By: Daniel Nardini
In the Cold War days, this would have been big news. Nowadays it is almost buried near the obituaries. In December of 2017, the Communists swept the polls in the former Kingdom of Nepal. Two parties now control the Nepali legislature—the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center). The new prime minister’s position (although you have to ask why a prime minister since Nepal is no longer a monarchy) is now headed by a Communist named Khadga Prasad Oli. Oli has been in the Communist movement since he was a teenager. I should provide some background on how Nepal traveled the long route to becoming a Communist nation. Once a monarchy, the Communist Maoist guerrillas fought a long and bloody war against the monarchy until they helped overthrow the monarchy. Afterwards, Nepal became the Federal Republic of Nepal—with many non-communists as well as Communists ruling the country. However, the Communists became ever more powerful as they consolidated their grip in the outer provinces. Since there were two Communist parties, they decided to form an alliance. The result was a powerful Communist coalition that was unstoppable when the elections were held in December.
In my view no country has ever been better off under the Communists, and Nepal will be no exception. One of the things that is happening now is the persecution of the Nepali Christians. Although Nepal is largely dominated by Hindus, western Christian missionaries had made considerable strides in convinced Nepalis to convert to Christianity. Even before the Communists took full control of the country, they were among those powerful elites that have been persecuting the Nepali Christians. This persecution can only get worse. One thing that will happen is that Nepal will start turning towards China for support and maybe an alliance. Just before the Communists gained control, they were influencing the political climate against India—Nepal’s traditional ally in the region. This is changing now, and India and Nepal have strained ties. Because of this, trade with India has greatly decreased. This means that there is now a shortage of food and medicines in Nepal because a lot of these items came from India. So Nepal will most certainly turn towards China for food and medicine, and for large investments and construction projects. Finally, the Communists will try to make sure they stay in power. They will most likely rig elections, make it hard for non-communist political parties to run or even function, and use political repression to make sure that there is no effective opposition. We have seen this happen before in other Communist states (both in history and today) and in the leftist socialist ones in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. The specter of Communism has not gone away, and seems to be coming back with a vengeance.
Nepal Becomes Communist
By: Daniel Nardini
In the Cold War days, this would have been big news. Nowadays it is almost buried near the obituaries. In December of 2017, the Communists swept the polls in the former Kingdom of Nepal. Two parties now control the Nepali legislature—the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center). The new prime minister’s position (although you have to ask why a prime minister since Nepal is no longer a monarchy) is now headed by a Communist named Khadga Prasad Oli. Oli has been in the Communist movement since he was a teenager. I should provide some background on how Nepal traveled the long route to becoming a Communist nation. Once a monarchy, the Communist Maoist guerrillas fought a long and bloody war against the monarchy until they helped overthrow the monarchy. Afterwards, Nepal became the Federal Republic of Nepal—with many non-communists as well as Communists ruling the country. However, the Communists became ever more powerful as they consolidated their grip in the outer provinces. Since there were two Communist parties, they decided to form an alliance. The result was a powerful Communist coalition that was unstoppable when the elections were held in December.
In my view no country has ever been better off under the Communists, and Nepal will be no exception. One of the things that is happening now is the persecution of the Nepali Christians. Although Nepal is largely dominated by Hindus, western Christian missionaries had made considerable strides in convinced Nepalis to convert to Christianity. Even before the Communists took full control of the country, they were among those powerful elites that have been persecuting the Nepali Christians. This persecution can only get worse. One thing that will happen is that Nepal will start turning towards China for support and maybe an alliance. Just before the Communists gained control, they were influencing the political climate against India—Nepal’s traditional ally in the region. This is changing now, and India and Nepal have strained ties. Because of this, trade with India has greatly decreased. This means that there is now a shortage of food and medicines in Nepal because a lot of these items came from India. So Nepal will most certainly turn towards China for food and medicine, and for large investments and construction projects. Finally, the Communists will try to make sure they stay in power. They will most likely rig elections, make it hard for non-communist political parties to run or even function, and use political repression to make sure that there is no effective opposition. We have seen this happen before in other Communist states (both in history and today) and in the leftist socialist ones in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. The specter of Communism has not gone away, and seems to be coming back with a vengeance.