Saturday, February 9, 2013

for debate in Nepal - We are not phony intellectuals





Rishi Raj Baral
Marxist intellectuals are not the burden. They  can play the role of  driving force in  the revolution.
Here I am not going to clarify   the definition of intellectuals, nor  I am going to    explain in detail the role of intellectuals played in the past. Just I am talking about the present situation.  History has already demonstrated the role played by the revolutionary intellectuals during the period of people's revolution. And now in the global perspective, Marxist intellectuals of 21st century are playing the vanguard   role in the ideological front. In Nepal, we have a long and bright history of intellectuals, who played brilliant role since Rana regime  to up to now. 
During the Ten-year's People's War Nepalese intellectuals played  the  outstanding role. They fought with pen and gun. Intellectuals who joined the  Ten-year's  People's War are morally boost up and have revolutionary spirit and they  want to play active role in the upcoming  days too. But it is the matter to note that some of our comrades, particularly the 'senior' comrades,  have a problem  to understand the revolutionary role of intellectuals. Verbally they accept the role of intellectuals, but in  practice, they always discard the role of intellectuals in the class struggle. In fact, they are reluctant to accept the role of intellectuals. They are loaded with superiority complex.
 Our leaders symbolize themselves as the Maoist, a true follower of MLM. But regarding the question of intellectuals, they have no any interest to follow the teachings of Mao. During the period of New democratic revolution in 1939, Mao wrote a document-Recruit large numbers of intellectuals. It is a document of great significance. As he states:
. Without the participation of the intellectuals victory in the revolution is impossible. Our Party and our army have made considerable efforts to recruit intellectuals during the last three years, and many revolutionary intellectuals have been absorbed into the Party, the army, the organs of government, the cultural movement and the mass movement, thus broadening the united front, this is a major achievement. But many of the army cadres are not yet alive to the importance of the intellectuals, they still regard them with some apprehension and are even inclined to discriminate against them or shut them out. Many of our training institutes are still hesitant about enrolling young students in large numbers. Many of our local Party branches are still reluctant to let intellectuals join. All this is due to failure to understand the importance of the intellectuals for the revolutionary cause.

