[Nepal occupies strategic significance for India, especially from security perspective. A peaceful, stable and prosperous Nepal is vital to India’s stability and security. Long and porous Indo-Nepal border provides easy access to anti-India elements on both sides to perpetrate their nefarious activities in India. A cordial and friendly relationship based on mutual strategic understanding can be helpful in ensuring security along India-Nepal border. India should take into account Nepal’s sensitivities and similarly Nepal should appreciate India’s genuine security and strategic concerns. Ed.]
As close neighbours, India and Nepal share a unique relationship of friendship and cooperation characterized by open borders and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture. There has been a long tradition of free movement of people across the borders. Nepal shares a border of over 1850 Kms to the south with five Indian States – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand and in the north with the Tibet autonomous region of the People’s Republic of China.
In keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchange of visits between India and Nepal, President, Dr. Ram Baran Yadav, First President of Nepal, paid an official visit to India from 27 January -5 February 2011. Other visits from Nepal to India in the recent years have been by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal (18-22 August 2009) and Prime Minister Puspa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ (14-18September, 2008). Foreign Minister Ms. Sujata Koirala visited India from August 10-14, 2009. External Affairs Minister Shri .S.M. Krishna visited Nepal from 15-17 January 2010. Foreign Secretary visited Nepal from 18-20 January 2011.
India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 is the bedrock of the special relations that exist between India and Nepal. Under the provisions of the treaty, Nepalese citizen have enjoyed unparalleled advantages in India, availing the facilities and opportunities at par with Indian citizens. The Treaty has enabled Nepal to overcome the disadvantages of being a land-locked country. Overtime, many regimes in Nepal have raised the issue of revision of the treaty. India has maintained that it is willing to examine all bilateral arrangements with a view to further strengthening our relations. Specific suggestions from the Nepalese side have not been forthcoming.
Beginning with the 12-Point Understanding reached between the Seven Party Alliance (SPA) and the Maoists in Delhi in November 2005. Government of India welcomed the roadmap laid down by the historic Comprehensive Peace Agreement of November 2006 towards political stabilization in Nepal through peaceful reconciliation and inclusive democratic processes, India has consistently responded with a sense of urgency to the needs of the people and Government of Nepal in ensuring the success of the peace process and institutionalization of multi-party democracy through the framing of a new Constitution by a duly elected Constituent Assembly.
India contributes to the development efforts of Government of Nepal by undertaking various development projects in the areas of infrastructure, health, rural and community development, education, etc. The grant assistance extended to Nepal during 2009-10 under ‘Aid to Nepal’ budget was over IRs. 150 crore. In addition, GOI has extended considerable economic assistance to the ongoing peace process in Nepal. The overall quantum of India’s assistance to Nepal is approx. IRs 3600 crore which includes the Small Development Projects scheme offered by the Embassy of India delivers development assistance at grass-roots level in sectors identified with the local population. It now covers over 370 projects with an outlay of approx. IRs 402 crore. As part of India’s effort to assist with capacity building and development of Human Resources in Nepal, over 1500 scholarships are offered annually for Nepalese students to pursue various courses in India and Nepal.
India continues to be Nepal’s largest trade partner, source of foreign investment and tourist arrivals. Bilateral trade between India and Nepal has increased substantially since the signing of the Trade Treaty in 1996 and received further impetus after the signing of the revised Trade treaty in 2009 which has provisions that allow Nepal greater access to the Indian market. According to figures for the Nepalese fiscal year 2066 (July 2010), bilateral trade with India accounted stood at IRs. 16129.7 crore which accounted for 58.7% of Nepalese total external trade. India and Nepal have a treaty of transit, which confers transit rights through each other’s territory through mutually agreed routes and modalities. The treaty was last renewed for seven years in March 2006. The two countries have concluded a Rail Services Agreement (RSA) and a revised Air Services Agreement (ASA) to enhance bilateral connectivity. A Motor Vehicles Agreement (MVA) for passenger vehicles is awaiting formal signature. India also remains Nepal’s largest source of foreign investment and Indian investments in Nepal amount to Indian Rs. 1586 crore with 462 FDI projects. India accounts for 44% of the total foreign investments in Nepal.
Need for Dynamic Approach
Some experts feel that India should adopt a more dynamic diplomacy towards Nepal, especially when the Indian diplomacy in Nepal has met with failures in the recent past. The first was the failure of the Karan Singh mission in April 2006, then came the “unexpected” victory of the Maoists in April 2008 elections, followed by the unprecedented rise of anti-Indianism in Nepal characterized by the pelting of stones on the Indian Ambassador, and now the formation of a Maoist-UML government.
According to one expert, the Indian diplomacy in Nepal in recent years seems to have been relying rather heavily on inept inputs of its intelligence agencies, personal prejudices and egoistic assessments of its diplomats and exaggerated obsession with China’s influence.
It was widely expected during Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao’s visit to Nepal in January this year that India would accept any government there except the one to be headed by either Dahal or Khanal, the so-called pro-China communist leaders. According to one expert, India now clearly has two options in Nepal. It can pursue its present line and work with all those domestic forces that want to pull the Khanal government down and frustrate the writing of the Constitution and completion of the peace process. This will make Nepal unstable, damage India’s long-term interests and encourage China to expand and strengthen its strategic presence there.
“As an alternative, India can attempt a course correction and encourage the Nepali Congress and other Madhesi groups to join the Khanal government and shape the Constitution making and peace processes in a more constructive direction. A broad-based coalition will naturally reflect national consensus, restraint the dominant communist alliance from taking the polity solely in their chosen direction and make governance more democratic and responsive.”
