The Communist Party of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी), abbreviated CPN, was a
communist party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
in
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic
Rana regime
Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
,
feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
, and
imperialism
Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...
. The founding general secretary was
Pushpa Lal Shrestha
Pushpa Lal Shrestha ( ne, पुष्पलाल श्रेष्ठ) (1924 – 22 July 1978) was a Nepali politician, considered to be the father of Nepali communism. He was the founding general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal as ...
. The founding members of the Communist Party of Nepal were Moti Devi Shrestha, Niranjan Govinda Vaidya,
Nar Bahadur Karmacharya and Narayan Bilas Joshi.
History
Formation and early years, 1949–1951
The party was formed by
Pushpa Lal Shrestha
Pushpa Lal Shrestha ( ne, पुष्पलाल श्रेष्ठ) (1924 – 22 July 1978) was a Nepali politician, considered to be the father of Nepali communism. He was the founding general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal as ...
, a former member of the
Nepali National Congress
Nepali National Congress () was a political party in Nepal. It was formed by B. P. Koirala, Matrika Prasad Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi and others.
It merged with the Nepal Democratic Congress l ...
, who had grown disillusioned with the infighting in the party and the willingness to cooperate and make concessions with the
Ranas
Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
. After his resignation from the
Nepali National Congress
Nepali National Congress () was a political party in Nepal. It was formed by B. P. Koirala, Matrika Prasad Koirala, Ganesh Man Singh, Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Mahendra Narayan Nidhi and others.
It merged with the Nepal Democratic Congress l ...
–which would later become the
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...
–he had been inspired by
Marxist literary criticism
Marxism was introduced by Karl Marx. Most Marxist critics who were writing in what could chronologically be specified as the early period of Marxist literary criticism, subscribed to what has come to be called " vulgar Marxism." In this thinking ...
and in April 1949 published a translated version of ''
The Communist Manifesto
''The Communist Manifesto'', originally the ''Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (german: Manifest der Kommunistischen Partei), is a political pamphlet written by German philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Commissioned by the Commu ...
'' in the
Nepali language
Nepali (; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Himalayas region of South Asia. It is the official, and most widely spoken, language of Nepal, where it also serves as a '' lingua franca''. Nepali has official status in the Indian st ...
. There were initial plans to work within the Nepali National Congress as a leftist group or organize as a workers-peasants party but this was eventually scrapped.
Shrestha who was in Kolkata at the time joined the ''Marxist Study Circle'' in
Campbell Medical School.
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (1919 – 17 December 2012) ( ne, केशरजंग रायमाझी) was a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the communist movement in the country, but later turned into a royalist. Rayamajhi hails fr ...
who was studying at Campbell and
Man Mohan Adhikari
Man Mohan Adhikari (Magi) ( ne, मन मोहन अधिकारी 9 June 1920 – 26 April 1999) was the 31st Prime Minister of Nepal from 1994 to 1995, representing the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). He is the ...
who was studying in
Benaras at the time were also members of the group.
On 22 April 1949, Pushpa Lal became the secretary of an organizing committee which was to become the Communist Party of Nepal. The members of the organizing committee at the time were Moti Devi Shrestha, Niranjan Govinda Vaidya,
Nar Bahadur Karmacharya and Narayan Bilas Joshi.
The Central Organising Committee of the CPN published the first issue of the ''Communist Pachhik Prachar Patra'' on 15 September 1949 as the manifesto of the CPN. The date was symbolic as exactly one hundred and three years ago
Jang Bahadur Rana
Maharaja Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, (born Bir Narsingh Kunwar ( ne, वीर नरसिंह कुँवर), 18 June 1817; popularly known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR, ne, जङ्गबहादुर राणा)) () belonging to the ...
had started the
Rana regime
Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
in Nepal after orchestrating the
Kot massacre
The Kot massacre ( ne, कोत पर्व) took place on 14 September 1846 when then Kaji Jang Bahadur Kunwar and his brothers killed about 30-40 civil, military officers and palace guards of the Nepalese palace court including the Prime M ...
