burma) was clearly amongst the most moderate elements inside ULF. When the interim government and the Constitution Recommendations Commission were formed, CPN(Burma) was left out.
CPN(Burma) had 35 candidates in the 1991 parliamentary election
Nepalese legislative elections, 1991
Elections to the Pratinidhi Sabha were held on May 12, 1991. These were the first multiparty elections following the uprising against monarchic autocracy in 1990.Electoral participation was 61.7%....
. It got 16698 votes (0.23%), and no MPs. Burma himself contested the Saptari
Saptari District
Saptari District of 570,282. Saptari is renowned for its agricultural output, and is bordered on the east by the massive Sapt Koshi river.Significant towns are Rajbiraj, the district centre, Hanumannagar, and Fattepur with the area government "Matsya Palan Kendra" fish farm.The famous Chhinna...
-5 constituency.
The party had merged itself with the Manadhar and Amatya-led groups to form the Communist Party of Nepal (United) after the 1991 parliamentary election. Soon thereafter, however, Burma split from CPN(United) and re-established his own party.
On June 28, 2001 CPN(Burma) merged into the 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...
.
Political analysis
CPN(Burma) upheld the line of 'National Democracy Revolution', a programmatic line presented by Nikita KhrushchevNikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
in 1956 and adopted by the 1960 International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
. The party saw Nepal as a semifeudal and semicolonial country. As of the 1980s, it considered workers, agricultural workers, poor and middle peasants, middle class and intellectuals as friendly classes, and feudalists and capitalists as class enemies. CPN(Burma) considered restoration of democracy, i.e. freedom of speech, press and assembly under multi-party system
Multi-party system
A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...
, as the main task. Regarding chances in the economic structures, the party favoured gradual reform of the economy of the country. The party identified the contradiction between the people and the panchayat system as a direct contradiction, and the contradiction with feudalism as an indirect contradiction. Its programmatic documents did not specify a single main enemy of the party. The party proposed peaceful struggles against the panchayat system, discarding the idea of armed struggle against monarchy.