Dispatches From the People's War in Nepal

by Li Onesto

'This unique, intimate look into the People's War in Nepal provides invaluable background to the world's most vigorous Maoist movement, and insight into the theory and practice underlying contemporary Maoism elsewhere in South Asia and globally.' Gary Leupp, Professor of History at Tufts University and Coordinator of the Asian Studies Program 'In her dispatches from the ongoing revolutionary war in Nepal, where she was the first, and longest-staying, foreign journalist to report from the Maoist-held areas, Li Onesto keeps up the committed, conscientious revolutionary journalism of John Reed, George Orwell, and Agnes Smedley. . . . Probably the best, if not the only, account of how the Maoists built their organization, and of how they operate and govern.' Stephen Mikesell, author of Class, State and Struggle in Writings 1989-1995 'This lively, exciting and enlightening presentation of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal will help people to understand the real state of affairs behind the "People's War".' Padma Ratna Tuladhar, facilitator in the peace talks in Nepal A Maoist revolution has been raging in Nepal since 1996. In 1999, Li Onesto became the first foreign journalist to travel deep into the guerrilla zones. Allowed unprecedented access, she interviewed political leaders, guerrilla fighters, villagers in areas under Maoist control, and relatives of those killed by government forces. This book is the result of her journey. Illustrated with photographs, it provides an invaluable analysis of the social and economic conditions that have fuelled the revolution and profiles some of the key people involved. Millions in Nepal now live in areas under guerrilla control. Peasants are running grass-roots institutions, exercising what they call 'people's power'. Li Onesto describes these transformations -- the establishment of new governing committees and courts, the confiscation and re-division of lan

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Theory

280 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2004

Reviews

[Dont · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a remarkable book. Long will I be haunted by the multitude of stories from common people making a different world amidst tremendous state terror and repression.

In the spring of 1999 the author traveled to Nepal and wandered the country guided by comrades in the People's Liberation Army. Everywhere the author goes, villagers and guerrillas come out to tell their stories of horrific loss at the hands of the brutal state police. But they also tell stories of common heroism of women and men, many of them young teens swept up in the promise of consigning the ruling feudal system to the ash heap of history.

While the fuel for the fire is clearly a vision of a nationalism liberated from ethnic chauvinism, feudal property relations, and patriarchy, comrades in small villages also show a profound belief that their struggle is part of a larger internationalist wave of anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist resolve.

The author's timeline focuses primarily on the period of 1996, the initiation of the civil war through the author's own travels in Nepal, the afterword detailed the profound impact of the Bush administration's "War on terrorisim." The neoconservative reaction of the U.S. lumped together every form of insurgency from the right (Al Qaeda) to the left (Maoist insurrections across South Asia), resulting in a tide of U.S. money and military support to squash the liberation forces in Nepal. Reading the words of the U.S. ambassador to Nepal justify U.S. support for the monarchy in resisting the liberation movement strike me as a kind of extreme form of picaresque irony. "We want democracy to succeed," Ambassador Malinowski declares. "We don't want to see democracy fail by a group, a small group that is unwilling to contest its ideas in the electoral process or the parliamentary process." One could easily be confused that Malinowski is referring here to the monarchists who had declared a state of emergency, dissolving the parliament and suspending all civil liberties including freedom of the press. But no, in the twisted logic of U.S. imperialism, the enemy of democracy was the liberation movement even as that movement enjoyed enormous support among Nepal's peasant majority.

I highly recommend this book for its detailed account of liberation movements in all their complexity; socially, culturally, organizationally, and militarily. Probably one of the most inspiring and affecting books I've read in a long time. Trust me, I have no love whatsoever for the RCPUSA cult to which the author belongs and genuflects on occasion. Even this is not enough to distract the reader from the power of the voices she captures in the writing and the insightfulness of her observations (most particularly with regards to the struggles of women's liberation within the larger national question). A fantastic book.

[Javier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Remarkable for giving voice on the West to people's struggle. Apart from that, I didn't find it particularly enlightening, would have benefitted from a little bit more of analysis about Nepal's situation and the Party. I particularly enjoyed the most the chapters about Prachanda.

[Sappho · Rating 5 out of 5]

An invaluable read. The stories within this book are truly touching and I feel close to the many heroes of Nepal knowing that our struggle is united as one in the world revolution.

This read is incomplete without reading the open letter from CPI(M) to CPN(M) in 2009 after the capitulation of the CPN(M) leadership and the betrayal of the revolution. The bright future hoped for by so many of the people of Nepal has been delayed by the cowardice of the Party leadership. Fortunately their struggle shall not be forgotten.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

published in 2006 - documents the experiences of those who had joined the war, and their reasons for doing so. Does so with sympathy for their plight.

Interesting to read in the context of subsequent political developments since the text was published, with the CPN(Maoist) emerging as the single largest party in the elections to the
Constituent Assembly in April 2008.

[Tav · Rating 4 out of 5]

published in 2006 - documents the experiences of those who had joined the war, and their reasons for doing so. Does so with sympathy for their plight.

Interesting to read in the context of subsequent political developments since the text was published, with the CPN(Maoist) emerging as the single largest party in the elections to the
Constituent Assembly in April 2008.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for books like this. Just a big collection of articles on a related topic.

It gives such interesting snapshots into the lives and struggle of the Nepalese Maoists during the 1990s. Kind of a modern Red Star Over China