Primary Contradiction in Nepali Revolution

Bhanu Poudyal

After demise of Monarchy, contradictions of Nepali society are changed with new equation and evolving production relations. Understanding these changes and reacting to them appropriately is not only necessary to resolve current social issues but also to advance Nepali revolution to its logical end. It also helps us to identify main enemy and direct all progressive forces against them.

Looking at production relations in Nepal based on census of 2001, we can find that feudalism in Nepal exists more in terms of culture than in terms of production relations. Only 10.7% of the arable land is held by 1.30% of population while 74.70% of population holds less than 1 hector of per capita land. It means, though they are in powerful positions and able to utilize state machinery against farm workers, there are not many feudal landlords financially capable of waging fierce battle to safeguard their interest if they are striped of state power. As 59.61% of population depends on agriculture and most of it is self employed, land to tiller brings approximately 8.6% of excess land occupied by landlords and rented out in form of shared cropping or fixed produce rent to the farmers who are working as farm labours and land renters. It has been seven years since this census was conducted and we can safely assume that the land fragmentation has increased and population dependent to agriculture has decreased. Thus, it would be easiest battle to win, if we have enough political will.

This possible victory against landlords obviously will not solve the problem of farmers who are forced to survive on less than one hector of land. Out of all socio-economic variables, this very question of survival have caused huge change in production relation in Nepal in ten years that population dependent to agriculture decreased from 81.90 % to 51.61%. As size of average agricultural holdings decreased in this period form 1.11% hector to 0.80% in these ten years, this trend of decreasing people's dependency in agriculture along with decrease in average size of agricultural holdings will continue to displace people from their land producing unorganized labours like porters, rickshaw drivers and seasonal labours.

Using same census, it also shows that there is significant demographic change in Nepali work force. There is increase in unpaid households workers from 2.34% to 8.83% and increase in elementary occupations from 2.09% to 14.95%. The scenario seems more blink when we see decrease in production sectors from 4.23% to 1.43%. The good news is , there has been small, from 6.18% of population involved in service sector in 1991 to 9.26% in 2001, increase in people's involvement in service sector. Thus, our focus should go to 74.70 % of farmers who are forced to survive cultivating less than one hector of land, 8.83% of unpaid household workers and 14.95% of unorganized labours, that is, 62.33% of total population who is underpaid, underemployed and deprived from basic human needs while supporting service sector and re-energizing production sector.

Solving the problems of this 62.33% of population will deprive comprador capitalists and bureaucratic capitalist from cheap labours willing to work for only survival like 8.83% of work force mentioned above. Due to this reason along with feudal cultural legacy, regressive forces want working masses be desperate and deprived from basic human needs and are opposing land reform and opting for reversal of revolutionary land reform initiated during people's war.

Hence, still considering Nepal as semi-feudal state and focusing on land to tiller slogan and implementation of it alone will not automatically solve the problems of these 74.70% of farmers unless we successfully implement policy of defragmentation of land through community farming and attracting farmers to other productive sectors like gradually increasing service sectors and production sectors. Industrialization of agriculture can be another long term solution of problems of underemployed people engaged in farming. When implementing multi-pronged solution stated above, will meet with resistance from foreign investors and their government who want Nepali people remain marginalized so that they will readily available to work for substantially low pay.

As Nepali production relation is gradually shifting from feudal to semi-colonial comprador capitalism, after demise of monarchy, to resolve contradiction between feudalism and farm workers need final economic actions coupled with political as well as cultural revolution to eliminate last remanents of feudal production relation and culture. Immediate revolutionary land reform will conclude politico-economical struggle of Nepali people against feudal system and open door to cultural revolution wide and illuminating. Such land reform also clarifies that main contradiction in Nepali production relation shifted from contradiction between semi-feudal, semi-colonial and comprador capitalist state and people to semi-colonial comprador capitalist and bureaucratic state and people.

Major businesses, with some exceptions, in Nepal are operated by former royals, Indian business houses and sitting or retired bureaucrats, or are directly influenced by them. Government's eagerness in bringing unrestricted foreign investments in all sectors will bring more pressure from investors and their host nation states to safeguard their interests on exploitation of Nepali working masses. The census mentioned above only states that 24.63% of population works as employee and 3.80% of population as employer, it is not sure whether this 3.80% is Nepali population or population working for foreign investors.

In any of the contexts, Nepali working masses' enemies are semi-colonial and comprador capitalism and bureaucratic capitalism. As semi-colonial comprador capitalism has larger volume and larger influence compared to bureaucratic capitalism, our main enemy is semi-colonial comprador capitalism that is represented and protected by Nepali Congress and Madeshi parties and direction of our struggle should be focused of protecting our country from indirect colonization and protecting working masses from exploitation by comprador and bureaucratic capitalists.

In conclusion, despite the fact that United CPN – Maoist is leader of present government, Nepal is still mainly semi-colonial comprador capitalist and bureaucratic capitalist state with strong presence of feudal production relations and parties who used to serve feudal, comprador capitalist and bureaucratic capitalist classes in past continue to serve existing exploiting classes. Parties led by former Panchas and post Panchayet Royalists and existing state apparatus are still serving feudalism. Hence, struggle of Nepali working masses will not conclude logically unless it eliminates its current enemies with correctly identifying as its main enemy and directing the struggle against it.