Nepal, May 4 -- A quick look at the results of the 2026 general election suggests that the Nepali Communist Party has been reduced to a rump of its former self. The party, led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal, won only 17 seats and 7.5 percent of the vote. The temptation, therefore, is to declare the Maoist movement dead. But is that really the right way to read history?

The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched an armed insurrection that they termed 'People's War' on February 13, 1996. Similar to the Gen Z uprising, it was not a random act of violence. It emerged from decades of feudal exploitation, caste oppression and a state that was alien to its remote populace. At its core, the movement drew its strength from those the state had forgotte...