In the shadows of the Maoist revolution: On the role of the ‘People’s War’ in facilitating the occupation of symbolic space in Western Nepal

Abstract

This article highlights the contribution of the Nepalese Maoist Movement in the dynamics of claiming symbolic space by formerly bonded labourers (freed Kamaiya) during the Nepalese Maoist revolution. In Nepal, the appropriation of symbolic space by marginalized groups throughout the revolutionary period remains in the shadows of the grand event of the Maoist revolution. Focusing on an urban municipality in Kailali district, in the far-western lowlands of Nepal, the article examines how the changing balances of power brought about by the revolutionary Maoist Movement allowed a group of formerly bonded labourers to squat and claim the land of a public airport. The article then addresses the question of whether and how the act of urban capture has benefitted the formerly bonded labourers, and what sorts of community politics emerged in the squatter camps where they settled. It is argued that the changes brought about by the revolutionary context improved the conditions that the formerly debt-bonded labourers encounter at workplaces but also led to the formation of a new political elite within the squatters community. The article contributes to an understanding of the complexities of political mobilization in revolutionary Nepal and the resulting consequences.