Nepal for debate -Biplav faction has deviated from the basic concept of MLM: Com. Basanta

Posted by admin on August 30th, 2016

(This is the article by Comrade Indra Mohan Sigdel ‘Basanta’, Secretariat Member of CPN(Revolutionary Maoist) . This article explains the ideological deviation of CPN, Maoist, led by Netra Bikram Chanda, ‘Biplav’. As he has mentioned ” It is not only unclear in its strategic goal but it has also deviated from the basic concept of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism….In fact, all this is leading the CPN Maoist not towards the real development of MLM but towards the path of repudiation of MLM i.e. post-MLM path.”  Yes, recently Biplav, in his Party document also has pleaded the concept of ‘Post-Imperialism”. No matter, Biplav faction is rapidly heading towards the road of anti-revolution.)
The CPN Maoist is a group that has been formed of the split from our erstwhile party the CPN-Maoist. Till now, it has not been able to clearly and concretely place its ideology, politics and line but on the other it has carried out some struggles. In this situation, it has necessitated to mention something about this group.
The actions that are carried out against the corrupt rulers of the reactionary state and their anti-people misdeeds are obviously popular before the masses. None can have two views on it. However, the form of struggle alone does not necessarily make the struggle revolutionary. The struggles that seem to be revolutionary can be reformist and vice versa. Not only this, even the struggle that appears to be revolutionary in form can be reactionary in content. Just for example, the armed activities that are being carried out by the IS fundamentalists seem to be full of sacrifice and devotion and even targeted mainly against US imperialism but its essence is very much reactionary. Whether the struggle is revolutionary, reformist or reactionary is decided not by its form but by its strategic goal. Right for this reason, Lenin had sharply criticised Bernstein’s dictum that “the movement is everything, the final goal is nothing” is revisionist
Whether the actions of struggle launched by the CPN Maoist are linked with the struggle for power or merely for normal reform is related to party’s strategic goal and the political line. The CPN Maoist has carried forward these actions as per their party’s strategic line. If the line is correct the series of struggles under this line can correctly lead towards its destination, otherwise however popular the struggle is, it is not sure that the outcome stands for revolution. Therefore, how much meaningful the struggle is can and should be gauged by the touchstone of political line.
The CPN Maoist says that unified people’s revolution is their line. Though they have claimed that this line has been developed to resolve the problems of Nepalese revolution in the changed international and national context, it is in fact a line revolutionary in form but rightist in content. It is not only unclear in its strategic goal but it has also deviated from the basic concept of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism. Its basic problems can in brief be listed as follows.
One, Marxism-Leninism-Maoism is the world-outlook of the proletariat. It has three component parts. They are: philosophy, political economy and scientific socialism. The dialectical materialism is the philosophical system of MLM. It is a science. However, the CPN Maoist has, in the name of developing ideology, targeted against the philosophical base of MLM by raising a question on the correctness of this science. Biplav has dealt with this question in his article headed “On line synthesis of unified people’s revolution” from his party publication, the people’s revolution. In that article he writes, “If attempts are made to find solution for today’s world from Marx’s, Lenin’s and Mao’s syntheses, which are 177, 100 and 65 years old respectively, it is tantamount to fitting a steam engine in the Jet-plane.” It is not compatible to MLM. Rather comrade Biplav has attacked here upon the dialectical materialist system too in the pretext that MLM has been obsolete. In fact, all this is leading the CPN Maoist not towards the real development of MLM but towards the path of repudiation of MLM i.e. post-MLM path.
Two, the CPN Maoist documents are silent on how the oppressed nations and people can be liberated from the yoke of imperialism and feudalism and how the national capital can be developed in the new democratic countries under democratic dictatorship of the oppressed people led by the proletariat. Not only this, the language comrade Biplav has used on the stage of proletarian revolution in Nepal is vague. In the said article, he writes, “The line of unified people’s revolution we have synthesised is related with the goal of changing the comprador bourgeois power and establishing the people’s power in Nepal.” What is notable here is that he has not talked of destroying the old state and building the new democratic one anywhere in his documents. He only has said – change of the old state and establishment of the new one. And, whether the state power he is going to establish is new democratic or socialist, he is confused on it. From all this, is the CPN Maoist too going to make parliamentary system its strategic platform for the socialist revolution in Nepal as the CPN (Maoist Centre) is doing, a serious question has come up.
