Causes of Conflict in Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

Abstract

Through this study, an effort is made to understand the main causes of conflict in a political organization called Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) which is abbreviated as CPN (Maoist). Conflict is inevitable part of organizational life which is needed for growth and survival of an organization. For proper functioning of any organization whether it is of business or social motive, it is very essential to understand the conflict within it. Knowing the causes of conflict and fully understanding each situation will help to understand the conflict management style needed.

An attempt has been made to list down causes of conflict in an organization by studying the activities and consequences of activities in CPN (Maoists). The essay deals with conflicts within CPN (Maoists) from February 13, 1996A.D. till 19 June 2012 A.D., the former being the date of commencing the civil war while the latter is the date when this organization was split in two organization.

Introduction

‘Conflict is a process in which one party perceives that its interests are being opposed or negatively affected by another party.’ If a manager of an organization takes conflict as an opportunity or a journey then it would lead towards constructive path, show positive results and depict the open mindedness of the manager which brings positive sum situations in the organization i.e. win-win situation in which everyone can win. However, if conflict is taken as war it simply tries to wipe out the enemy where negative sum game situation i.e. lose-lose or zero sum games in which one side wins only when another side loses may prevail. By knowing the causes of conflicts, managers are better able to anticipate it and take steps to resolve it if it becomes dysfunctional. Proactive managers carefully read these early warnings and take appropriate actions i.e. conflict management. Conflict management refers to the long- term management of intractable conflicts and the people involved in them so that they do not escalate out of control and become violent.

Generally, an organization should have the following three characteristics:

             1. Distinct Purpose

             2. Composed of People

             3. Deliberate structure

The CPN (Maoist) is a political organization which fulfills all the three characteristics. We can find the purpose of the party in its manifesto. Part 3, Article 12 section 3 (c) of The Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007 clearly mentions ‘Freedom to form political party’   and part 18 mentions about the registration process in Election Commission.  To be registered any party must submit its structure and the names and addresses of executive committee members or of similar other committee of the political party to the Election Commission. Since the party is registered in Election Commission we can say that the second and third criteria of being an organization are also fulfilled. Conflict cannot be avoided in an organization and CPN (Maoist) is not an exception.

‘Karma basyo bhane ghar banincha, bhansar ma basyo bhane sansar banincha’, meaning, ‘if you work at the tax department you can build a house and if you work at customs you will make your world’ is a common proverbial phrase which indicated rampant corruption. Under these circumstances, the CPN (Maoist) started the People’s War in February 1996 with the objective to establish a new socialist society. Though the organization had a good number of managers and leaders to take it in the path of fulfilling its objectives, the party was split in 19 June 2012 which was a consequence of dysfunctional conflict in the party.

Differences of Ideology/Policy

Since CPN (Maoist) is a political organization, ideology has a major role in formation and functioning of the party.  A lot of conflict arose in organization due to differences of ideologies and policies which have been listed below:

       i. Matrika Yadav was selected as the president of MadhesiRastraMuktiMorcha through its second convention. But the party did not agree with his ideology of ‘Ek Madhes Ek Pradesh’ and therefore Matrika resigned from his post.

      ii. Leader Prachanda had a policy to get far from India and close to the king which was opposed by another leader BaburamBhattarai and his supporters. Baburam was in favour of getting as closer as possible to parliamentary power and India to establish democracy in Nepal. On November 30, 2004 A.D.  Baburam wrote a thirteen point disagreement about the party’s policy and Prachanda’s behavior.

       iii.Prachanda when first time came to Kathmandu after the People’s Movement he had two faces. In public he would say that the party’s line was to establish a constituent assembly and peace in the country but to the comrades of his party mainly the lower level managers he would say that the party policy was to capture the state power. On one side he kept on talking about the national unity on the other hand met the foreign ambassadors. He had a conflicting policy to address to both the sides.

      iv.CPN (Maoist) before starting the People’s War had submitted 40 points demand to the government led by Sher BahadurDeuba. Among the forty points nine were related to India. Though the Maoist got chance to lead the Government twice they couldn’t address any of the nine points. Neither did they accept that those points were wrong. In addition to that they declared by Hetauda Conference that semi- feudalism had ended. However, Dr. BaburamBhattarai had explained that Nepal has been bestowed with many resources but the feudal lords were parasitic, extractive and rent-seeking and used these resources only for their own benefit. The organization’s policy seemed dead when it gained power.

