This letter is in response to Dr Deepak Shimkhada (Letters, #96). I completely agree that the Maoists' destruction of institutions of knowledge and wisdom makes them more than the Taleban. The Maoist student wing is anti-student when they force academic institutions to shut down frequently, and for long periods. I wonder whether the farmers' wing will destroy or loot crops, the business wing will loot banks and ruin the economy, the construction wing will destroy bridges and buildings, the development wing will blow up telephone towers and other infrastructure, and the public relations group will kill civilians.

Unlike the so-called Maoist intellectuals, I can't see anything how those acts are justified. If the Maoists are fighting for the people, they need to make a 180-degree turn. They are following their political dogma like religious fundamentalists. Marx said religion is the opiate of the masses, but the Maoists here show us that their dogma is even more than this. Just as I would be a sinner if I asked religious fanatics to defy their belief, I would be a "capitalist" and "reactionary" to the Maoists, because they can only see one way. I'm happy to have preserved my natural instincts and pity those who've lost the ability to judge what is right and what is wrong because they follow a political or religious dogma.

"Fnepal",
by email