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Hisila: From Revolutionary to First Lady
In this fascinating book, Hisila Yami traces her journey from being a young Nepali student of architecture in Delhi to becoming a Maoist revolutionary engaged in guerrilla warfare in Nepal. Yami was one of the two women leaders who were a part of the politburo of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which led the People's War (PW) in the country that changed the course of its history forever.
This is a lucidly written memoir where Yami talks about gaining political awareness, joining protests, being imprisoned, participating in the PW and, later, her experiences as the first lady and a minister. But at the same time, this is also a vivid narrative that offers touching glimpses into her personal life. She candidly writes about falling in love and marrying a fellow politician, Baburam Bhattarai, who later went on to become the prime minister of Nepal. From how she balanced her political life with motherhood to what it really meant to be a women in the communist party that launched a civil war -- Yami tells all in what is truly an unforgettable account of a remarkable life.
This is a lucidly written memoir where Yami talks about gaining political awareness, joining protests, being imprisoned, participating in the PW and, later, her experiences as the first lady and a minister. But at the same time, this is also a vivid narrative that offers touching glimpses into her personal life. She candidly writes about falling in love and marrying a fellow politician, Baburam Bhattarai, who later went on to become the prime minister of Nepal. From how she balanced her political life with motherhood to what it really meant to be a women in the communist party that launched a civil war -- Yami tells all in what is truly an unforgettable account of a remarkable life.
346 pages, Paperback
Published November 1, 2021
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July 3, 2022
It's only about your dream creating Narayanhity a museum. What happened to all the lives that you took? Stop blaming people inside your party.
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January 9, 2022On September 6, 2012, US delisted Nepal’s Maoist party, formally known as Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), as terrorist organisation. The USA removed Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) from the list of terrorist organisation after nine years.
A sentence of the delisting notice read, ”After a thorough review, the Department has determined that the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has no longer been engaged in terrorist activities that threatens the security of US nationals or US foreign policy.” US delisted Maoist party from terrorist organisation after they had laid down their weapons and formally integrated into the Nepali Army on April 10 that year.
When the Maoist party started the decade-long insurgency on February 13, 1996, it referred to the US as an ‘imperialist’ country. Interestingly, they have not formally renounced this phrase anymore. That might be the reason, the US Department of State added cautionary note to the delisting declaration which read: ”Today’s delisting does not seek to overlook or forget the party’s violent past, but rather looks ahead towards the party’s engagement in a peaceful, democratic political dialogue in Nepal.”
Later, senior leader of the Maoist party Dr Baburam Bhattarai was elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. Hisila Yami became the first lady. Having already served in the top Maoist position and three-time minister, Yami did not take any ministerial portfolio during her husband’s premiership. The then former first lady and former veteran female leader of Nepal’s Maoist party has come up with her autobiographical book titled ‘Hisila Yami’. Ethnically marginalised but individually elite, Yami completed her higher education from India and in the UK. Before switching her full-time association to Nepal’s Maoist insurgency, Yami was a lecturer at the Pulchowk Engineering Campus, one of the best engineering colleges in Asia.
Yami is the first Maoist leader involved in decade-long insurgency in Nepal to bring out her autobiography. She has exclusively unearthed some untold and little known stories of Maoist insurgency, which killed over 17,000 people.
In her book, Yami has not praised Maoist but has talked about notorious traits of Maoist party and its leadership. Here are some exciting inside tales elaborated by Yami:
Many wives of Maoist leaders joined the insurgency to spy their husbands
In chapter 18 of her 38-chapter book, Yami talks about prevalent adultery inside Maoist during the time of insurgency. She said that Ram Bahadur Thapa aka Badal, a senior and married Maoist leader was found to have fallen in love with the then only female Central Committee (CC) member Pampha Bhusal. They were demoted and Badal was forced to do official works in Deharadhun, India and Bhusal was sent to work in a dotpen manufacturing factory in Kolkata, India. Other senior male leaders like Haribol Gajurel and Hemanta Prakash Oli were also charged of having affairs with their junior female comrades. Yami said that these incidents have forced many women to leave the Maoist party.
