This summer The Red Spark [Rato Jhilko - see photo], a journal of the Communist Party of Nepal published an article by Baburam Bhattarai, which stated that, “Trotskyism has become more relevant than Stalinism to advance the cause of the proletariat”. This is the result of concrete historical experience that has revealed the real essence of Stalinism and vindicated the ideas of Leon Trotsky, in the case of Nepal in particular of the theory of the Permanent Revolution.

After years of guerrilla struggle the Nepalese Maoists agreed to put down their arms, become a parliamentary party, and eventually enter government. Now they have been manoeuvred out of office and there is an urgent need to draw up a balance sheet and decide which way they are going to go.

We have received this interesting letter from a reader in Nepal who highlights the shortcomings of the Prachanda-led Maoists in the light of the latter’s resignation from government.

The Nepalese Maoist leaders, having dissolved their rebel army and entered parliamentary politics, are justifying their position with the idea that what faces the Nepalese masses is the bourgeois democratic revolution. This is encapsulated in the idea of the alliance of two classes, the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. In reality power remains in the hands of the bourgeois who exploit the authority of the former guerrilla leaders to hold the masses back from going the whole way.

As could be expected the Nepalese capitalist/landlord class have accepted the removal of the monarchy, but it comes at a heavy price. The former leaders of the Maoist guerrillas, having achieved what they perceive as the "first stage" of the revolution, the bourgeois-democratic stage, are now issuing guarantees to the capitalists and landlords that their property will not be touched.

The Nepalese Maoists have achieved spectacular results in the recent elections. Together the two main Communist parties mustered around 50% of the overall vote, a clear indication of the revolutionary fervour of the masses. But which way will the Maoist leaders go? They have a huge responsibility on their shoulders.