China's Capitalist Revolution
While in Hong Kong for a summer course at the University of Hong kong in July 2010, a Chinese student asked me, "It really surprises me. How come you guys have Maoism so popular in Nepal when even we Chinese have largely abandoned his philosophy?"
I struggled for an answer. Jokingly, I said , "Come to Nepal. You would know for yourself." But on a serious note, I added "There is a widespread myth that China developed because of Maoism. Everyone knows Mao but very few know about Deng Xiao Peng and his reforms. The so called critical mass and public intellectuals never really bother to learn the truth or go beyond the popular rhetoric and propaganda."
And I believe it's really true. I have learned from my interactions with people that very few out the many who eulogize China's communism tend to know about Deng Xiao Peng and his reforms. Had it not been for Deng's reforms, China would still be languishing in poverty and millions of more Chinese farmers would have perished. I recently discovered an interesting documentary depicting Deng Xiao Peng's role in the economic transformation of China. I hope watching this documentary will help viewers enhance their understanding of China's economic transformation from a poverty ridden Third world country into an economic powerhouse.
The question that bothers me now is: We have more than enough Maos in Nepal. Mohan Baidhya, alone would be more than enough for that purpose. But do we have or can we expect to have any Deng in Nepal?
