Pushpa Lal: Nepal’s Communist Founder

This year, Nepali communist parties are observing the birth centenary of Pushpa Lal Shrestha (1924–1978), the founding general secretary of Nepal Communist Party (NCP). Although the NCP that he established 75 years ago in the Indian city of Calcutta with the support of four other persons has been divided into more than a dozen groups, Pushpa Lal (PL) has been the most revered and iconic figure for all of them. He had decided to establish the NCP after he concluded that Nepali Congress could not bring about socio-economic transformation in the country. Its primary objectives were to end the autocratic Rana rule, feudalism, imperialism and usher the nation in democracy and economic equality through peaceful struggles.