Round The World

New Delhi, 26 April 2011

Krishna’s Nepal Visit

TRYING TO CLOSE TRUST GAP

By Monish Tourangbam

Research Scholar, School of International Studies (JNU)

The recently concluded visit of India’s Foreign Minister SM Krishna to Nepal came at a crucial time when the extended dateline for completing the Constitution drafting process by May 28 2011 looms large on the Nepali political establishment.

The Himalayan Republic is at crossroads. Despite being a democracy on paper, the country’s polity continues to see changes without any sense of direction and stability still eludes Nepal. There are intense inter-Party and intra-Party rivalries regarding issues revolving mainly around power sharing; down to the basic political quarrels of who gets what.

There is no uncertainty as yet to the crucial question of integration of the Maoist Army also called the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Even the eventual election of a Prime Minister in the form of Jhalanath Khanal, leader of the  Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist), supported by the Maoist Party has not eased matters, with the Government not having appointed a Foreign Minister till now.

Add to this the increasing anti-India rhetoric that refuses to wane despite repeated assurances from Nepalese leaders. As such, the Indian Foreign Minister was in for a hard time traversing through the complex lanes of Nepal’s beleaguered politics trying to put across major Indian concerns. And, at the same time, lending an ear to some of the concerns that Nepalese leaders have continually expressed against India. Most of the complaints from Kathmandu revolve around projected fears of interference from a bigger and powerful neighbour like India.

Continually the Maoist leaders have accused India of interfering in Nepal’s internal matters and of taking sides in the domestic politics of Nepal. This, they say have negatively impacted the political reconciliation in Nepal. They have consistently demanded abrogating all past unequal treaties with India, including the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty in order to reflect the changed circumstances.

But, Indian diplomatic sources argued that the Maoists are not clear as to what they really want in place of the old agreements. Hence, when appropriate, the Maoist should specify their grievances and be clear on what are the provisions they term as “unequal”. So gauging the prevailing situation, it has indeed been a tight rope for Indian policy-makers, and keeping these factors in mind, it was not feasible to expect Foreign Minister Krishna’s to bring a breakthrough.

It could best be described as an official visit to measure the moods and minds at a crucial period in Nepali politics; and to make incremental efforts towards closing the trust-gap existing between the two countries.

The most important thing at this juncture is for Nepal to come out of the political mess and to create a stable and sustainable political arrangement lest the aspirations of the Nepali people from this nascent Republic would be laid to waste, yet again opening up fissures of ethnic and political clashes which would not be in the interests of Nepal or the entire region.

As another dateline for drafting the Nepali Constitution approaches, India should be transparently supportive of the process but it is best to let the political parleys take place among the Nepalese Parties themselves without any interference. It is New Delhi’s interest that Kathmandu comes up with the new Constitution within the dateline, and if it does not, India should not be seen as influencing the outcome in anyway. Anti-India hawks just need fodder to feed on. Hence, New Delhi needs to maintain a studied restraint and not give opportunities for India bashing in Nepal.

The anti-India rhetoric and activities was one of the major areas on which the Foreign Minister dwelt on during his meetings with Nepalese leaders. Said Krishna, “I conveyed our serious concern on the attacks on our Ambassador, which is completely contrary to the rich tradition of hospitality that Nepal is known for, and requested the Government to provide adequate safety to Indian diplomats and diplomatic premises in Nepal.”

According to sources, when Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood recently visited Kailali, Gulmi and some other districts outside Kathmandu to hand over Indian-aided projects in the fields of education, health and drinking water, local Maoist cadres waved black flags, shouted anti-India slogans and tried to disrupt the programmes.

In some places, where various roads and bridges were constructed under Indian assistance, the Maoists defaced the Indian national flag. Moreover, ahead of Krishna’s visit, there were reports of Maoist storming a meeting of Indian infrastructure company GMR, working on a hydro-power project in Nepal.

As such, Krishna also expressed his concerns regarding the treatment being meted out to some Indian joint ventures in Nepal. He emphasized the fact that the Nepali Government should create favourable and risk-free environment in order to attract Indian investments, which is in the interest of Nepal.

Towards the realization of an investor-friendly environment, he emphasized the need for formalizing the Bilateral Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement (BIPPA) and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) at an early date.

The issue of terrorism and other forms of criminal activities has been a matter of concern because of the porous border between India and Nepal. Emphasizing the need for effective boundary management, New Delhi conveyed to the Nepalese side that it was important to formalize the boundary strip maps for agreed sectors of India-Nepal boundary covering 98% of the total boundary, which had been initialled by the Surveyors General of both the sides.

Krishna also expressed concerns regarding the smuggling of Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) to India through Nepal. Raising these concerns, the Foreign Minister emphasized the importance of the early formalization of the revised Extradition Treaty and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) pending for over six years, and pointed out that these would enable better coordination and cooperation between the security agencies of the two countries. 

While the Nepalese side gave their assurances to act on India’s concerns, they conveyed that the revised Extradition treaty and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty were pending. During his stay in Nepal, Krishna also inaugurated the new Chancery Building at the Indian Embassy and laid two foundation stones, one for the Integrated Check Post (ICP) being built with Indian Government assistance in Birgunj and another India-assisted project, the Birgunj-Thori road. These projects, part of a larger cooperative vision are vital for improving India-Nepal physical connectivity.

But all these investments and the cooperative ventures that India has envisioned in Nepal will not translate into much, without a convergence of interests and closing of the trust-gap in the political arena. Considering the long Indo-Nepal border, close cultural and economic ties and the looming shadow of China, New Delhi cannot let Kathmandu turn into a permanent political migraine.

Clearly, developments have spill-over consequences for India and weigh heavily in its foreign policy calculations. All the ventures that India plans to undertake with the Nepal Government will translate into new heights only when there is a meeting of minds among the political establishments. These micro-drivers of the relationship can better function under a sustained sense of comfort and confidence that can only come from a better understanding at the macro political level. ---- INFA

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)