While the Supreme Court (SC) ordered the government to cancel the public holiday declared for “People’s War Day” and prohibited the use of the term “People’s War,” Dr. Baburam Bhattarai, a key leader of the armed rebellion led by the Maoist for ten years, has proposed celebrating Falgun 1 as ‘People’s Revolution Day.’

The then CPN Maoist initiated the armed conflict on Falgun 1, 2052. As a result, the government led by Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda had decided to declare Falgun 1 a public holiday on Magh 29, 2079 BS, under the name “People’s War Day”.

However, a joint bench of Supreme Court Justices Ananda Mohan Bhattarai and Mahesh Sharma Poudel annulled the government’s decision, ruling it unconstitutional, arguing that it caused further harm to conflict victims and lacked national consensus.

Despite this ruling, local governments led by the Maoists continue to declare a public holiday for “People’s War Day”.

In response, the Supreme Court has issued another order, instructing not to observe the holiday under that name.

In the meantime, Nepal Samajwadi Party (Naya Shakti) leader Dr. Bhattarai has suggested celebrating Falgun 1 as ‘People’s Revolution Day.’

He wrote: “Falgun 1, the day Nepal’s epoch-making people’s uprising (People’s War) began! The day we began to lay the real foundation of the federal democratic republic.”

He continued, “Let’s connect the threads of all movements and revolutions, including the 1997 BS uprising, the 2007 BS people’s revolution, the Jhapa people’s uprising, the 2046 BS people’s movement, the 2052-62 BS armed people’s war, the 2062/63 BS joint people’s movement, the Madhes uprising, the Tharu uprising, the indigenous people’s movement, and the movement of the indigenous people.”