Mao said "a revolution is not a time for holding parties". You cannot expect politeness in revolutions.

Excerpts from an interview with Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) ideologue Baburam Bhattarai in the Nepali-language weekly, Sahara, 10 Dec.

In a recent article you stated that the present educational institutions should be burnt down. If the educational institutions in your time had been burnt down, would it have been possible for you to complete your education?

I made the statement in the context of a student agitation in Pokhara last year. It was a figurative statement to encourage and support them in their struggle. By "burning down", I did not mean that one should actually burn down the infrastructure but rather get rid of old ways of thinking, the educational system, the curriculum, the manner in which it is taught, and other obstacles. If you study the histories of revolutions past, you realise that it is only after the destruction of the old system that a new one can be put in its place. The pros and cons are not calculated at the time of a revolution, that is why Mao had stated "a revolution is not a time to hold parties". You cannot expect decency and politeness at the time of revolution. What we have said is in line with Mao's thinking and we still believe in what Mao said. What we want to tell our student friends is that for a beautiful and prosperous future you should be able to make sacrifices today and have no second thoughts about making those sacrifices. You should not be afraid of destroying this huge factory that is only producing unemployment-especially when the factory itself is slowly dying.

How do you counter the argument that you have done your PhD and send your children to boarding schools, but want the children of other people to give up their books and carry weapons?

This is the response of reactionaries and the ruling class. The objective is to create doubt, suspicion and anger among ordinary people against the revolution. This is a ploy to create a negative image of the revolution in people who have not understood or fully grasped its true meaning. To clarify, I should present some personal and family facts. Firstly, I have only one daughter, Manusi, who earlier used to attend an educational shop called a boarding school but who now goes to an ordinary government school. We have not pampered or spoilt her but are preparing her for a life of struggle and revolution, and in this respect we are satisfied with her progress. Secondly, it is not true that I joined the revolutionary movement only after I completed my studies. I finished my Bachelors in Architecture from Chandigarh (in India) in 1977/78 under the Colombo Plan. I became aware of my responsibilities towards my country, wanted to do something for my country and then got involved in politics. I got enrolled for my Masters and PhD only to get a scholarship so that I could devote myself to self-study and think of ways in which I could get involved in the revolution. I misled nobody on this. I told the head of the Jawaharlal Nehru University [in Delhi] and reputed Indian leftist, the late professor Moonis Raza, and my PhD supervisor, Dr Atiya Habib. They understood my problems and helped me. Many people have doubts about my PhD thesis. It was not purely a technical one but was based on Marxist political economy and was titled "Natural and Regional Issues in Nepal's Underdevelopment". Thirdly, everyone connected to a revolution does not have to just carry a gun. According to one's proclivities, and the necessities of a revolution, some carry a physical weapon and others a mental weapon.

Is it true that you got interested in politics while you were studying at ASCOL [Amrit Science College in Kathmandu]? If true, how could a highly educated person like you join a classless revolution and politics?

I studied for two years at ASCOL in 1971-72. At that time there was hardly any political activity taking place in the country. Banned parties had just begun to unite and go underground. I come from a very backward village where people are mostly farmers. I was the most educated one among my relatives and other villagers and so there was no one to guide me in life or in politics. Besides being aware that dynastic monarchy was not correct, I did not have any other political awareness. But this does not mean that I did not have a taste for politics at that time. I used to read a lot of papers, and listen to speeches given by students allied to different political parties. Elections at ASCOL at that time were not conducted on a panel basis, but one could votes candidates of different parties. I remember I had voted for Prakash Man Singh from the Nepali Congress and the late Madan Khatiwada from the leftists as my class representatives. At that time Ram Raja Prasad Singh, who had been elected from the graduate constituency, was not allowed to take his oath and was arrested. ASCOL was closed in protest and I, too, participated actively. Yet my political awareness was limited and I concentrated on my studies. After finishing my engineering degree in India, I saw the pathetic state of Nepalis working in India, saw the inhumane attitude of the Indians towards the Nepalis, and thought about the backwardness of my village and country. I began asking myself what the best way to live was, and what a person was supposed to do on this earth. Searching for answers I slowly came into contact with Marxist-Leninist and Maoist thought and politics.

Could you tell us something about your experiences at ASCOL?

I cannot forget the time I spent at ASCOL because it left a very deep mark on my personal life. At that time ASCOL was considered to be the best college in Nepal and to be associated with it was an honour. Hard-working students from all over the country used to join it but there was still a predominance of students from rich families, from the upper strata of society, and from Kathmandu. Students like us from villages and backward places were lumped together and those from St. Xavier's, St. Mary's and other schools were put in other groups. On the first day of school we were asked to introduce ourselves and since I had stood first in the SLC board examinations, I was made to give a speech in front of 1500 students. This was my first public speech. I had some difficulty while speaking, but it was a good experience and I will never forget that. The behaviour and attitude of the English-speaking students created some problems for me, but after I did very well in English, they too started respecting me. I used to live in a small room on the ground floor of poet Lekhnath Poudel's house in Thamel (where Saraswoti Campus stands today). I had to live on the Rs 100 that the Ministry of Education provided me as scholarship, a stipend from the Madan Puraskar Guthi, and the money awarded by the present king for scoring the highest marks in geography. I did not have many friends, but since I was from a village and had come first in SLC, everyone was friendly and helpful to me.