Interviews
India should not squander goodwill earned by Narendra Modi’s visits
Ever since Nepal promulgated its new constitution on September 20, its relation with its Southern neighbour, India, has seemingly taken a bad turn.Ever since Nepal promulgated its new constitution on September 20, its relation with its Southern neighbour, India, has seemingly taken a bad turn. The first signs of tensions were visible after India released a statement ‘noting’ the promulgation of ‘a’ constitution in Nepal. Many have interpreted India’s dismay at the inability of the three major parties to incorporate the demands of the Madhesi parties, currently protesting in the Tarai, as interference in Nepal’s internal affairs. India has since tightened its border and made it difficult for essential supplies, including petroleum products, to come into Nepal resulting in a fuel shortage here. Against this backdrop, John Narayan Parajuli and Kamal Dev Bhattarai spoke to Lok Raj Baral, former Nepali ambassador to India on Nepal-India relations, institutional mechanism to handle bilateral relations and the way out of this crisis.
Of late, the relations between Nepal and India seem to have taken a hit. How do you view the latest developments?
There have always been ups and downs in Nepal-India relations depending on the leadership style of India and the Nepali perception of it. In 1989, there was a misunderstanding between King Birendra and then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi regarding Nepal’s alleged import of arms from China. After Narendra Modi was elected as the prime minister of India it seemed as though Nepal-India relations would be strengthened as Nepalis appreciated his leadership style and his neighbourhood policy. But suddenly, the relations between the two nations have soured because of Nepal’s internal problems.
India had always wanted Nepal to address the demands of different sections of its society. Modi also highlighted the need for Nepali political parties to do so in both his visits to Nepal, and also while meeting leaders either in Kathmandu or New Delhi. This is the reason why Nepal-India relations are at a low ebb.
Given the depth and complexity of our relationship, one would think that there would be institutional mechanisms in place to check the need for drastic measures.
Nepal-India ties have always been extremely complicated. The relationship between the two countries cannot be compared to any other countries in the world as it is very unique. We share an open-border and have very close social, political, historical, economic and religious ties with one another. Nepal is landlocked, surrounded by China on one side and India on the remaining three sides. Furthermore, Nepal is extremely dependent on India for meeting its day-to-day needs.
And without acknowledging all these complexities we cannot conduct diplomacy with India. We need to be very skillful in handling these realities and just being emotional will not help. The truth is that Nepal has virtually abandoned its foreign policy. We have destroyed our institutions put in place to conduct our relations with other countries. Even ambassadors here seem to have direct access to our prime minister bypassing the foreign minister. This is our biggest drawback. We were not even able to appoint an ambassador to India for a long time. Deep Kumar Upadhyay was only appointed as the Nepali ambassador to India a few months back.
It clearly looks as though Nepal has not been able to handle its affairs properly. But what about the Indian side? It seems that even they are reacting to events and perceptions.
Nations cannot conduct their foreign relations based on perceptions. It increases the chances of making mistakes. This is because, sometimes, perceptions are real and at other times, they are not. At times, India might be thinking that Nepal is cultivating its relationship with other regional powers. Or India might think that Nepal and India share a special relationship due to various treaties and may expect something from Nepal in return for this special tie.
We need to consider many factors while conducting relations with India because there are many commonalities between the two countries. If there are disturbances in the Tarai, India takes it very seriously as it is extremely concerned about its security issues.
But speaking of the current problem, it is purely Nepal’s internal matter and its origin lies in the inability of the Nepali state to address the demands of certain groups of people. India has also clearly admitted that the ongoing unrest in the Tarai is Nepal’s internal matter. But India is concerned and connected to the unrest as it shares an open border wth Nepal. When something happens in the Tarai, it has a spillover effect on India. Moreover, Bihar elections are around the
corner. So we must try to sort out our internal problem by conceding to the demands of our people to the extent possible.
Is there a precedent in international relations where a nation not only takes so much interest in another country’s internal matters but also enforces seemingly harsh measures against it?
There are many theories which talk of non-interference: international political relations theory or the Panchasheel which mentions peaceful coexistence and non-interference. But the powerful nations hardly follow such principles. In reality, countries share various kinds of relationship. For instance, Japan-US relations are special. In our case, Nepal is landlocked, facing south and all our supplies pass through the Indian territory. Nepal has many limitations. And at times, India tries to impose its views on us.
Regarding the ongoing Nepal-India tensions, right from the prime ministerial to its bureaucratic level, India has been repeatedly telling Nepal to sort out the problems in the Tarai. Now, it seems to have become a matter of ego for the country.
So, non-interference exists mostly in theory. In practice, big powers always try to impose their ideas in their neighbourhood. For example, Rajiv Gandhi intervened in Sri Lanka in the 1980s. And till date, India tries to use its clout to persuade the island nation to sort its problems regarding the Tamil population. This has happened elsewhere too.
So where do we go from here. What could be the solution?
I think India has been slightly over sensitive in this issue. Modi was the first Indian prime minister to visit Nepal after a hiatus of 17 years. By the virtue of his charismatic leadership style, good neighbourly policies and through his speech in Nepal’s Parliament, Modi was appreciated by all sections of Nepali society. He earned the goodwill of the Nepali people. India should not squander that goodwill. The Modi government should seek to resolve the current crisis at the highest level.
India’s policy towards Nepal should not be underpinned by its concern for only a section of Nepal’s society. It needs to be bigger than that. However, it does not mean that Nepal should ignore the demands of its own people. We should sort out our issues by being more liberal. We need to go through the so-called 7-point demand submitted by the Madhesis to the Indian embassy and elsewhere and try to address them. Population is the basis of forming a constituency anywhere in the world in a democracy. Had the three parties accepted Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar’s proposal, it would have been a lot easier to resolve the ongoing protests. Arguing that Kailali, Kanchanpur, Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari districts cannot be touched even as Nepal is being restructured will not help. If you have a liberal mindset, it is not very difficult to address the demands of the Madhesi parties. We should sort out our internal issues without inviting foreign powers. The more we delay in resolving the problems facing the Tarai, the more complicated they will become.
What could the role of civil society be in all of this?
Those at the helm of the current affairs—journalists, intellectuals—should be very prudent and objective and try to persuade both the sides not to worsen the situation. Both the Pahades and Madhesis are undergoing psychological suffering, and Nepal is also facing economic problems. Even Indian traders near the border are facing problems. Durga puja is around the corner but trade in the Indian border towns of Jogbani, Rupadiya, and Sunauli continue to suffer due to the unrest in the Tarai.