Similarly, during the period of Socialist Reconstruction in 1957, Mao highlighted the role of intellectuals as the army of intellectuals. As he has mentioned:
. The proletariat must build up its own army of intellectuals, just as the bourgeoisie does. The regime of a given class cannot do without its own intellectuals. How could bourgeois dictatorship be possible in the United States without its intellectuals? Ours is a dictatorship of the proletariat, and the proletariat must build its own army of intellectuals, including all those intellectuals from the old society who truly take a firm working-class stand after being remoulded.
In fact, some of the comrades of  Maoist party have badly incarcerated  by intellecto-phobia. They think that they are senior leaders, they are the members of standing committee and polite bureau.  They know each and everything, therefore, there is no need to listen the words of junior comrades and intellectuals. They have no any interest in debate and discussions. They have lost their faith in class struggle and they always plead 'identity politics'-that is the  politics of ethnicity. They are not interested to study and to make opinion about communist movement, especially International Communist Movement. They are habituated in stereo type of thinking and there working style has been bounded in a particular routine.  Indeed, they are badly entrapped by bureaucratic attitudes as Mao has mentioned in his famous article Twenty Manifestations of Bureaucracy.
New party, Communist Party of Nepal - Maoist has come in existence.  People are optimistic to us. They are looking for us.  It is the time to make new  and dynamic departure- real rupture with the old one.  'New party' has a strong team of revolutionary intellectuals.  We have university professors, cultural activists, journalists and whole timer intellectuals of Ten-year's People's War. It is the time to centralize the Marxists intellectuals around the party organisation.  We must have a strong army of Marxist intellectuals. But it is the matter to worry that our comrades are always frightened with the  Marxists intellectuals.  Revolutionary intellectuals are firm in their conviction and are ready  to sacrifice their lives for the cause of revolution . We always respect our senior leaders but not the termites. We want to make clear that no one should behave with intellectuals as the personal employees and desk clerks. Intellectuals are not the personal staffs of our 'great leaders'.
This type of tendency has badly damaged our revolution. In fact, factionalism, utilitarianism, pragmatism, empiricism, regionalism and impressionism are the main problems in the Maoist party then and now. We are compelled to express that organisationally we have separated ourselves from the Prachanda-Baburam- the real traitor of 21st century, but in the style of  work,   they are floating in the same boat. A stereo type of working style does not assist to move ahead.
For the cause of revolution, optimum utilization of the intellectuals should be our object.  We have to produce a large number of red and experts. It needs some plan and program. But we have no any plan and program to centralize and activate the intellectuals for the sake of revolution. To be very frank, in the name of intellectuals  our leaders want a bunch of phony intellectuals. Revolutionary intellectuals always respect the party  leaders and seniors, but they never accept the NGO/INGO lovers and their followers. They always avoid the N/INGO intellectuals and their master-leaders. Marxist intellectuals have some sense, sensibility and dignity too.
Country needs the active role of intellectuals for the safe guard of national sovereignty and  to fight for the People's Democracy. Intellectuals can play the significant role in the party organisation as well as in the joint front. We all know without armed struggle we will not be able to achieve our goal. Right now, we must operate the both rural and urban front skillfully. No doubt, the revolutionary path of Nepalese revolution is the New Democratic Revolution. The main point is to follow the spirit of The Great Chinese Cultural Revolution, going back to the rural areas for the new preparation. There is one and only way to move forward that is  Protracted People's War.
Now the 7th National Convention of CPN-Maoist has been concluded. But without any hesitation I would like to express that we are still at the crossroads. The  ideological and political line  of CPN-Maoist is 'People's revolt on the foundation of People's War', is not clear in form and content. It  is a ambiguous line. To be very frank, National Convention did not produce any    enthusiastic result.  And it is the matter to worry  that these days   we are facing new type of problem that is : instead of class struggle some of our comrades are pleading the politics of  gender, ethnicity and regionalism.
We always speak to build a new type of party, a party of Bolshevik type. How can we achieve our goal when we are always engaged in building new 'kotaries'- the nests.  We discard factionalism and regionalism,  and want strong unity among the party leadership and cadres camp. Gradually another problem is budding in our party, that  is:   the childish squabble  of 'first generation and second generation'. We don't need the  'cold war' in the name of 'old' and 'young' generation. We all know, age is not the decisive factor in the revolution. The major factor is the party line, which decides everything. As we know-'The correctness or incorrectness of the ideological and political line decides everything'. It is the reality that,  we always respect our senior comrades and leadership as well as we want strong and dynamic leadership too. It is the demand of  current  situation and voice of the revolutionary cadres.
We are living in the 2nd decade of 21st century. Debates and discussions are going on in the International Communist Movement. There are some complications, but no one can deny  that the reorganization of the   Maoist parties is the central task of the revolutionaries. Now the embryonic center  of the Maoist Parties RIM has become defunct. And we all know, in this regard, the ideological aspect will be the central point. For this cause, CPN-Maoist  should play the leading role . Oppressed people of India have raised the  flag of revolution. Our brave comrades of CPI-Maoist are fighting against the reactionary regime of India. Now the time has come to make clear our side, that is to stand on the side of  People's war in India. We all know it is the part of world's proletarian revolution.
Base areas or Russian model, Comrades of imperialists countries are active in debate and discussions. Some of our comrades and parties within the 'RIM' and outside are pleading the politics of 'New Synthesis'-the new stage going beyond Mao and Maoism. 'New Synthesis' has given an interesting  topic  for those, who are interested in academic debate and discussions. 'New Synthesis' has confused us. Yet, CPN-Maoist  has not come out with  official decision on above mentioned issues, and it is obvious,  revolutionary intellectuals can   play the  decisive role in such cases . 
What will be the next step of CPN-Maoist is obscure until now. The sky is covered with dark cloud  and we are waiting for the heavy rain. We all know  it is not easy to move forward, things have badly damaged. There is no any foundation remained, just  the glorious history of the Ten-Year's People's War. Except revolutionary spirit and devotion, we have lost everything-the people's army, base areas, people's local government and local judiciaries. And it is the universal truth that  before advancing  in  new practice we must be clear in the  ideological line. We all know a blunt knife draws no blood. 
Still some of our comrades, even the senior leaders are crying for 'politics of single identity', federalism and constituent assembly. They haven't forgotten the luxurious life style of the period of constituent assembly- the parliamentary exercise. We must have firm faith in Marxism-Leninism -Maoism, not only in words but in practice too.
At present, intellectuals can play the active role in making public opinion. They can play the significant role in the ideological front. But first of all, our leaders must be clear about the role of intellectuals. They have to use art and science to motivate the intellectuals within the party and outside, and  it needs a great sacrifice. We hope our comrades will come out from the dark tunnel of superiority complex ( in fact, inferiority complex), the residual part of feudalistic attitudes.  The National convention could not succeed to give the correct answer.  It was just  a formality. There are so many questions to be answered. There are so many issues to be solved. The leadership must think over these unanswered issues. Now the time has come to give the concrete answer.
Marxist intellectuals don't want just to be the bookworms. They can play vital role in the class struggle. But it depends upon how we activate and motivate them. Marxist intellectuals are not the burden, but the driving force of the revolution. s/

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