Author: Manoj Dahal
Publication: Outlook
Date: December 24, 2007
URL:
http://www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20071224&fname=Nepal+%28F%29&sid=1
Introduction: His love of designer labels
and the good life has stalled the people's revolution
It was a little less than two years ago that
Prachanda, iconic chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M),
came out of the bush, riding the crest of a popular wave that compelled King
Gyanendra to retreat behind palace walls and restore democracy.
Since then, Nepal has changed remarkably.
But so has Prachanda. Abnegation no longer seems to be his personal philosophy,
empathy with the masses isn't his defining personality trait and that endearing
quality of altruism has ceased to be his life's leitmotif.
The change in Prachanda has manifested even
physically-his makeover is so drastic his comrades from those early years
in the bush might even fail to recognise him. The 'Che of Nepal' has, in the
last 20 months, gained 15 kg in weight, sports a Stalinesque moustache and
gels his hair. He keeps it tightly combed back, and he constantly and consciously
runs his fingers through it in public.
Perhaps Prachanda has gained weight because
his life in Kathmandu bears little resemblance to the 23 years he spent underground,
shifting from one hideout to another under the cover of darkness. He, no doubt,
still bustles around in the city, but it is now in an air-conditioned Pajero,
escorted by a fleet of cars, reportedly comandeered from their owners. You
could say the paraphernalia is required for security reasons. But then, as
some Maoist leaders ask, of what purpose is the Rado watch (worth Rs 2 lakh)
that he sports? Or, for that matter, the blazers and designer shades he wears,
in sharp contrast to the threadbare dress of Maoist cadres?
Perhaps the Rado watch symbolises the dramatic
change in the quality of time for Prachanda. He was always known to love his
liquor, his indulgence at times embarrassing his comrades. Late Nirmal Lama,
who was with Prachanda in a communist formation before the CPN-M was formed
in 1995, once said in an interview, "I do drink sometimes but my comrades
are known for excessive drinking." His remark was widely perceived as
a jibe against Prachanda, who has now shifted from the local brew to two measured
pegs of Johnny Walker (Red Label) every evening. And the 15 kg of weight he
has gained is no less because he is a voracious eater who finds fried chicken
simply irresistible.
Prachanda's new lifestyle is discussed intensely
among party cadres. "Prachanda is now no different from other bourgeois
leaders, we have all realised it," says a CPN-M district level leader.
Another important Maoist leader, who has been given an important responsibility
by the party at the national level, said, "The CPN-M won't be able to
go back to the jungle as our leaders, including Prachanda, are glued to the
life of comfort." A third leader added, "As far as lifestyle goes,
Prachanda is no different from (prime minister) G.P. Koirala and (CPN-M-Marxist-Unionist
leader) Madhav Nepal."
The bourgeois lifestyle of central leaders,
including Prachanda, came for sharp attack at the party's plenum this August.
The person who led the charge was Ram Bahadur Thapa aka Badal, who's currently
perceived as Prachanda's rival. He said, "How will you motivate your
cadres to work for you in the election when the disparity between how we live
and how they live is so stark?" The applause at the plenum lasted a good
few minutes.
There's also disquiet in the party about Prachanda's
weakness for his family. Less than two years ago, he drafted his son, Prakash,
as a member of the regional bureau, which is immediately below the central
committee (CC) in the organisational structure. His induction prompted two
CC members, Rabindra Shrestha and Mani Thapa, to quit the party in protest.
Mani Thapa told Outlook, "Not only did Prachanda promote his son Prakash
to the rank of a regional bureau member superceding many, he also placed his
daughter and some close relatives in key positions." Then last year,
Prachanda had to countenace the wrath of party cadres who were livid at the
presence of his father, Muktinath Dahal, 80, on the dais at a party function.
Revolutionaries are not supposed to commit the 'sin' of acting on familial
loyalties.
True, spiffy vehicles, smart clothes and expensive
Scotch are normal for leaders belonging to mainstream parties. But then the
CPN-M isn't another bourgeios party; it talked of a socio-economic revolution.
Isn't Prachanda's lifestyle at variance with the party's ideology? No, argues
Maheshwar Dahal, a former CC member and currently chairman of the Maoist-affiliated
Revolutionary Journalists Organisation. He explains, "People are simply
trying to project him in bad light by talking about his lifestyle. This is
what bourgeois society does to rebels." Dahal says Prachanda may not
be adhering to the lifestyle party cadres consider appropriate, but nobody
believes it is because of his hypocritical reluctance to bridge the proverbial
chasm between word and action.
C.P. Gajurel, who heads the party's international
department, asks, "Do you expect us to move around in hawai chappals
when we meet leaders and representatives from different countries or travel
abroad?" Gajurel then answers, "We are definitely for simple living
and raising the overall living standard of the people. The change in us at
present is the outcome of changed political circumstances, something that
just happened without our wanting it."
But not all changes in Prachanda are disappointing
to the cadres. A borderline hypertension case, he has quit smoking on doctor's
advice. Earlier, he used to smoke 30 cigarettes a day; his favourite brand-the
locally manufactured Yak, though he wasn't averse to lighting up the occasional
555.
Yet years of hard living underground have
also had a tragic impact on his personality. A reputed, Left-leaning doctor
in Kathmandu, who has treated Maoist leaders in the past, feels Prachanda
and some of his comrades exhibit symptoms of psychosomatic disorder as they
occasionally express fear of being persecuted. "It's only natural for
Maoist leaders, who have been responsible for the killing of so many, to suffer
from the fear-real or imaginary-of being attacked," he says.
Reality appears to have smudged the myth of
Prachanda, invested, over the years, with much romance. When he was in the
bush, even those opposed to his bloody methods admired him for his sacrifices:
here was the man who had abandoned the possibility of boasting a flourishing
career-he studied agriculture science and worked briefly on a project funded
by the US Agency of International Development (USAID)-to fight for the impoverished
masses. Prachanda in mainstream politics seems to have betrayed that myth.
