Madan Bhandari

Nepal Ratna Madan Kumar Bhandari (Nepali: मदन कुमार भण्डारी) (27 June 1951[1] – 16 May 1993[2]) commonly known as Madan Bhandari, was a popular[3] Nepali political leader belonging to the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist), a democratic communist party in Nepal.[4][5] He defeated the incumbent Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai in the 1991 general election. Known for his charismatic style, Bhandari had propounded the popular communist principle or thought People's Multiparty Democracy (Nepali: जनताको बहुदलीय जनवाद). He is widely regarded for peaking the Nepal's communist movement to a greater height. He died in a jeep accident in Dasdhunga, Chitwan, in 1993.[6][7]

Nepal Ratna

Madan Kumar Bhandari
मदन कुमार भण्डारी
Photo of Madan Bhandari
Born(1951-06-27)27 June 1951
Dhungesangu Village, Taplejung, Nepal
Died16 May 1993(1993-05-16) (aged 41)
Dasdhunga, Chitwan, Nepal
Cause of deathPossibly murdered (car accident)
Body discoveredThree days later at Dasdhunga, Chitwan, Nepal
Resting placeArya Ghat, Pashupati
MonumentsMadan Bhandari Memorial College, Madan-Ashrit Highway, Madan Bhandari Road
NationalityNepalese
Other namesजनताका नेता (People's leader), जननेता
CitizenshipNepali
Known forजनताको बहुदलीय जनवाद "People's Multiparty Democracy"
Notable work
Referendum
Political partyCommunist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
MovementPeople's Movement I (1990)
Opponent(s)Panchayat system
Spouse(s)Bidhya Devi Bhandari
Children2

Life

Madan Bhandari was born in the Dhungesangu village of Taplejung district in eastern Nepal. He studied in Medibung School in Taplejung and in Varanasi, India. In 1972, he became a central committee member of the Janabadi Sanskritik Morcha (Democratic Cultural Front), a student movement established by Pushpa Lal Shrestha. Around 1976 he left Pushpa Lal's Communist Party of Nepal to create the Mukti Morcha Samuha ("Liberation Front Group"), which formed an alliance with the survivors of the Jhapa Movement in 1978. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist) preceding the 1980 referendum and was elected General-Secretary at its Fourth National Congress in 1986.

Bhandari became the General-Secretary when CPN (ML) merged into the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) in 1991. He played a central role in the CPN (UML) program of "People's Multiparty Democracy," which left his party as the strongest communist party in Nepal for several years even after his death.[8]

1991 Elections and aftermath

The CPN (UML), under the leadership of Bhandari, won all but one seat in the Himalayan capital in the 1991 elections, the country's first free election after more than three decades.[9] Bhandari proclaimed this "a vote for democracy," "a vote for independence" and "a vote for the alleviation of poverty." [9] He argued for the popular vote as opposed to armed struggle as the main tactic for communists.

Personal life

Bhandari was married to Bidhya Devi Bhandari in 1982. Ms. Bhandari at the time of her wedding to Bhandari was a junior political cadre of his party who later became the first female President of Nepal. The couple had two daughters, Usha Kiran Bhandari and Nisha Kusum Bhandari. Both daughters are married.

Death

On May 16, 1993 Bhandari died in a car accident in Dasdhunga, Chitwan.[10] According to an investigation led by K.P. Oli, it was not an accident but an unsolved murder.[7] Of the three people inside the car, only the driver Amar Lama survived; the two leaders Madan Bhandari and Jibaraj Ashrit died.

His body was recovered three days later and kept in Dasharath Rangashala, where people visited throughout the day and into the night to pay their respects.[10] The only survivor of that crash, driver Amar Lama, was murdered 10 years later.[11] A group of unidentified gunmen abducted Lama from the office of Tajakhabar Weekly tabloid around 13:45. He was taken to the hamlet of Kirtipur on the southwestern outskirts of the capital and shot. The assassins then fled towards Panga village.[11]

Aftermath

A bust has been built at the spot of the accident at Dasdhunga.[12] The government of Nepal proposed to build Madan Bhandari Highway from Shantinagar of Jhapa district to Rupal of Dadheldhura district.[13][14] In March 2018, Madan Bhandari Museum was inaugurated in Urlabari, Morang. The damaged jeep of the 1993 accident has been kept on display at the Urlabari Museum.

Awards

On 2016, he was posthumously awarded with Nepal Ratna Man Padavi, the highest honour to a Nepali citizen by the Government of Nepal.[15]

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See also

References
  1. K.C., Surendra. Aitihasik dastavej sangroh - bhag 2. Kathmandu: Pairavi Prakashan, 2063 B.S.. p 464.
  2. Madan Bhandari
  3. Chhetri, Ag (May 21, 2004). "Remembering Madan Bandari".
  4. "Madan Bhandari - WikiGlobal | the celebrity encyclopedia". www.wiki-global.org. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  5. SATP (2018-05-22). "Nepal: Decisive Turn – Analysis". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  6. "Inability to bring out truth behind Madan Bhandari's death painful, says president". The Himalayan Times. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  7. Anonymous (May 24, 2009). "UML Leader Accuses Maoists of Having Assassinated Madan Bhandari". Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  8. Chancen für Nepals angeschlagene Demokratie?
  9. FINEMAN, MARK (1991-05-15). "Communists Celebrate Nepal Victories : Elections: Katmandu goes Marxist but moderates lead in countryside voting". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  10. "A Death Heavier than the Himalayas". www.marxists.org. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  11. Acharya, Yuvraj (July 28, 2003). "Driver of murdered UML leaders killed".
  12. "Some heart-broken Nepalese turn their backs on gods". in.news.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  13. "Budget more focused on physical infrastructure". The Himalayan Times. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  14. "Highway named after late communist leader". The Himalayan Times. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
  15. "81,790 to be conferred awards and decorations". The Himalayan Times. 2016-05-29. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
Party political offices
Preceded by
None		 General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Marxist-Leninist)
1986–1991		 Succeeded by
Himself
(as General Secretary of the CPN (UML))
Preceded by
None		 General Secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist)
1991–1993		 Succeeded by
Madhav Kumar Nepal
Communism in Nepal
 Communism portal
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