Opinion: Will Nepal’s India Policy Be Constructive?

China has been working very hard to distance Nepal from India. Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has been ambiguous on his India policy. He needs to be constructive. He must display statesmanship in the interest of Nepal and its neighbourhood.

The summit dialogue Prime Minister Narendra Modi had with his Nepalese counterpart Pushpa Kamal Dahal this week attained several historic breakthroughs.

Observers say that in course of the dialogue between the two leaders, Modi assured Dahal of his whole-hearted cooperation in resolving the current boundary dispute between the two nations. The two sides launched several projects to improve rail connectivity, inaugurated a new integrated check post to facilitate cross-border trade, and unveiled plans for cross-border petroleum pipelines.

India and Nepal signed seven agreements, including the revised Treaty of Transit. They signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Nepal Clearing House Limited (NHCL) for faster cross-border payments. The two sides reached an agreement on long-term power trade. Under this, India will import 10,000 MW from Nepal in the next 10 years. The two sides also marked the handing over of the Kurtha-Bijalpura section of a railway line.

The observers say the new agreements between New Delhi and Kathmandu need to be complied with in their letter and spirit. This would benefit the citizens of both nations. The revised Treaty of Transit will give the people of Nepal access to India's inland waterways. The MoU on faster cross-border payments will benefit businesses, students and tourists of the two nations. The rail links will cut transportation costs and time for trade between the two nations.

The resolution of the border dispute must get priority attention of both the Prime Ministers. Most of the 1,850-km border between India and Nepal has been demarcated. There are differences between the two sides only on two sections -- at Kalapani and Susta. For this, Prime Minister Dahal needs to be very constructive in his policy towards India.

Dahal has a tough task ahead. Relations between Kathmandu and New Delhi have not been fine in recent years. In 2015, some Nepali politicians blamed India's hand behind the then Madhesi movement in Nepal. After K.P. Sharma Oli became the Prime Minister of Nepal in 2018, things turned worse. Under the influence of Beijing, Kathmandu raked up the issues ranging from Nepal's territorial disputes with India in Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh to questioning the birthplace of Lord Ram. Then Prime Minister Oli even went on to blame India for the spread of coronavirus in Nepal terming it the "Indian virus."

It is to be seen how Dahal goes about conducting Nepal's India policy in the near future. Communist China has been working very hard to distance Nepal from India. Its influence in Kathmandu has been increasing. Nepal and China share common border running for nearly 1,400 km along the Himalayan mountains. The border is well delineated in a series of treaties signed between the two countries in the early 1960s. But China has been encroaching into Nepal along the their border.

Besides, Dahal himself has been known as an avowed Maoist and pro-China. It is Mao Zedong's ideology which inspired him to lead a decade-long insurgency in the country. Right now, he is the Prime Minister of the country with support from China's surrogate Oli.

Prime Minister Dahal has been ambiguous on his India policy. He has said in the past that Nepal must develop a new understanding with India on the basis of the "changed scenario" in Nepal. Kathmandu should address all outstanding issues, like a revision of the 1950 Friendship Treaty and resolving Kalapani and Susta border disputes.

Dahal needs to display statesmanship in the interest of Nepal and its neighbourhood. He needs to see to it that the border disputes between India and Nepal do not come to hurt the historical, cultural, religious and geographical linkages between the peoples of the two nations.

Dahal must bear in mind that India and Nepal have always shared close relations characterized by their open borders and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts. India's involvement in Nepal has consistently been informed by its principle of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' and the policy of 'Neighbourhood First.' India has been Nepal's largest trading partner. It has implemented various projects in the areas of infrastructure, health, water resources, education and rural & community development in Nepal.

Dahal would do well also to bear in mind that India is the world's largest republic today. It can guide other republics in the world towards their democratic journey for peace, stability and development in the respective nations. Nepal's is a new republic. It could very well learn from India.

(Jagdish N. Singh is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. He is also Senior Distinguished Fellow at the Gatestone Institute, New York)

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of OneIndia and OneIndia does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.