Overview

A Maoist revolution has been raging in Nepal since 1996. In 1999, Li Onesto became the first foreign journalist to travel deep into the guerrilla zones. Allowed unprecedented access, she interviewed political leaders, guerrilla fighters, villagers in areas under Maoist control, and relatives of those killed by government forces. Millions in Nepal now live in areas under guerrilla control. Peasants are running grass-roots institutions, exercising what they call 'people's power'. Li Onesto describes these transformations — the establishment of new governing committees and courts, the confiscation and re-division of land, new cultural and social practices, and the emergence of a new outlook. Increasingly, the UK and US have directly intervened to provide political and military support to the counter-insurgency efforts of the Nepalese regime. Onesto analyzes this in the context of the broader international situation and the 'war on terrorism'.

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Reviews

This unique, intimate look into the People's War in Nepal provides invaluable background to the world's most vigorous Maoist movement, and insight into the theory and practice underlying contemporary Maoism elsewhere in South Asia and globally. Based on the author's reportage and interviews in guerrilla-controlled areas in 1999, Dispatches from the People's War in Nepal helps to explain why, five years later, the insurgency has acquired control over most of the Nepali countryside. Li Onesto's examination of the guerrilla army, the roles of women and national minorities in the People's War, and the conduct of general strikes in the capital of Kathmandu shed much light on the current struggle underway for the future of the Himalayan nation. -- Gary Leupp, professor of history at Tufts University and Coordinator of the Asian Studies Program In her dispatches from the ongoing revolutionary war in Nepal, where she was the first, and longest-staying, foreign journalist to report from the Maoist-held areas, Li Onesto keeps up the committed, conscientious revolutionary journalism of John Reed, George Orwell, and Agnes Smedley. Building around the narratives of guerilla soldiers and their families, of group leaders, farmers, local officials, teachers, and artists, she provides an intimate and sympathetic view of the early stages of the People's War while giving a sense of the arduous nature of fighting a war in the Himalayas. Hers is probably the best, if not only, account of how the Maoists built their organization and movement, and of how they operate and govern. She is especially sensitive to the voices and experiences of women in the guerilla columns, who have tended to be invisible in such accounts. Included here are new chapters in which the story is updated, taking into account international intervention and future prospects for the struggle. -- Stephen Mikesell, author of Class, State and Struggle in Nepal: Writings 1989-1995 This lively, exciting and enlightening presentation of the true portrait of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal will help people to understand the real state of affairs behind the 'People's War' waged by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) to liberate the Nepalese people from all kinds of exploitation and repression. The most important value of this book lies in its serious analysis of several human features of the Maoist Revolution with on-the-spot descriptive facility. I agree with the writer to say that 'the Maoist Revolution in Nepal is causing surprise with its success and re-raising the question of the relevance of Communist revolution to today's turbulent world.' -- Padma Ratna Tuladhar, independent left leader, senior human rights leader and one of the facilitators in the peace talks between His Majesty's Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

'Invaluable background to the world's most vigorous Maoist movement, and insight into the theory and practice underlying contemporary Maoism elsewhere in South Asia and globally' -- Gary Leupp, professor of history at Tufts University and Coordinator of the Asian Studies Program 'Probably the best, if not only, account of how the Maoists built their organisation and movement, and of how they operate and govern' -- Stephen Mikesell, author of Class, State and Struggle in Nepal: Writings 1989-1995 'This is a lively, exciting and enlightening presentation of the true portrait of the Maoist insurgency in Nepal' -- Padma Ratna Tuladhar, independent left leader, senior human rights leader and one of the facilitators in the peace talks between His Majesty's Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)

Author Information

As a correspondent for the Revolutionary Worker newspaper, Li Onesto was the first foreign journalist to travel deep into the guerrilla zones of Nepal in 1999. Her interview with Prachanda, the head of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), has been circulated internationally – translated into Nepali, Spanish, Italian, French, Hindi, German, Pashtun (in Afghanistan), and Chinese. Onesto's photography show, ""The People's War in Nepal: Faces from a Hidden War"" has been on display in several cities in the U.S. and she continues to study, write and lecture about the developing situation in Nepal.

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