.
The first central committee of the CPN did not include any other members of the original organizing committee except for Shrestha. The members of the first central committee were
Man Mohan Adhikari
Man Mohan Adhikari (Magi) ( ne, मन मोहन अधिकारी 9 June 1920 – 26 April 1999) was the 31st Prime Minister of Nepal from 1994 to 1995, representing the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). He is the ...
,
Tulsi Lal Amatya
Tulsi Lal Amatya (; May 1916 – August 1997) was a Nepalese politician.
Biography
Amatya was born in May 1916 in Lalitpur, Nepal to Riddhinarsimha Malla Amatya and Yog Maya Awnatya.
In 1962, he served as the general secretary of the Commun ...
,
Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya, D.P. Adhikari and
Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925.
H ...
member Ayodhya Singh.
The CPN played an important role in the 1951 uprising that overthrew the Rana regime
Rana regime
Rana dynasty ( ne, राणा वंश, IAST=Rāṇā vaṃśa , ) is a Chhetri dynasty that imposed totalitarianism in the Kingdom of Nepal from 1846 until 1951, reducing the Shah monarch to a figurehead and making Prime Minister and other ...
. The party was one of the constituents of the United Democratic Front along with smaller communist and leftist groups. The UDF organized civil disobedience movements and also demanded the release of political prisoners.
Ban, 1952–1954
On 8 June 1952, the Kisan Sangh (Farmer's Union), the farmers-wing of the CPN, declared a revolt against landlords and demanded that land be distributed to landless peasants. Earlier in the year in January, a coup was attempted by the Rakshya Dal under the leadership of
Kunwar Inderjit Singh
Kunwar Indrajit Singh ( ne, कुँवर इन्द्रजीत सिंह; 1906 – 4 October 1982), popularly known as Dr. K.I. Singh or just K.I. Singh was a Nepali politician and revolutionary who served as the 20th Prime Minis ...
. The party had occupied the airfield, radio station, the post and the telegraph office at
Singha Durbar
Singha Durbar ( ne, सिंहदरवार, lit=Lion's Palace) is a palace in Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. The palace complex lies in the centre of Kathmandu, to the north of the Babar Mahal and Thapathali Durbar and east of Bhadrak ...
. They had demanded that an all-party government be formed that included the Communists but exuded the far-right
Nepal Rashtrabadi Gorkha Parishad Nepal Rashtrabadi Gorkha Parishad (Nepal Nationalist Gorkha Council), a pro-monarchy political party in Nepal. The party was founded in 1951 by members of the erstwhile Rana dynasty. The party was led by Bharat Shamsher JBR and MG Mrigendra Shamshe ...
. The military intervened and Singh was arrested. As a consequence of this event, the CPN was banned on 24 January 1952.
The party contested the
1953 Kathmandu municipal election Local elections to a municipal council for Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, ( ne, काठमाडौ नगरपालिका चुनाव सन् १९५३) were first held on September 9, 1953. Candidates nominated by the illegal Com ...
as independents and won half of the votes and six seats to the nineteen-member council. Janak Man Singh from the party was elected as the first mayor elected
mayor of Kathmandu
The mayor of Kathmandu is the head of the municipal executive of Kathmandu Metropolitan City. The officeholder is elected for a five-year term and limited to serving no more than two terms. The role was first created in 1932 during the Rana reg ...
. In the end of 1955, the party organized the Rastriya Janamorcha (National People's Front) under the leadership of general secretary
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (1919 – 17 December 2012) ( ne, केशरजंग रायमाझी) was a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the communist movement in the country, but later turned into a royalist. Rayamajhi hails fr ...
.
