Which Way Nepal?: A discussion on Recent Political Development
Speakers: Prashant Jha (Senior Journalist and Commentator), Gautam Navlakha (Activist and Political commentator), Subhash Gatade (Activist, NSI and Author)
18th December; 5 pm onward; SPWD Conference Hall, 14 A Vishnu Digambar Jain Marg (Between Hindi Bhavan and Ajoy Bhavan), ITO, New Delhi
Background note: Recent developments in Nepal have baffled many.
We have been witness to the near rout faced by the Maoists in the latest round of elections to the constituent assembly. They have come a poor third trailing far behind Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) It was only the year 2008 that Maoists, whose revolt was instrumental in the overthrow of Nepal's monarchy and Nepal's ushering into a secular republic, had emerged as the single largest party. The developments there had then electrified many - especially the revolutionary left - in this part of South Asia and there were high expectations from the novel experiment undertaken by them. Nobody expected that they would face rejection within such a short period.
There have been varied reactions to the developments there. While a section of the revolutionary left feels that such developments are a culmination of the abandonment of armed struggle by the Maoists, people who have been sympathetic to the cause espoused by the Maoists feel that it is a result of their internecine struggles which led to a split among its ranks coupled with the changed concerns and lifestyles of a section of its leadership.
Looking at the fact that the Nepalese experience has tremendous import for everyone associated with transformative politics we feel that the debate needs to be widened and deepened further. In fact, we feel that everyone concerned with building socialism in 21 st century, needs to revisit the experiment underway there and draw necessary lessons.
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| Nepali Congress supporters celebrating their party's victory |
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