UN Officials met Maoist leaders during insurgency
When the government of Nepal officially designated Maoist as a ‘terrorist organisation’, US and UN officials, in an undiplomatic manner, met Maoist leaders. She said that UN diplomat Tamrat Samuel held a meeting with Maoist leaders during the insurgency. Yami, in chapter 23, has written, ”We met Tamrat Samuel, who was representing the UN in Nepal. He had come to discuss the modality of a peaceful solution to the conflict in the country.”
Hundreds of weapons outside mandated UN-observed cantonments
Following the Comprehensive Peace Accord in November 21, 2006, Maoist agreed to lay down their weapons and decided keep 32,250 ex-combatants in seven major and 21 other satellite cantonments in Nepal. United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), at the request of Nepali stakeholders, entered into Nepal’s Peace Process on January 23, 2007. All weapons were said to have kept in the cantonments under the constant watch of the UN officials. Yami, in chapter 28, however, said that the Maoist had 400 modern weapons outside the cantonments. Yami said the then PM Girija Prasad Koirala was also aware of this situation.
Maoist Chairman Dahal floats proposal to sell weapons to foreign agency
Yami said that Maoist Chair Puspa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ had floated a proposal to sell the Maoist weapons to the foreign agency. Yami said that her husband Baburam Bhattarai piled pressure on Dahal to roll back its decision to sell the weapons to the foreing agency. She has described this story in chapter 30.
Use of child soldiers in Maoist war
Human Rights Watch had said that the party had used child soldiers in many battles. Yami has confessed that the Maoist had used child soldiers during the war with the state. In chapter 24, Yami has written, ”Children as young as fifteen… were given military training.”
When the Maoist combatants were integrated in Nepal Army based on their meritocracy, only 1,422 out of 32,205 ex-combatants were integrated. Among the disqualified combatants, 4,009 were child combatants verified by the UNMIN, Yami disclosed in chapter 37.
Maoist Chair himself was ‘centrist’ and ‘consumerist’
The Maoist was branded as ‘ultra-left’ and ‘terrorist’ outfit during the insurgency. Yami called Maoist Chair Prachanda as ‘centrist’ in chapter 33. She has written, ”Essentially, Prachanda was a ‘centrist’ who vacillated between BRB’s viewpoint and Kiran’s beliefs.”
BRB is the abbreviation of Baburam Bhattarai, the husband of Yami, who was known as little liberal among Maoist. BRB however, left Maoist on September 16, 2015 to form his own ‘socialist’ party. Yami joined him later.
Kiran is Mohan Baidhya, a leader known inside the Maoist party an orthodox Marxist. Kiran, like Baburam, has also parted ways with Dahal to form his own party.
Yami said Prachanda used to drink every night, something forbidden among Maoist leaders and cadres. Yami, in chapter 33, has written, ”Prachanda did not hesitate to enjoy consumerism whenever he could. He sported expensive watches and preferred expensive cars.”
A sentence of the delisting notice read, ”After a thorough review, the Department has determined that the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) has no longer been engaged in terrorist activities that threatens the security of US nationals or US foreign policy.” US delisted Maoist party from terrorist organisation after they had laid down their weapons and formally integrated into the Nepali Army on April 10 that year.
When the Maoist party started the decade-long insurgency on February 13, 1996, it referred to the US as an ‘imperialist’ country. Interestingly, they have not formally renounced this phrase anymore. That might be the reason, the US Department of State added cautionary note to the delisting declaration which read: ”Today’s delisting does not seek to overlook or forget the party’s violent past, but rather looks ahead towards the party’s engagement in a peaceful, democratic political dialogue in Nepal.”
