Need for serious discussion on Marxist ideology in Nepal: Prachanda

Ruling Nepal Communist Party president Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Monday said armed revolutions “have not been able to change any system” and that that is why Maoists have chosen the peaceful and democratic path in the country. Prachanda, who was once a strong proponent of armed struggle in the Himalayan kingdom to overthrow the monarchy and establish a republic country, said there is a need for a serious discussion on Marxist ideology and its experiment in Nepal.

Addressing a programme organised here to mark the 201st birth anniversary of Karl Marx, a German philosopher who is considered the father of ‘communism’, he said several armed revolutions have “failed in the world context”. “Such revolutions have not been able to change any system...That is why we have chosen the peaceful and democratic way out," Prachanda, who is a former Maoist leader, said.

He said socialism will not come through the development of capitalism, and neither it can be brought without dismantling the feudal system. “We need to develop nationalist capital and need to bring movement in ideology and organisation if we are to establish a system based on socialist ideology...A conscious jolt is needed to bring a socialist revolution in the country,” the former prime minister said.

He said there is a “need for a serious discussion on Marxist ideology and its experiment in Nepal”. Addressing the event, senior NCP leader Jhalanath Khanal said the Karl Marx thoughts are highly relevant in contemporary global politics. "It is not possible to go for socialism if we did not transform ourselves in line with the spirit of the 21st century," he pointed out. Khanal praised the Chinese model of economic development which is based on socialism.

"China has achieved sound and stable economic growth by adopting a unique type of socialism. The country has been able to lift millions of people out of the poverty in the past three decades which is exemplary,” he said, adding, "We can learn from China in terms of successful practice of the socialism." Marx, a socialist revolutionary, was an advocate for communism. He laid the foundation for the understanding of labour and its relation to capital. His book ‘Das Capital’ showed the world the way towards a classless society.

(With inputs from agencies.)