ABSTRACT
Overt Maoist insurgency in Nepal, February 1996 to November 2006, was a savage period that involved political violence ranging from terrorism to guerrilla warfare to actual military attacks by insurgent units armed and equipped in the manner of the government forces. The insurgents’ objective was to seize political power in order to institute a communist regime. The mainstream Maoists retain a paramilitary capability and use it to execute violence, relying especially upon various front organizations such as the Young Communist League (YCL) and the All Nepal National Independent Students’ Union (Revolutionary) (ANNISU-R). An ideological concept lacking specificity, the “two line struggle” essentially holds – just as a communist party is required to lead the masses to an understanding of their true interests, because the party has the best grasp of societal realities and necessary Marxist–Leninist redress – so within the party itself there will constantly be struggles over how to proceed strategically.
