Mohan Chandra Adhikari

Who is Mohan Chandra Adhikari?

Mohan Chandra Adhikari is a former communist politician in Nepal. He hails from a Brahmin family in Morang District. Adhikari studied up to B.A. level, but didn't appear in the final exams. Adhikari had been a follower of Pushpa Lal Shrestha, but turned more radical than his mentor. Adhikari became a leader of the group in the Jhapa District Committee of the Communist Party which in the early 1970s intended to initiate a rebellion on the lines of the Naxalite insurgency in India.

Adhikar was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was saved from death sentence through a royal pardon. Whilst in jail, he was associated with the Communist Party of Nepal. Adhikari would spend 17 years in prison. He was sometimes called the 'Nelson Mandela' of Nepal.

After being released from jail, Adhikari became an advisory-member of the Communist Party of Nepal. He also represented the party in the Upper House of Parliament.

He was arrested during the 2006 Loktantra Andolan.

Adhikari later broke with communism, and became a Hindu leader. After the declaration of Nepal as a secular state, Adhikari participated in a meeting organised by the Shivsena Nepal.