Some people are cutting vegetables, some doing the dishes. Others are moving stuff here and there. It looks like a wedding or a social gathering is about to take place. But it’s neither. This happens every day in Adharshila Commune, which is located at Bardibas Gauri­danda in Mahottari, a district in Province 2. Communists have long been dreaming (and talking about their dream) of transforming society. It was with this idea that 13 fam­ilies got together and started living in Adharshila Commune from 2002.

 

The commune was started in accordance with the political vision of the then Communist Party of Nepal Unity Center-Masal. The current Minister of Education, Science and Tech­nology Giriraj Mani Pokha­rel, who is one of its founding members, took the lead in establishing it.

 

As 13 families depend on this commune for their basic needs such as food, cloth­ing and shelter, it is named Adharshila (literally ‘foun­dation stone’). None of the members have personal prop­erty. Pokharel says those who join this commune donate all their property to the (commu­nist) movement. “We had 48 members at one point. Now, many of the children have grown up and gone to different places in Nepal and abroad to pursue higher studies. So our numbers have decreased,” says Pokharel.

 

The commune had started in Siraha’s Golbazar by taking in 18 children. But the basic idea of a commune is not just to satisfy the needs of children and provide for their educa­tion, says Pokharel. “So we assembled members of 13 fam­ilies who started a communal life in Bardibas.”

 

One can feel that life here is different than in other places. People of different castes live together here. All of them engage in some productive work, which is enough to meet their daily expenses. For example, they do collec­tive farming by renting land. Some run a cooperative, oth­ers an FM station. “We were also involved in a spice busi­ness (Ruchi Masala Udhyog) and were running a computer shop. But these businesses shut down after the block­ade,” informs Pokharel.

 

 13 families depend on this commune for their basic needs such as food, clothing and shelter

 

While selecting members, those who believe in the com­munist philosophy are given priority. Families of ‘martyrs’ are free to join the commune. Every family is given a room. People of different castes and communities like Tharu, Yadav, Mahato, Tamang, Bahun and Chhetri are living together in the commune.

 

“We follow a simple lifestyle here. There are no fights. The commune is everything for us. I am happy living like this,” says Pushpa Lata Koirala, an old member.

 

Adharshila’s patron and Nepal Communist Party Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha argues that this type of communal living model should be implemented in other places too. “This should a party agenda. But since hundreds of thousands of our party members are without any responsibilities, it is hard at the moment to bring this matter to the party’s atten­tion,” he says.

 

During the Maoist insur­gency, the rebels had run sim­ilar communes in places like Rukum and Rolpa where they had a strong hold. However, none of these communes are active now.