India & Neighbourhood

India and Nepal share historical, cultural, and religious ties dating back to the era of Gautam Buddha. These ties continued in the modern era too, reinforced by the 1950 Indo-Nepal friendship treaty, economic and strategic compulsions, and people to people relations, commonly called Roti-Beti relations. However, from the past couple of years, Indo-Nepal relations are under severe strain with the Kalapani territorial dispute being the recent one in a long list of grievances Nepal has against India.

Reasons For Raising Nationalistic Fervor In Nepal

1. The rise of a new generation of Nepali youth and political elite who does not share the same emotional bond with India.
2. Nepal was the only officially Hindu state resulting from the Hindu empires from the 18th century to 2006 and was never colonized. But the promulgation of the new secular constitution in 2006 and the abolition of monarchy in 2008, led to resentment contributing to the rise of aggressive Hindu nationalism.
3. A substantial number of Nepali society believes that India is excessively interfering in Nepal’s internal affairs. The argument is that as long as India continues to meddle in Nepal, there will be nationalism which could lead to ultranationalism, and eventually even militancy.
4. There are internal differences in Nepal between the prosperous hilly regions and the less developed southern region. To reduce this difference Nepal is institutionalizing federalism.
5. However, a section of Nepal political parties who stand to lose their hold on power due to this development are using the anti-Indian sentiment to stir nationalistic fervour to foil the attempts of decentralization.
6. Nepal politics also have a very crucial role to play in this phenomenon. The current Prime Ministers’ domestic position was weakening for some time and the inept handling of the COVID crisis added fuel to fire. Under pressure, he utilized anti-Indian sentiment and nationalism to stir up the Kalapani issue.

Why India Is Perceived As Hegemon By Nepal

The rise of Anti-Indian sentiments and nationalism in India was mainly because Nepal is considering India as a hegemon and irked by its big brother attitude. Recent incidents between these two countries have contributed a lot to this sentiment.

1. Both Nepali Congress — often considered pro-India — and the Communists have decried the alleged “big brother” attitude of India.
2. Since the 1950s, India has treated Nepal as an extension of its own geographic reality, so much as those allegations of New Delhi’s intervention in Kathmandu’s domestic affairs have been raised at regular intervals.
3. India’s prompt response in the aftermath of the devastating Nepal earthquake was appreciated. However, the way Indian media presented the whole rescue effort as some kind of a favour bolstered the local antipathy towards Nepal.
4. The Pro India group enforced a blockade on the India-Nepal border, unhappy over the new constitution which it believed did not do justice to the people of the Terai plains. Nepal alleged this to be planned by India to create internal unrest.
5. Though Nepal is dependent on India for much of its trade and other infrastructure projects, as a sovereign nation, it is also free to chart its own foreign policy course. However, India’s staunch opposition to Nepal-China relations also is a cause of upset for Nepal.

Fundamental Reset In Relations

Apart from the rise of nationalism and India’s perceived hegemony, there are also other reasons for the downturn of relations between these two countries. India is unhappy about closer ties between China-Nepal. Nepal’s developing economy needs huge investments which China is providing, whereas there are extraordinary delays in the completion of infrastructure projects by India, the territorial disputes between the two countries all caused a downturn in the relationship which at this point in time needs a fundamental reset.

1. Though India has always claimed that two countries claim a special relationship, Nepal for a very long time has been alleging that the terms of the relationship are mostly one-sided.
2. In light of rising nationalism and anti-Indian sentiment, India needs to renegotiate the 1950 peace treaty incorporating changed circumstances.
3. Instead of bowing down to political opportunism and rhetoric, both counties should make diplomatic efforts to resolve the territorial disputes.
4. India should stop looking at Nepal purely from a security prism and be a part of the zerosum game with China and realize the changed ground realities.
5. Any drastic reset in relations will affect Nepal enormously in the form of ending visa-free travel, disbanding the Gorkha regiment, difficulties for students coming to study in India, etc.
6. Nepal should also understand these realities and address India’s concerns with regard to China. Nepal ensures that any of its developmental activities with China does not jeopardize India’s strategic interests.

India in accordance with its neighbour’s first policy must have deeper and meaningful engagement with its smaller neighbours, to understand their fears and concerns, and try to address them in a responsible way.