First general convention, 1954–1958
![Man Mohan Adhikari](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Man_Mohan_Adhikari.png)
In 1954, the first party congress was held clandestinely in
Patan, Lalitpur
Lalitpur Metropolitan City, historically Patan ( sa, पाटन ''Pāṭana'', Nepal bhasa : '' Yela'', ), is the fourth most populous city of Nepal after Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bharatpur, and it is located in the south-central part of Kat ...
.
Man Mohan Adhikari
Man Mohan Adhikari (Magi) ( ne, मन मोहन अधिकारी 9 June 1920 – 26 April 1999) was the 31st Prime Minister of Nepal from 1994 to 1995, representing the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). He is the ...
was elected as the party's general secretary, the party also approved a programme to replace monarchism with a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
an system framed by an elected
constituent assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
.
In 1956, when the
Tanka Prasad Acharya
Tanka Prasad Acharya (Nepali: टंक प्रसाद आचार्य; 11 February 1912 – 23 April 1992) was a Nepali politician who served as the 19th Prime Minister of Nepal from 1956 to 1957. He was one of the founders and the leader ...
-led government became an ally of the Communist Party of Nepal, the party had to accept constitutional monarchy as a condition to lift the ban on the party. In April 1956, the ban on the party was lifted.
The party was also considered to be relatively tamed at this point as the leadership had displayed a level of deference towards the monarchy that most communist movements did not.
In 1957, the second party congress was held in
Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
. For the first time, the party could hold its congress openly, and
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (1919 – 17 December 2012) ( ne, केशरजंग रायमाझी) was a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the communist movement in the country, but later turned into a royalist. Rayamajhi hails fr ...
was elected general secretary.
First elections and royal coup, 1959–1961
![Keshar Jung Rayamajhi](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Keshar_Jung_Rayamajhi.jpg)
The party contested the
1959 Nepalese general election and won four seats to the
first House of Representative.
Tulsi Lal Amatya
Tulsi Lal Amatya (; May 1916 – August 1997) was a Nepalese politician.
Biography
Amatya was born in May 1916 in Lalitpur, Nepal to Riddhinarsimha Malla Amatya and Yog Maya Awnatya.
In 1962, he served as the general secretary of the Commun ...
was elected as the party's parliamentary party leader in the House of Representatives.
CPN also had one member in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
(the upper house at the time) when Sambhu Ram Shrestha was elected in 1959. When
King Mahendra
Mahendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev ( ne, श्री ५ महाराजाधिराज महेन्द्र वीर विक्रम शाह देव; 11 June 1920 – 31 January 1972) was the King of Nepal from 13 March 1955 until ...
took power and started his own direct rule, two major blocks developed in the party.
The block led by
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (1919 – 17 December 2012) ( ne, केशरजंग रायमाझी) was a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the communist movement in the country, but later turned into a royalist. Rayamajhi hails fr ...
supported the royal coup and the other block led by Tulsi Lal Amatya called for a united struggle against the coup. Rayamajhi's position prompted
Ajoy Ghosh
Ajoy Kumar Ghosh ( bn, অজয়কুমার ঘোষ) (20 February 1909–13 January 1962) was an Indian freedom fighter and prominent leader of the Communist Party of India. He was the general secretary of the Communist Party o ...
, leader of the
Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925.
H ...
to advice Rayamjhi to rectify his positions and retain the struggle against the monarchy.
In early 1961, all political parties were banned. A wave of repression against CPN was initiated by the government. Rayamajhi had expressed certain faith in the politics of the monarch, something that provoked stern reaction from other sectors of the party.
To resolve the conflict a central plenum was convened in
Darbhanga,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
as all political gatherings in Nepal had been banned by royal decree. The plenum unanimously passed the line of armed struggle that was proposed by Pushpa Lal.
Three lines had now emerged in the party, that of a pro-constitutional monarchy line led by Rayamajhi, a line that wanted to restore the dissolved parliament and launch broad mass movements led by Pushpa Lal, and a third line which favoured a constitutional assembly led by
Mohan Bikram Singh
Mohan Bikram Singh (born 15 April 1935), often referred to as MBS, party name Gharti, is a Nepalese communist politician. His father was a wealthy landlord in Pyuthan District who was close to King Tribhuvan. MBS however joined the opposition ...