Later, senior leader of the Maoist party Dr Baburam Bhattarai was elected as the Prime Minister of Nepal. Hisila Yami became the first lady. Having already served in the top Maoist position and three-time minister, Yami did not take any ministerial portfolio during her husband’s premiership. The then former first lady and former veteran female leader of Nepal’s Maoist party has come up with her autobiographical book titled ‘Hisila Yami’. Ethnically marginalised but individually elite, Yami completed her higher education from India and in the UK. Before switching her full-time association to Nepal’s Maoist insurgency, Yami was a lecturer at the Pulchowk Engineering Campus, one of the best engineering colleges in Asia.
Yami is the first Maoist leader involved in decade-long insurgency in Nepal to bring out her autobiography. She has exclusively unearthed some untold and little known stories of Maoist insurgency, which killed over 17,000 people.
In her book, Yami has not praised Maoist but has talked about notorious traits of Maoist party and its leadership. Here are some exciting inside tales elaborated by Yami:
Many wives of Maoist leaders joined the insurgency to spy their husbands
In chapter 18 of her 38-chapter book, Yami talks about prevalent adultery inside Maoist during the time of insurgency. She said that Ram Bahadur Thapa aka Badal, a senior and married Maoist leader was found to have fallen in love with the then only female Central Committee (CC) member Pampha Bhusal. They were demoted and Badal was forced to do official works in Deharadhun, India and Bhusal was sent to work in a dotpen manufacturing factory in Kolkata, India. Other senior male leaders like Haribol Gajurel and Hemanta Prakash Oli were also charged of having affairs with their junior female comrades. Yami said that these incidents have forced many women to leave the Maoist party.
UN Officials met Maoist leaders during insurgency
When the government of Nepal officially designated Maoist as a ‘terrorist organisation’, US and UN officials, in an undiplomatic manner, met Maoist leaders. She said that UN diplomat Tamrat Samuel held a meeting with Maoist leaders during the insurgency. Yami, in chapter 23, has written, ”We met Tamrat Samuel, who was representing the UN in Nepal. He had come to discuss the modality of a peaceful solution to the conflict in the country.”
Hundreds of weapons outside mandated UN-observed cantonments
Following the Comprehensive Peace Accord in November 21, 2006, Maoist agreed to lay down their weapons and decided keep 32,250 ex-combatants in seven major and 21 other satellite cantonments in Nepal. United Nations Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), at the request of Nepali stakeholders, entered into Nepal’s Peace Process on January 23, 2007. All weapons were said to have kept in the cantonments under the constant watch of the UN officials. Yami, in chapter 28, however, said that the Maoist had 400 modern weapons outside the cantonments. Yami said the then PM Girija Prasad Koirala was also aware of this situation.
Maoist Chairman Dahal floats proposal to sell weapons to foreign agency
Yami said that Maoist Chair Puspa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ had floated a proposal to sell the Maoist weapons to the foreign agency. Yami said that her husband Baburam Bhattarai piled pressure on Dahal to roll back its decision to sell the weapons to the foreing agency. She has described this story in chapter 30.
Use of child soldiers in Maoist war
Human Rights Watch had said that the party had used child soldiers in many battles. Yami has confessed that the Maoist had used child soldiers during the war with the state. In chapter 24, Yami has written, ”Children as young as fifteen… were given military training.”
When the Maoist combatants were integrated in Nepal Army based on their meritocracy, only 1,422 out of 32,205 ex-combatants were integrated. Among the disqualified combatants, 4,009 were child combatants verified by the UNMIN, Yami disclosed in chapter 37.
Maoist Chair himself was ‘centrist’ and ‘consumerist’
The Maoist was branded as ‘ultra-left’ and ‘terrorist’ outfit during the insurgency. Yami called Maoist Chair Prachanda as ‘centrist’ in chapter 33. She has written, ”Essentially, Prachanda was a ‘centrist’ who vacillated between BRB’s viewpoint and Kiran’s beliefs.”
BRB is the abbreviation of Baburam Bhattarai, the husband of Yami, who was known as little liberal among Maoist. BRB however, left Maoist on September 16, 2015 to form his own ‘socialist’ party. Yami joined him later.