Incompatible Personality

Managers fight for position and leaders for power in an organization through various means of competition. In organizations, power often means the ability to get things done or accomplish one’s goals despite resistance from others. When there is a class between the personality of two or more leaders or managers conflict arises.

There had always been a personality clash between the visible leader Baburam and the Organization’s leader Prachanda. Baburam asked after Phuntibang Meeting what was the need of addressing the Party Line by the name of Prachandapath, synonymous to the leader Prachanda. He also raised question regarding keeping the posters of Prachanda with Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stanlin and Mao. In Bhattarai’s analysis, the communist parties of Russia and China had erred in entrusting such great power to a single leader. It was the cult of personality that had developed around such leaders that had allowed them to commit their excesses. For this reason it was necessary to place institutional checks on the power of the supreme leader. On 31^st January, the Maoist politburo voted on charge sheet prepared by Prachanda against Baburam. The majority decided to strip Baburam and his supporters of their leadership positions. They were detained in a house in Mirul, Rolpa, kept under close surveillance of the People’s Liberation Army. Both the leaders have the same age, same SLC batch, similar village families and of the same Brahmin caste. Baburam had achieved the position of board first in SLC and had achieved a P.hD degree due to which he was more famous in outer world than Prachanda. Prachanda was just a name to general people. No one had even seen his picture. So party decided in 2055 B.S. if any one writes an article in media, he/she must mention Prachanda’s name and his pictures were also leaked. To this Baburam commented as Bourgeoisie thought. After the People’s war Both Prachanda and Baburam had same hairstyle, similar vehicles, lived in same house and both were seen together. Though in such conditions people cannot know the personality clash between them. The CPN (Maoist) did not let Baburam Bhattarai become the Vice Prime Minister in the Government led by Girja Prasad Koirala, Even in the government led by Prachanda he did not get the Vice PM post, he was made the Finance Minister.

Leaders Baburam Bhattarai and Mohan Baidya both being the vice president of CPN (Maoist) struggled for their own dominance in party by trying to suppress one another’s personality. When BaburamBhattarai became the Prime Minister, Baidya started talks with Congress and CPN (UML). He thought Bhattarai was close to India and therefore wanted his resignation. Another incident of their clash of personality was when Baidya got arrested in India he had indirectly accused Baburam for his arrest.

Competition of Limited Resources

Resources may be materials, energy, services, staff, knowledge, or other assets that are transformed to produce benefit. CPN (Maoist) suffered following conflicts due to scarcity or competition of resources :

             i.  The Maoist combatants had a difficult time due to lack of resources. On an occasion they collected nettles from the jungle, which they boiled and ate; on another they managed to procure some rice and goat meat from the house on the periphery of the village. Most of the time they went without. The young Maoists passed their time by crying one moment and laughing the next, screaming one moment and singing the next.

             ii.  Krishna BahadurMahara’s audio tape was one of the most notable source of conflict. The tape contained phone conversations, held in faulty English, between Mahara and an unidentified man with a Chinese accent. Mahara had requested for money for buying Constituent Assembly members. He had requested for 50 crore rupees. This was a big blast for Maoists.

              iii. In 2007A.D. Maoists had said that they had 3,428 weapons. They had given the same amount of weapons to the state. However, the top-level managers of the organizations submitted another 1,100 weapons to the state after five years which even the lower level Maoist managers did not know.

             iv. BaburamBhattarai was considered to be someone who would uplift the condition of the nation. He brought the policy of zero tolerance against corruption. But his wife and his jumbo team of ministers were considered to be highly corrupt which he acted as if he did not know. He himself traveled in Mustang, a very cheap car while his ministers travelled in highly expensive vehicles. He advertised that he travelled in economic class to go to foreign nation while he used helicopter to travel even 2-3 kilometres.

         v. On May 2, 2010 A.D. declared a strike in Kathmandu. Managers of Maoists had brought 56,000 youths as volunteers only. This strike was to bring down the Government of Madhav Kumar Nepal. However the people of Kathmandu wore white T-Shirts and on 6^th day of the strike protested in Basantapur. Prachanda called them ‘Sukila- Mukila’, one with good dress and good food. Prachanda could not carry on the strike. The people who had been called to make the strike successful on contrary protested in roads against their own organization.

     vi. When Prachanda became the Prime Minister army did not support him. A Government which does not have army in its support is a big problem for the party. Army is a resource for a strong Government. General Ruk Mangat Katuwal  with the help of President did not accept the orders of Government which was to replace him with Kul Bahadur Khadka.

       vii. Alok was a senior leader of Maoist movement. He was accused by his party of comfort seeking, womanizing and killing of party cadres who were critical towards him. In the name of prachanda-path he received a license to do whatever he wanted.

