The article or open letter was first published in Hamro Bhasha (1979). It was originally written in Nepali and has been translated here into English. Nepali title: भाषाभन्दा पार्टी ठूलो भन्नेलाई

Respected Editor,

Supporters of the Communist Party (Marxist) such as the ‘Chowkbazar’ magazine, and Nepali comrades of ‘Vikalp’, the Progressive Writer’s Association, are nowadays chanting the slogan– ‘Party CPM is greater than the Language.’

They have forsaken their right to claim Nepali as their Mother-Tongue after calling it “[just] a language”. We’ve considered it a service to our Mother-Tongue by writing in Nepali, it seems that these Progressives have only been using it as a language. When they have a Progressive indifference towards the Nepali language, why should they want to write in it, why should they speak it? You should say ‘[just] a Mother’ instead of Mother. You should say ‘[just] a Father’ instead of Father. Go shout your progressive slogans–

Party CPM is greater than a Language.
Party CPM is greater than a Jati.

Comrade, any individual can change their principle, religion and nationality, but no one can change the jati to which they belong. The jati in which you were born is the same jati in which you’ll die. Subscription to an opportunistic party is not the same as belonging to a jati, a party flag where the colour shall fade is not the same as a jati’s history.

Comrade, you are newborn chick which hatched this morning, Nepali Communists, who neither have a history nor a future. Those with a history, those with a future, the Communists of Russia, China and Vietnam, have sworn allegiance to their respective jatis. The Communists of Bengal are loyal to their jati. Only you have remained ‘international’. Shout, shout loudly.

CPM Party is greater than Jati.
CPM Party is greater than Country.

You tried to sell the nation to British Imperialists in 1942, you tried to hand over the nation to Chinese Communists in 1962. The Stalin era of ‘Party is greater than the Country’ is over, but you still haven’t gotten over ‘internationalism’. Globally, the Communist movements have clearly awoken to ‘Jati is greater than the Party’. Nepali friend, you haven’t heard that utterance.

Faithfully,
‘इ0′

Hamro Bhasha
Year 4, Number 29, August 31^st 1979.

The article has been translated and published with permission from the editors of Indra Sampurna.