Kiran is Mohan Baidhya, a leader known inside the Maoist party an orthodox Marxist. Kiran, like Baburam, has also parted ways with Dahal to form his own party.
Yami said Prachanda used to drink every night, something forbidden among Maoist leaders and cadres. Yami, in chapter 33, has written, ”Prachanda did not hesitate to enjoy consumerism whenever he could. He sported expensive watches and preferred expensive cars.”
March 31, 2025
By the time I finished Hisila, a pro-monarchy protest was in full swing in our young democracy. Given the lives lost, the people who were ‘disappeared,’ the injured, and the tortured during the People’s War, the "half-baked revolution that didn’t result in complete victory" started to feel even more unsettling.
The book starts off pulling us into Yami’s early life, her political awakening, and her eventual decision to go underground in 1996 as part of the Maoist insurgency. Her rise through the ranks—from revolutionary to minister—is fascinating.
But as it progresses, it starts feeling less like a memoir and more like a history lesson filled with insider gossip, factional conflicts (especially between Bhattarai and Prachanda), and a detailed recounting of the Maoist movement. Interesting? Yes. Engaging? Not really.
She also doesn’t hold back on controversial statements.
• Royal Palace as Museum: Hisila Yami openly wished the royal palace, a symbol of divine monarchy tied to Vishnu, would become a museum—that's a very bold stance in Nepal’s context.
• Children in Maoist Camps: She attributes their presence to circumstance, not ideology, noting they seemed mature beyond their years. - hypocritical because her own child was safe and getting educated in boarding schools in India
• Female Militants’ Motives: Around 75% of female fighters (thats almost half the militia) joined to combat caste and gender oppression, valuing the power of uniforms and guns over monarchy or democracy.
• U.S.-Made Ammunition: Smuggled into Nepal via Burma to fuel the People’s War, hinting at covert international involvement.
• Refusal to Indian Hindu Extremists: The Maoists rejected a potential deal with them because it didn't align with their ideologies.
• Military Defections: Thousands from the Royal Nepal Army and Armed Police Force switched sides to join the Maoists, a shocking and hard to believe scale of disloyalty.
• Marriage Policy: The PLA allowed combatants to marry before 20 if they wanted it, to minimize distractions and to keep their focus on the war.
A big issue with Hisila is its structure. The timeline jumps all over the place—one moment, she’s a minister and the next, she’s back in her underground days, making the book a hard one to stay immersed in.
That said, Hisila is still an important read. It’s raw, unfiltered, and gives the reader an interesting perspective. But it’ll take patience to get through the book.
The book starts off pulling us into Yami’s early life, her political awakening, and her eventual decision to go underground in 1996 as part of the Maoist insurgency. Her rise through the ranks—from revolutionary to minister—is fascinating.
But as it progresses, it starts feeling less like a memoir and more like a history lesson filled with insider gossip, factional conflicts (especially between Bhattarai and Prachanda), and a detailed recounting of the Maoist movement. Interesting? Yes. Engaging? Not really.
She also doesn’t hold back on controversial statements.
• Royal Palace as Museum: Hisila Yami openly wished the royal palace, a symbol of divine monarchy tied to Vishnu, would become a museum—that's a very bold stance in Nepal’s context.
• Children in Maoist Camps: She attributes their presence to circumstance, not ideology, noting they seemed mature beyond their years. - hypocritical because her own child was safe and getting educated in boarding schools in India
• Female Militants’ Motives: Around 75% of female fighters (thats almost half the militia) joined to combat caste and gender oppression, valuing the power of uniforms and guns over monarchy or democracy.
• U.S.-Made Ammunition: Smuggled into Nepal via Burma to fuel the People’s War, hinting at covert international involvement.
• Refusal to Indian Hindu Extremists: The Maoists rejected a potential deal with them because it didn't align with their ideologies.
• Military Defections: Thousands from the Royal Nepal Army and Armed Police Force switched sides to join the Maoists, a shocking and hard to believe scale of disloyalty.
