There is an easy way to irk a Kathmandu-based American diplomat. Just ask: “Does the US see Nepal through Indian eyes?” In response, you will perhaps get an exaggerated eye-roll, soon followed by a reply along the lines of: “Surely, after seventy-five years of engagement, you know better than to ask that!” Well, that old question may never go away. But perhaps time has come to tweak the question, and inquire: “Does India see Nepal through American eyes?”

The Americans appear to have sold India’s strategic community on the usefulness of its China-controlling Indo-Pacific Strategy. South Block mandarins and think tank-wallahs in New Delhi are increasingly comfortable with greater American sway in Nepal. That is the only way to check China’s alarming rise of influence in the Himalayan state, they reckon, something India cannot do on its own. As Ashok K. Mehta, an old Delhi-based Nepal watcher, puts it: “The US may be promoting its own interests in this region, but those are not very different to India’s own interests,” he says. More than anything else, “India wants to keep China at a safe distance, especially in Nepal.” 

India has of late taken a low-key approach in Nepal, in sharp contrast to the earlier times when it was actively meddling in the country’s domestic affairs. Now it seems happy to watch the growing US-China tussles in Kathmandu from the sidelines. In doing so, India keeps its hands (and reputation) clean while also knowing that should the American engagement in Nepal get too close for comfort, it can always jump right back into the old game.

Full story here.