In an interview with an Indian newspaper The Hindu in early February 2011, Prime Minister of Nepal, Jhalanath Khanal said that his government will work to strengthen relations with the rest of the world in the new context. This’ll begin with neighbours. He stated his aim would be to develop this relationship and deepen the cooperation with India.
On being asked whether he had any message to Indian policy makers about Nepal policy, the Nepalese Prime Minister said: “It’s up to the Indian policymakers to review their Nepal policy, how is it conducted and how much India has benefited from it. What I want to say is that our bilateral relations are deep and friendly and there should be cooperation across sectors. But while doing that, we should respect each other’s independence, sovereignty and interests. We may be small or big, but we are equal. That has to be the guiding principle and sentiment in building the relationship. If we move forward like that, then the anti-India sentiment that is sometimes seen in Nepal will disappear on its own.”
With regard to his government’s approach to India’s security interests, the Nepalese Prime Minister said: “We never forget we are in the middle of two big neighbours. Some of the criminal acts that we see here in Nepal may be related to India’s interests sometimes. We’re aware of India’s security interests. During my tenure, I’ll try my best to address these concerns.”
Water Diplomacy
There is vast potential for cooperation between India and Nepal in the field of water resources. Nepal has 43,000 MWs hydropower potential that is known to be technically feasible and economically viable. However, major projects have not taken-off due to considerations outside the realm of economics. Ironically, India is a net exporter of power to Nepal. During the visit of Prime Minister of Nepal to India in September, 2008, both countries recognized the importance of cooperation in this field and decided to inject a new dynamism by establishing a three-tier bilateral mechanism at the Ministerial (Joint Ministerial Level Commission on Water Resources- JMCWR), Secretary (Joint Committee on Water Resources- JCWR) and technical (Joint Standing Technical Committee-JSTC) levels to oversee the entire gamut of cooperation in water related issues. The last meeting of the JCWR was held in November 2009 in Pokhra.
Some rivers like Kosi and Bagmati which flow into the Indian state of Bihar from Nepal cause heavy floods in Bihar during the monsoon season thereby accounting for heavy loss of life and damage to property. The embankments built along these rivers inside Nepal with Indian assistance are sometimes get breached due to gushing flow of water thereby causing floods beyond human control in Bihar.
Some innovative plans like building of water reservoirs inside Nepal, construction of small dams for producing electricity, elevating the levels of the embankments along the Kosi and Bagmati rivers inside Nepal etc., can be undertaken with technical and financial aid from India. Such a move would be conducive for both countries in terms of economic cooperation and sharing of the fruits of the technology spin-offs.
Water reservoirs will conserve extra water flowing from rivers and save the fertile areas from inundation and causing soil erosion both in India and Nepal. Besides, floods which have become a recurring annual phenomenon in Bihar when both Kosi and Bagmati rivers are spate, will be controlled to some extent. In order to conserve the excess water flowing into Bihar, some water reservoirs should be built in flood-prone areas in Bihar. The water thus conserved can be utilized for irrigation both in India and Nepal during the lean days.
Construction of small dams to generate hydro-electric power inside Nepal with technical and financial assistance can be mutually beneficial for both sides. India which is facing scarcity of hydro-electric power can benefit from procuring electricity from Nepal. Besides, additional electricity can envisage industrial development of Nepal by generating additional employment and raising the living standards of its people.
The shrinking Himalayan glaciers and china’s proposal to divert waters of rivers originating from Tibet to its other areas are going to cause water-related scarcity for both India and Nepal. Thus it is the opportune time to augment water cooperation between the two countries. Once water cooperation takes place, it will facilitate enhancing mutual cooperation in other areas. India has ample monetary and technical resources which can be utilized for consolidating friendly ties with Nepal. A stable, prosperous and peaceful Nepal is vital for India’s security and prosperity as well.
Security Concerns
Cooperation on issues of mutual security concerns relating to the open border has been a hallmark of our relations with Nepal. Nepalese side has assured at various levels that it would not allow its territory to be used for any activity against India There are streamlined bilateral mechanisms to address all issues concerning security, including cross-border crime, and establishing effective communication links between and along the bordering districts to further facilitate the exchange of information. India has repeatedly stressed the need for strengthening the legal framework, in order to counter their common cross border security challenges. India has also provided liberal assistance to the security apparatus in Nepal in development of infrastructure, capacity building, equipment and training of human resources.
A Joint Technical Committee (JTC) led by Surveyors General of India and Nepal has jointly prepared and initialed strip maps of 98% of the India-Nepal boundary (December 2007). These strip maps are awaiting authentication at Plenipotentiary level. Recently there were some politically motivated attempts in Nepal to portray the status of the boundary in an unfavorable light alleging instances of Indian encroachment, although the matter has not been formally taken up by the Government of Nepal. India has emphasized the necessity of early signature of the strip maps at plenipotentiary level so that work on installation of boundary pillars where they are missing and repairs where they are damaged could begin. Nepal has conveyed that they are building political consensus for the signing of the strip maps.
Conclusion
A peaceful and stable Nepal is crucial for India. The government of Nepal should be extended full cooperation in carrying out its developmental activities to promote peace and stability in the country and at the same time authorities in Nepal should ensure that the territory of Nepal is not allowed for conducting anti-India activities. Owing to its strategic proximity to China and Beijing’s strategy to expand its sphere of influence in Nepal, India should pursue a cautioned policy that does not create any misgivings within Nepal and at the same time keep the Chinese influence under check.
Article published in THIRD CONCEPT/August 2011 Issue/Vol-25/No.294
