Narayan Kaji Shrestha

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Narayan Kaji Shrestha, alias Prakash, is a Nepalese communist politician. Prakash is the general secretary of the Communist Party of Nepal (Unity Centre-Masal). On May 27, 2008, he became public after spending 18 years in underground work. Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) chairman Prachanda and Maoist leader Baburam Bhattarai took part in the felication ceremony of Prakash as he left the underground.^[1]

Prakash fell away from Prachanda after the CPN-Unity Centre decided to wage armed revolt in 1996. Addressing his first public function, Prakash said the road to republic was still full of obstacles and all forces, which believe in democratic republic, should unite. The 47-year-old leader was born in Jaubari village of Gorkha and holds a master’s degree in public administration. He joined Nepal’s communist movement in 1980.

He was imprisoned in the central jail as a student leader at 16, then at Gorkha district jail in 1980 and in 1986 in Lalitpur district jail as a political leader.

He is well-known for having played a special role for bringing the seven parties and CPN-Maoist into making the historic 12-point Understanding possible to carry out joint mass movement against monarchy and for true democracy in mid-April 2006.

The movement culminated into a success with the king agreeing to hand over power to the seven parties.

He was a second rung leader in the CPN-Unity Centre before its major leaders formed CPN-Maoist and opted for an armed rebellion in 1996. He, however, did not join the rebellion on the grounds of working policy but helped it from outside while continuing with his peaceful political activities despite being underground as general secretary of the Unity Centre.

He had edited the then weekly paper (now famous monthly magazine) "Mulankyan","Garjan" and "Janamat". He was aslo the campus school teacher in 1980s in Siddhartha Vanasthali Institute as a mathematics lecturer.

He is the 5th son among his 6th membered brothers and he is still unmarried.