Three, he has also put forward a military line to accomplish revolution in Nepal. In his opinion, it can neither be protracted people’s war nor can it be armed insurrection. In the said article he writes, “The line of hastily seizing state power can either lead to getting entrapped in adventurism or trailing behind the parliamentary system. In the same manner, the line of protracted people’s war can either lead to facing isolation from the masses or becoming roving rebel guerrillas.” Here, the CPN Maoist has claimed to have developed an unfailing weapon by using which they do not need to become adventurist, must not trail behind parliamentary system, must not be isolated, must not be scared of becoming roving rebel guerrillas but can be an evergreen revolutionary. According to the CPN Maoist, the line that can protect party from all these problems is unified people’s revolution. But a strange, the party has nowhere and never set forth its clear and concrete explanation of this line. Let’s hope, it does not become merely a revolutionary rhetoric.
      Four, the CPN Maoist is categorically putting forward the line of power-sharing even now. Comrade Biplav has placed party opinion on power-sharing in the interview to Janapati, an online paper published on June 27, 2016. Answering the question, “Is it that you have asked for power-sharing in the state organs including in army and court?” he replies, “Yes. … … We have raised the question of power-sharing in political, economic, military and security fields including the court.” The question of power-sharing should be dealt with differently in different contexts. In a particular situation, when the people’s power and the reactionary state are in the stage of strategic equilibrium, it is not wrong on the part of revolutionary leadership to raise the question of power-sharing tactically. During the period of Chongqing Negotiations, Mao had adopted this tactic in China. It was not wrong, but correct. The very situation may happen tomorrow. But now, when the entire achievements of the great people’s war including people’s army and people’s power have been lost and the embryo of new people’s power is yet to gestate, the question of power-sharing does not remain merely a tactic, it becomes strategy. Therefore this slogan is now theoretically wrong.
Five, comrade Biplav has claimed that there is a situation of dual power in Nepal now. In the same interview, answering the question “If it is so, are we in between two powers?” he replies, “Of course, there is dual power in Nepal. One is people’s power and other is traditional power.” People’s opinion against the reactionary power is not and cannot be people’s power. According to Lenin, the state power is an instrument to oppress one class by another. Does not comrade Biplav understand this much too? No, certainly not. His proclamation that there is a situation of dual power in Nepal has been put forward to open up an avenue for power-sharing in the reactionary state. In the given situation, it does not mean anything else than this. The power-sharing which he talks of now is nothing other than being co-opted in the reactionary state.
Some of the basic theoretical problems have been discussed so far. Apart from this, the CPN Maoist has, in the name of development of MLM, raised questions on a lot of concepts with which the world communist movement has adhered to till date. It is not possible to write in detail where the CPN Maoist ruptured from MLM. The aforesaid points are almost enough to know about the path the CPN Maoist has taken. No one has said that there have been no any changes in the world situation and MLM should be grasped as a dogma. MLM is not a dogma; it is a science and requires development. The question is whether to develop theory by stepping at the base of MLM and applying it in concrete practice or concoct a reformist line that eases one to co-opt into the reactionary state in the name of creative application and development of MLM. The point of debate is here. The path that Marx, Lenin and Mao had followed in their lifetime is the former one and that Khrushchev to Prachanda and Badal followed is the later one. Of these two paths, which path led whom to where in the history of the international communist movement is open to all.
After a group of leaders including comrade Biplav deserted from the erstwhile CPN-Maoist, the fifth plenum organised by party had thoroughly synthesised the wrong ideological and political trends noticed in Biplav. On this the plenum document writes, “Thus, these activities are based: organisationally on anarchist individualism, philosophically on negative dialectics and empiricism and politically on regressive strategy of power-sharing. In the dissenting report by Biplav, the military line, which has been portrayed as the theory of unified revolution by negating people’s war, people’s insurrection and people’s insurrection upon the base of people’s war, is very much unclear, confusing, contentless and mysterious. Also, there is soft attitude towards the Indian expansionism in his report and thus it has lagged behind on the question of national independence. In conclusion, the main trend manifested in his activities and dissenting opinion is right opportunism in essence and left in form.”
The activities of the CPN Maoist till date have well proved that the synthesis reached in that plenum was correct. Their present day activities do not orient towards the destruction of the reactionary state and the construction of the new democratic one. But, on the contrary, they seem to orient towards creating pressure for being co-opted in the reactionary state to share power and building base for the financial benefits. It is a path not towards revolution, but against it. The entire revolutionary communists in Nepal and all across the world want the CPN Maoist to correct these mistakes before it is too late and firmly stand again for the cause of new democracy, scientific socialism and communism.
July 07, 2016