Dr. Lokraj Baral
Some time ago, there was a big noise that India included a part of Nepali land on its map. Despite India defying the rumor, sister organizations of various political parties took to the streets. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also came up with a press release claiming the land till Limpiyadhura is Nepal’s territory. Many expressed doubts that the tie between Nepal and India would deteriorate. However, the issue is now nowhere to be heard.
It is evident that only spreading rumors and hitting the streets is not a solution to the same. We have been weak in finalizing these issues. Matters like these must be addressed via ‘Quiet diplomacy’, by favoring one’s side. India is the closest neighboring country for Nepal. In spite of petty issues, the relation between the two countries is incomparable, and they are complementary to each other. As India is a big country, hitting streets here will not really hook anyone’s attention and will not make any impact in Hindustan.
Being a nationalist by publishing write-ups in newspapers staying in Kathmandu, is not enough. One should take note of what is happening in ‘Ground reality’. The relation between the people of the two countries must also be studied. Nepal’s relation with India must be taken ahead in favor of the former. No compromise must be made regarding Nepal’s sovereignty. Nevertheless, the politicization of foreign affairs’ policies, violent and reckless nationalism cannot do anything to resolve this. I have been largely carrying out studies on these matters for the past 50 years. Back then, nationalism was even more passionate. They staged protests demanding the dismissal of the 1950 treaty and closure of Gurkha recruitment centers. Several parties that came into power committed to ending the same. What happened to that? What I am trying to say is sloganeering foreign affairs policies do not help. The actuality of both nations must be understood in the first place.
Competing in cheap sloganeering and standing against India is not nationalism. Only speaking for the country is not adequate, but doing something actually defines patriotism. How will poverty be alleviated? How will our economy grow? Working on this is also nationalism. The nation will automatically get strong once the people get resilient.
On the other hand, China has also comprehended that Nepal should have smooth relation with India. Chinese leader Mao Zedong has said the same thing to B.P. Koirala, because even he knew that we must be close to India religiously, culturally, socially, personally and politically notwithstanding what we want. The idea of democracy entered Nepal via India itself, although, the latter had also followed Britain. Where has the communism, hailed from China, reached? Those who chanted slogans of communism themselves are currently in the parliamentary system. Where is Prachanda, who carried the slogan of intense Maoism?
We are connected with India in all the sectors including politics, culture, social and economy. It is necessary to realize that there is no other country that can displace Nepal’s relation with India. This is the ground reality. Geography has acted as a catalyst for the same. However, we need to put our nation’s interest in the priority. There should be sufficient research about what kind of relation should Nepal share with India and China. People are talking about BRI currently. China working on bringing rail with billions of investments in Nepal has some self-interest behind the same. A network must be open towards both nations. It is not a good idea to incline particularly with only one of them. There should be collaborations with China as well. We should observe it with a Nepali perspective. For that, we need a strong and active government, with an equal level of mechanism, which is rare in Nepal. There should be objective thinking regarding Nepal-India relation, as per which we need to make strategy on dealing with both the countries, in an open and transparent manner.
