Nara Bahadur Karmacharya ( ne, नरबहादुर कर्माचार्य; October 30, 1924 – July 24, 2013) was a Nepalese

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

politician, belonging to

Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre-Masal) The Communist Party of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana ...

. Karmacharya was one of the most senior political leaders of the communist movement in Nepal, and at the time of his death was the only surviving founding member of the

Communist Party of Nepal The Communist Party of Nepal ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिस्ट पार्टी), abbreviated CPN, was a communist party in Nepal from 1949 to 1962. It was founded on 15 September 1949 to struggle against the autocratic Rana ...

, which had been born in 1949.

Political career

Karmacharya hailed from a

Newar Newar (; new, नेवार, endonym: Newa; new, नेवा, Pracalit script:) or Nepami, are the historical inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic heritage and civilisatio ...

family in Lalitpur. Karmacharya had joined the Nepalese 'Marxist Study Circle' in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

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 ...

, in 1947. He was also linked to the Nepali Democratic Congress prior to the founding of the Communist Party of Nepal. In January 1954, the first congress of CPN was held. Karmacharya was elected to the

Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...

of the party. After the conclusion of the congress, Karmacharya travelled together with Ram Bahadur Shrestha to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

as a delegation of the All Nepal Trade Union. They were invited by the Chinese trade union movement to celebrate

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice. Festivities may also be held the night before, known as May Eve. T ...

there. The two stayed in China for 35 days. Karmacharya would later join the

Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention) The Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention) ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (चौथो महाधिवेशन), ''Nepala Kamyunishta Parti (Chautho Mahadhiveshan)'') was a communist party in Nep ...

. When CPN(4th Convention) was divided in 1983, he stayed in the party with

Nirmal Lama The Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention) ( ne, नेपाल कम्युनिष्ट पार्टी (चौथो महाधिवेशन), ''Nepala Kamyunishta Parti (Chautho Mahadhiveshan)'') was a communist party in Nep ...

. After the victory of the 1990

Jana Andolan The 1990 People's Movement ( ne, २०४६ जनआन्दोलन, 2046 Jana Andolan) was a multiparty movement in Nepal that brought an end to absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional monarchy. It also eliminated the Panch ...

, Karmacharya was awarded a piece of land in compensation of his struggles against the

Rana Rana may refer to: Astronomy * Rana (crater), a crater on Mars * Delta Eridani or Rana, a star People, groups and titles * Rana (name), a given name and surname (including a list of people and characters with the name) * Rana (title), a histori ...

regime. When CPN(4th Convention) merged into

Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) The Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) was a communist party in Nepal. CPN (UC) was formed on 19–20 November 1990 through the merger of Communist Party of Nepal (Mashal), Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention), Proletarian Workers Or ...

in 1990, Karmacharya became a member of the new party. In November 1991 he became the president of the advisory committee of the party. In 1992 he became the convenor of the 'Mao Centenary Organising Committee', a committee formed to commemorate the centenary of the birth of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

. In 2003 he released the book ''Murder of Ajad: undeclared death penalty'', a publication dealing with the killing of communist leader

Rishi Devkota Rishi Devkota ( ne, ऋषि देवकोटा), alias Azad (आजाद), was a Nepalese communist leader. He was a Central Committee member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention), but resigned from the party in 1980, accus ...

in 1981. In the April 2008 Constituent Assembly election, Karmacharya was a candidate of

Janamorcha Nepal Janamorcha Nepal ( ne, जनमोर्चा नेपाल, , People's Front Nepal) was founded in 2002 as the mass organisation and electoral front of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre–Masal). It was formed following the merger be ...

in the

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

system. In June 2008, his name was mentioned as one of the potential presidential candidates to be supported by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).Telegraph Nepal : Nepal: Maoist propose five names for President
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karmacharya, Nara 1924 births 2013 deaths Communist Party of Nepal (Fourth Convention) politicians Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre) politicians Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre–Masal) politicians Communist Party of Nepal (original) politicians People from Lalitpur District, Nepal