Constant Change:

When the organization is not able to cope up with the new situations inside and outside the organization dysfunctional conflicts may arise. It is said that ‘Change begets conflict and Conflict begets Change’

For Mohan Baidya and other senior Maoists still committed to revolution, the disbandment of the People’s Liberation Army was a betrayal by Prachanda and Baburam. However, it was a great step towards peace progress which Baidya did not want to understand. The so called hard-liner Baidya was skeptical about the decision to enter the mainstream politics. Actually when the 12 point memorandum was signed Baidya and C.P. Gajurel were in prison in India. The Maoist leaders did not have the proper idea of leading the government as it was a giant leap from war handling to Government handling. Health Minister granted Rs. 10 million to Maoist-owned Janamaitri hospital.  Due to the opposition it had to suffer heavily.

Improper Communication or Lack of Proper Information:

Improper or lack of communication may lead to conflicts.  Improper Communication is a cause of conflict which can be verified by the following points:

          i. The Indian investigation Bureau got information about the residence of Matrika Yadav and Suresh Ale Magar in Delhi. So there was a raid at their place. Matrika Yadav and Upendra Yadav got caught.  This was February 7, 2004 A.D. when Prachanda was heading towards the same place. His wife started arguing due to which he did not leave his residence. He thought that it was the plan of Indians to end the revolution process by catching the leader of revolution. But actually it was not so. 

         ii. On March 28, 2004 A.D., Baidya got caught in Siligudi. He told that only the party office had the information that he was going to Hospital. He thought that it was one of the high level managers of the party who had leaked the information without calling out his name. But he did not keep in mind that there could be many other reasons due to which he was caught.

         iii.Leader Prachanda started accusing India for the Palace Massacre. His logic was that the king did not want to use force against Maoist and wanted to bring weapons for army not only from India but also from China so this incident took place. However he has no evidence to prove it.

Different Value System:

Adapting with styles is one thing, but dealing with conflicting values is another. That’s why a particular business, group, or culture may not be a good fit for certain members of organization. It’s also why “bird’s of a feather flock together” and why “opposites attract, but similarities bind.”  Some examples due to which the author has concluded this point are given below:

        i. Prachanda, a leader of proletariat class of people was supposed to live a simple life. However his new house, his new car and even his new bed and his expensive watch became the subject of media attention.

         ii. Raju Bajracharya member of a ward level janasarkar was killed by the Royal Nepal Army (RNA). Before leaving the spot RNA warned the locals not to move the corpse as they had attached a bomb to it that would explode when touched. The villagers warned to take it away for cremation, but were afraid to touch it. After sometime people found out that no bomb had been attached. According to tradition , it should have been cremated that very day. But the Maoist had banned traditional funerary practices and had not issued precise instructions on alternative arrangements. The night passed. Some Maoists came the next day. There was a serious argument. The villagers cremated his body by their own value system and there was a rise of rebellion against Maoist in Dullu.

Conclusion:

Most often, conflict is associated with raised voices, heated debates, and high frustration. The famous adage, “two heads are better than one” is precisely about the advantages of conflict, for it assumes that two minds will have separate perspectives, experiences, and ideas. Diversity and communication are hallmarks of a great team, and the occasional root of clashes in the organization. In the myriad of different backgrounds, genders, cultures, political and religious beliefs, there are countless opportunities for ruffled feathers. Botched communication is one of the top reasons for conflict in and out of the office. Individuals bring different personal backgrounds, experiences and cultural values when they enter organizations. Different socialization process, levels of education, and so forth shape their experiences and values. In the words of Dr. Lok Raj Baral , A great resource of the nation would be in vain if the internal conflict due to clash of personality and ideologies would continue within Maoists.Prachanda who commands the undisputed obedience of all his cadres should respect the written and spoken word of Dr. BaburamBhattarai. There was conflict in the party every time for position, resource and power. If Baidya would accept changes as per time and had undertaken soft policies, the Party would not have to suffer split. . As a result the party is no more a party only for proletariats, as it has accommodated all class of people today. This paper helped to list down causes of conflict in a political organization.