Back to where it started

The cradle of the Maoist revolution is empty as rebels head for the cities

by SUBEL BHANDARI

FROM ISSUE # 123 (March 2006) | IN THIS ISSUE
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SUBEL BHANDARI

On the 10th anniversary of the People's War, WAVE went to Rolpa and Rukum with trepidation. But there was no People's Liberation Army or even district-level comrades around.

Last year, comrade Bikash had promised to meet us in Kathmandu in three years, villagers told us that he had left with other comrades for the cities with their motto 'Climb on the shoulder and hit the head.' I was there with two foreign journalists and Sarahana Shrestha of samudaya.org. Our pre-poned flight from Nepalgunj was rough, the pilot was not in uniform and the airhostess was wearing black jeans and t-shirt, a copy of WAVE in her hand.

We reached Khalanga, a small place in Rukum with a population of 9,000. The Royal Nepali Army and the police guard this district headquarters and Libang of Rolpa. They are not kind to visiting journalists from Kathmandu because only a month back, the Maoists had organised two media programmes. The locals are more receptive as Narhari Buda, a 22-year-old photographer says, "Recent Maoist policy shows they are keen to end the violence. The ball is in the king's court; everything now depends on how the government reacts.

SUBEL BHANDARI A boy watches the 10th anniversary celebrations hosted by the Maoists in a village near Nepalgunj.

We went to meet Rukum chief district officer Bal Bahadur Malla. The CDO was playing badminton, heavily armed security personnel guarding him. "I'm here to serve the people," he said serving the shuttlecock.

We left for Rukumkot. The rice fields were golden and red mud houses dotted the area. It was relatively easy for us to get permits to Mahat. There were no hotels but we were allowed to stay at a health post. The next day we started for Thawang where we met comrade Inkaar, the Village People's Government Chief who told us that their 10th anniversary programme had been postponed from 13 to 18 February.

Events are held after-dark in Thawang. A strike had been declared for the next day followed by a torch procession in the evening. A dozen people, half of  whom were below 14 years of age, chanted anti-monarchy slogans. Circles of bonfire in the dark across the hills reminded me of a scene from Lord of the Rings. A gunshot was fired from a rusty old gun after many tries, and everybody went home.

SUBEL BHANDARI Rukumkot village.

Thawang is decorated with murals of the five communist leaders Stalin, Lenin, Mao, Marx and Engels. From newly-formed PLA's Military Academy members to the chairman of Nepal Untouchables' Liberation Front, Tilak Pariyar, everyone walks this road because they believe it's a 'pilgrimage' and is 'safer' route. Pariyar says there are six million Dalits in Nepal and 300,000 of them are his party's members. "Around 10,000 whole timers work in the Maoist revolution," he continues, "Guns aren't good but they are needed for our revolution to breakthrough."

Shobha Gharti, a 50-year-old woman who runs a restaurant and two shops told us about the army operation on Christmas day, "The RNA came at 10AM and destroyed two houses including a Regional Agricultural building and vandalised the place. They tried to torch the Maoists' Welcome Gate, bombed a toilet, and took away solar plates, batteries and old guns,". Gharti fled to Funtibang, a nearby village. The villagers left during the 10 years of insurgency, now even the Maoists have gone. Only the elderly and children remain.

SUBEL BHANDARI Comrade Inkaar walks by the mural of communist leaders in Thabang.

The signature mural of Thawang has been retouched, more slogans painted and flags put up. Businessman turned comrade, Inkaar, proudly says, "There's been farming of 13,000 fruits like apple, pomegranate and peanuts in Chalabang. A few public toilets have been built. The literacy programme has been suspended because we are fighting. All our economy is wasted to fight the state."

The Martyr's Memorial New Model School at Thawang practices 'people's education'. The syllabus includes stories of Karl Marx, Mao Tse Tung, Lenin, Engels, Stalin and even 'martyrs' like Krishna Sen. The principal was reading the Nepali translation of Hitler's Mein Kampf when we met him. "Hitler, he was 75 percent good and 25 percent bad," he said. Since there wasn't much happening, we decided to return to Nepalgunj.

SUBEL BHANDARI A woman walks the Martyrs' Road.

A 10-hour walk for two days took us to the Martyr's Road. The construction of this 93 km road connects Dang's Holleri to Rolpa's Thawang. The Maoists made it compulsory for every house to volunteer a worker for two weeks in the construction. The punishment for defiance could cost upto Rs 5,000. There was a 10-year-old girl and a 70-year-old woman working in the group of 750 people.

In Dang we heard about Umesh Thapa, the CPN(UML) member who was killed by a security personnel. In Nepalgunj, we learnt of Prachanda's interviews in the media. The Maoist anniversary programme was in a village half-hour away. Knowing they were so close to the city was frightening. Last year, King Gyanendra had asked the regional headquarters to be moved to Surkhet, so there aren't many security forces there.

SUBEL BHANDARI Children run through fields in Rukumkot.

Maoist flags fluttered from trees and rooftops. Welcome Gates had been built. There were speeches, songs and dances. The army's helicopter hovered above twice. The Maoist programme which started at noon went on till 8PM. We talked to young guerillas and were sad to hear ideological feed. We met comrade Athak, the highest ranking Maoist in the west who said, "We are proud to have a leader like Prachanda. He has the capacity to lead the world." The 13,000 dead people in the 10 years told us otherwise. We returned home with a hollow feeling.