• Marriage Policy: The PLA allowed combatants to marry before 20 if they wanted it, to minimize distractions and to keep their focus on the war.
A big issue with Hisila is its structure. The timeline jumps all over the place—one moment, she’s a minister and the next, she’s back in her underground days, making the book a hard one to stay immersed in.
That said, Hisila is still an important read. It’s raw, unfiltered, and gives the reader an interesting perspective. But it’ll take patience to get through the book.
May 26, 2025
An intriguing memoir that offers a glimpse into the life of Hisila Yami, a key figure in Nepal's Maoist movement and the wife of former Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai. The narrative is richly detailed, aiming to paint a picture of her revolutionary zeal and commitment to the so-called "people's war." However, the book failed to gloss over some crucial realities of the Maoist insurgency, particularly the alleged support from external entities like India and RAW, which complicates the narrative of an organic, homegrown revolution.
While the memoir attempts to uplift Hisila’s image and contributions, it falters in addressing the moral and ethical paradoxes surrounding the leadership of the Maoist party. The mention of top leaders indulging in behaviors they publicly condemned, such as consumption of alcohol, extramarital affairs, and engaging in dubious financial practices, she herself alleged involvement (abuse of authority) in corrupt dealings while serving as the Minister for Physical Planning (which she tried here to justify), raises questions about the integrity of the movement. Her legal battles against media outlets that reported on corruption are how powerful leaders manipulate information, and also leave readers skeptical about transparency.
The book serves as a stark reminder of the corruption and moral decline that have plagued the Nepalese political landscape in the wake of the Maoist insurgency. Despite the intent to inspire, it is well known that her husband, Baburam Bhattarai, failed to provide true leadership for the people of Nepal, adding a disheartening layer to the falsified narrative tried to explain.
Ultimately, in another part, the memoir is a 'thought-provoking' read that unravels the complexities and contradictions within the Maoist revolution, emphasizing that, for many leaders, the insurgency served more as a pathway to wealth than a genuine quest for social justice. Readers are left pondering the cost of the decades spent embroiled in conflict that has seemingly enriched a few while leaving the broader population in stagnation and despair.
One should read this memoir to know and compare the black part of the so called social revolution.
While the memoir attempts to uplift Hisila’s image and contributions, it falters in addressing the moral and ethical paradoxes surrounding the leadership of the Maoist party. The mention of top leaders indulging in behaviors they publicly condemned, such as consumption of alcohol, extramarital affairs, and engaging in dubious financial practices, she herself alleged involvement (abuse of authority) in corrupt dealings while serving as the Minister for Physical Planning (which she tried here to justify), raises questions about the integrity of the movement. Her legal battles against media outlets that reported on corruption are how powerful leaders manipulate information, and also leave readers skeptical about transparency.
The book serves as a stark reminder of the corruption and moral decline that have plagued the Nepalese political landscape in the wake of the Maoist insurgency. Despite the intent to inspire, it is well known that her husband, Baburam Bhattarai, failed to provide true leadership for the people of Nepal, adding a disheartening layer to the falsified narrative tried to explain.
Ultimately, in another part, the memoir is a 'thought-provoking' read that unravels the complexities and contradictions within the Maoist revolution, emphasizing that, for many leaders, the insurgency served more as a pathway to wealth than a genuine quest for social justice. Readers are left pondering the cost of the decades spent embroiled in conflict that has seemingly enriched a few while leaving the broader population in stagnation and despair.
One should read this memoir to know and compare the black part of the so called social revolution.
July 30, 2021
An autobiography of Hisila Yami (alumnus of Kendriya Vidyalaya IIT Kanpur and School of Planning and Architecture New Delhi and ex-Minister of Nepal) especially dwelling upon the People’s War waged by the United Communist Party (Nepal). The author is also the wife of Nepalese Leader and ex-PM of Nepal, Baburam Bhattarai. The book makes for absorbing reading and provides good insights into the Nepalese society and political history of Nepal.
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