Baburam Bhattarai Biography, Life, Interesting Facts

Baburam Bhattarai was the 35th Prime minister of Nepal and apart from politics he is known for his rebellion against the authoritarian government from time to time. He belongs to a family of farmers and his educational career was outstanding. As the Deputy Leader of the Communist Party of Nepal, he fought for the rights of landless labourers. He is against the induction of foreign direct investment and all treaties against national interest of Nepal.

Childhood

Baburam Bhattarai was born in Gorkha, Khoplang VDC in central Nepal on June 18, 1854. His parents were poor farmers and gave birth to two sons and two daughters.

Education

Baburam had his primary education in Amar Jyoti High School in Luintel, Gorkha. He stood first in the School Leaving Certificate Examination of Nepal in 1970. He had his higher education in Amrit Science College and again topped the rankings in the board examination. Based on his brilliant performances, he was awarded a scholarship under the Colombo Plan to pursue his studies in Architecture in India. He completed his graduation in Architecture in 1977 from Chandigarh. He received his M. Tech degree in Architecture in 1979 from the Delhi School of Planning and Architecture.

In 1986, he completed his Doctorate from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

Political Career

Baburam Bhattarai had keen interest in politics and in 1981became a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) which followed Maoist ideology. In 1986, he took active part in the party as a leader. In 1990, he founded the CPN (Unity Centre) and in 1994, he became a member of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). The party was headed by Pushpa Kumar Dahal, also known as Prachanda. Baburam Bhattarai submitted a list of 40 demands to Sher Bahadur Deuba, the Prime Minister of Nepal belonging to Nepali Congress party. He warned him of violent uprising in case the government failed to give in to the demands. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) launched an uprising as soon as the deadline ended and the protests lasted till April 26, 2006.

In the course of the armed struggle, Bhattarai and Prachanda fought over supremacy in the party. Prachanda removed him from the party and incarcerated him. However Baburam was back in the party after the resolution of the power struggle. During 2004 and 2005, both the leaders came together and decided to end the insurgence in April 2006 after negotiation with the government. Bhattarai became second in the party hierarchy of CPN (M) headed by Prachanda. A Seven Party Alliance won the elections after the end of the rebellion by CPN (M) and re-established the parliament which was suspended in May 2002. The new constituent assembly drafted a new constitution which converted the monarchy into a republic on May 28, 2008. The king was deprived of all his powers by this radical change.

Bhattarai contested from Gorkha for a seat in the Constituent Assembly and after his election became the Finance Minister in the cabinet under the leadership of Prachanda. Bhattarai took over as the Prime Minister of Nepal in August 2011 after the resignation of Prachanda in May 2009. He continued to be the Prime Minister till March 2013. Meanwhile, there was another political crisis and the Constituent Assembly was dissolved in May 2012. Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi took over as temporary head of the government till June 2013 elections. After being a Senior Standing Committee Member and Vice Chairperson of Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Moist), Bhattarai quit the party on September 27, 2015 to support the cause of Madhesis. He was concerned about the plight of Madhesis as they were not allowed to present their demands by the ruling dispensation.

Baburam founded a new political party called New Force Nepal to fight the UCPN (M) government headed by Prachanda. The Interim Central Council of the party gave representation to people from all walks of life such as Maoists, retired government officials, journalists.

Achievements 

In 1998, he published a book Politico-Economic Rationale of People’s War in Nepal. In 2003, a book based on his doctoral thesis, The Nature of Underdevelopment and Regional Structure of Nepal – A Marxist Analysis, was published.

In 2004, he came out with another book in Nepali, Nepali Krantika Adharharu. Baburam has been successful in his mission for getting land for the landless peasants from landlords.

Personal Life

Baburam Bhattarai married another leader from the CPN (M), Hisila Yami and the couple have a daughter, Manushi.