. The latter line emerged victorious, but its sole representative in the Central Committee was Singh.
Split and dissolution, 1962
![Tulsi Lal Amatya](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Tulsi_Lal_Amatya.png)
In April 1962, one section of the party convened the third party congress in
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. The congress approved the programme of National Democratic Revolution proposed by
Tulsi Lal Amatya
Tulsi Lal Amatya (; May 1916 – August 1997) was a Nepalese politician.
Biography
Amatya was born in May 1916 in Lalitpur, Nepal to Riddhinarsimha Malla Amatya and Yog Maya Awnatya.
In 1962, he served as the general secretary of the Commun ...
. Amatya was also elected as the general secretary.
Pushpa Lal was in the capital at the time of the congress but had supported the decision. The congress also decided to expel Rayamjhi who supported the monarchy, but the faction led by Rayamajhi, who controlled the Central Committee, did not recognize this congress as legitimate. The party then split into the
Communist Party of Nepal (Amatya)
The Communist Party of Nepal, also referred to as the Communist Party of Nepal (Amatya), was a communist party in Nepal. It emerged from a split in the original Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) in 1962. The CPN had been ravaged by internal conflict ...
and
Communist Party of Nepal (Rayamjhi)
Communist Party of Nepal (Burma) ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (वर्मा)), initially known simply as Communist Party of Nepal or Communist Party of Nepal (Rayamajhi Group), was a communist party in ...
.
Ideology
The main objective of the Communist Party of Nepal in the 1950s was to transform Nepal into a
republic
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
, later on during the decade the party adopted
Leninist
Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishme ...
principles of class struggle against the urban centered and the elite oriented. The party was also critical of the
Nepali Congress
The Nepali Congress ( ne, नेपाली कांग्रेस ; abbr. NC) is the largest social democratic political party in Nepal. As per the results of recent local election, ''Nepali Congress'' stands as the single largest party of ...
, which was considered close to the ruling
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...
. The party had opposed what it called
cultural imperialism
Cultural imperialism (sometimes referred to as cultural colonialism) comprises the cultural dimensions of imperialism. The word "imperialism" often describes practices in which a social entity engages culture (including language, traditions, ...
of India.
Electoral performance
Leadership
General Secretaries
*
Pushpa Lal Shrestha
Pushpa Lal Shrestha ( ne, पुष्पलाल श्रेष्ठ) (1924 – 22 July 1978) was a Nepali politician, considered to be the father of Nepali communism. He was the founding general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal as ...
, 1949–1954
*
Man Mohan Adhikari
Man Mohan Adhikari (Magi) ( ne, मन मोहन अधिकारी 9 June 1920 – 26 April 1999) was the 31st Prime Minister of Nepal from 1994 to 1995, representing the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist). He is the ...
, 1954–1957
*
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi
Keshar Jung Rayamajhi (1919 – 17 December 2012) ( ne, केशरजंग रायमाझी) was a Nepalese politician. He was a leading figure in the communist movement in the country, but later turned into a royalist. Rayamajhi hails fr ...
, 1957–1962
*
Tulsi Lal Amatya
Tulsi Lal Amatya (; May 1916 – August 1997) was a Nepalese politician.
Biography
Amatya was born in May 1916 in Lalitpur, Nepal to Riddhinarsimha Malla Amatya and Yog Maya Awnatya.
In 1962, he served as the general secretary of the Commun ...
, 1962
See also
*
List of communist parties in Nepal
The Communist Party of Nepal is a name used by a number of Nepalese political parties claiming allegiance to communism. Most trace their roots back to the original Communist Party of Nepal formed in 1949.
Active parties
National parties
O ...
References
{{political parties in Nepal
1949 establishments in India
Banned communist parties
Defunct communist parties in Nepal
Political parties established in 1949