Today, April 22, marks the 156^th birth anniversary of Lenin and the 77^th founding anniversary of our party. Therefore, this day holds great historical significance for the communist movement both globally and in Nepal.

Under Lenin’s leadership, Marxism reached a new level of creative development, and the current era is also known as the Lenin Era. He led the first successful socialist revolution in human history. Similarly, the history of the Communist Party of Nepal holds great importance for our country. Since its inception, it has persistently waged a historic struggle—against feudalism within Nepal and imperialism abroad. The party played a crucial role in the resistance against the Rana regime, the Panchayat dictatorship, and the monarchy. It has also consistently opposed both Indian and American imperialism, always standing firm in defense of Nepal’s democracy and national sovereignty.

The communist movement cannot progress without resisting various forms of opportunism that arise within it. This has been confirmed by the international communist experience. Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and Mao all continuously and uncompromisingly struggled against the opportunism of their times. Our party also has carried on that legacy, consistently combating right-wing, “centrist,” and extreme “leftist” deviations domestically, as well as confronting international distortions—such as Soviet revisionism, Chinese revisionism, and the neo-Trotskyism of the RIM. It is in the context of this glorious revolutionary background, both international and national, that we celebrate Lenin’s birthday and our party’s founding day. It is our internationalist duty to contribute as much as possible to the international revolutionary communist movement and to further the revolutionary history of Nepal’s communist struggle.

As we carry out our responsibilities to Nepal and the international communist movement, we must also reflect on the current state of communism in both Nepal and the world. Despite its proud history, the global and Nepali communist movements are currently in a weakened state. Why and how did this happen? Only by understanding and addressing the causes can we rebuild a strong communist movement, advance the new democratic revolution in Nepal, and achieve a socialist revolution globally. This is a challenging task, but not an impossible one. With the invincible ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tsetung Thought as our guide, we can move forward and be successed.

Marxist-Leninist theory emerged through solid analysis of material conditions and decades of revolutionary struggle, and it has been consistently validated by history. The weakening of today’s communist movement in Nepal and worldwide stems from the abandonment of Marxist-Leninist philosophical foundation. A growing tendency among communists to embrace capitalism over Marxist-Leninist principles has eroded the movement’s base. When the ideological foundation is shaken, the revolutionary movement naturally weakens. To rebuild, we must restore the communist movement on the firm basis of Marxist-Leninist theory—there is no other path.

History provides many examples of the collapse of communist parties and socialist systems—such as those in the Soviet Union, China, and other socialist countries—due to deviation from Marxist-Leninist principles. The collapse was often so extensive that some parties even celebrated the downfall or considered it matter of glory.

Take China as an example. The country has become fully capitalist and even imperialist, yet the ruling party still claims to be real communist and describes its system as an advanced socialist one. Similarly, even at the height of its decline, the Soviet Union continued to claim it was a socialist state, deceiving many communist parties around the world.

In Nepal, Dr. Kesharjung Rayamajhi long claimed to be a true communist even after aligning with monarchism, but later revealed his real position by dissolving the Communist Party. Today, some groups in Nepal also claim to be the main stream of the communist movement based on their size, parliamentary presence, or governmental influence. These claims have sown confusion not just among the public, but even within leftist circles. However, from a Marxist-Leninist perspective, their political lines and organizational practices deviate significantly from true communist ideology. Unfortunately, many still follow them due to a lack of proper Marxist-Leninist understanding. Such ideological misguidance has severely damaged the world communist movement, leaving it weak and defensive. Only through a clear understanding of Marxist-Leninist theory can we overcome this confusion and restore the movement’s revolutionary direction.

On this occasion of Lenin’s birthday and the party’s foundation day, we must pledge to educate ourselves deeply in Marxist-Leninist theory. Only through such ideological clarity can we strengthen Nepal’s communist movement and contribute meaningfully to the whole communist movement.

Beyond ideology, we must also examine the current crisis facing our country and define our responsibilities in response.

Nepal is on the verge of a serious and multi-faceted crisis. What should our policy be in such circumstances? We must be clear. One major challenge is the increasing attacks on the republic and secularism by monarchist forces. Defending these achievements has become a historic and national necessity. However, it would be wrong to blame the monarchists alone. The failure of pro-republic political forces—due to widespread corruption, misgovernance, and their betrayal of people’s expectations—has created public disillusionment, allowing monarchist forces to regain ground. Such public dissatisfaction is not entirely baseless.

Thus, we must not only resist reactionary threats but also struggle against the flawed policies of the pro-republic forces. At the same time, we should seek coordination, cooperation, or alliances with political forces committed to resisting regression. We must raise public awareness that the solution lies in progress, not regression. Supporting regressive forces in response to failures of the republic would be a historic mistake.

Indian imperialism has long tried to dominate Nepal. It still has not accepted the Constitution of Nepal and is influencing some Madhesi organizations to demand amendments that would weaken Nepal’s sovereignty. While we also support amending the Constitution and struggle to abolish federalism.

India is also pressuring Nepal to liberalize its Citizenship Act to allow large numbers of Indians to become citizens of Nepal, with the aim of making Indians a majority in Nepal’s parliament. Their ultimate goal is to annex Nepal by first integrating the Terai region and later the entire country, just as they did with Fiji and Sikkim. Indian imperialism thus poses an existential threat to Nepal. India’s fundamentalist ruling class is also promoting monarchy and communalism within Nepal.

Meanwhile, the United States seeks to use Nepal as a strategic outpost against China and to further its agenda regarding Tibet and the Dalai Lama. Under this strategy, the U.S. pressured Nepal to ratify the MCC. This creates a serious risk of Nepal becoming entangled in superpower conflicts. European imperialists are also expanding their influence in Nepal through NGOs and Christian missionary activities, fueling communal tensions. Federalism, introduced under pressure from imperialist powers, has now become a threat to Nepal’s unity and sustainable development.

This national crisis has been worsened by the compromising nature of many political forces. Even some leftist political forces seem inclined toward the retrogressive movement of the royalists to restore the monarchy and make Nepal a Hindu nation. They have gone to the extent of opposing the republic and condemning secularism. Such a stance, in one way or another, is a continuation of the royalist line of Dr. Keshar Jung Rayamajhi. We must expose and challenge such compromising tendencies, whether they come from the right or the left wings of Nepal’s various political parties. Only in this way can we raise awareness among the people and lead the movement against both domestic and foreign reactionary forces.

In this situation, defending the republic and secularism, protecting national sovereignty and unity, preventing Nepal from becoming a geopolitical battleground, resisting caste-based division, and abolishing federalism are our immediate responsibilities. We must also fight for the resolution of the people’s problems and fulfill their legitimate and progressive demands of them. These tasks can only be accomplished by becoming genuine communists—in other words, by becoming communists like communists. This is possible only through firm commitment to Marxist-Leninist education. Only then can we fulfill our responsibilities to the people, the nation, and the international revolutionary movement too.

On the occasion of Lenin’s birthday and the founding day of our party, let us reaffirm our commitment: to become communists like communists.

Mohan Bikram Singh

General Secretary

Nepal Communist Party (Mashal)