Nepal and India must ‘repurpose’ their ties

K V Rajan and Atul K Thakur are the co-authors of “Kathmandu Chronicle: Reclaiming India-Nepal Relations”. Definitive and deeply researched, the book opens a window to many stories of India–Nepal relations that largely remain untold and therefore unknown till date. Kamal Dev Bhattarai of ApEx interviews Rajan, also a former India’s ambassador to Nepal, and Thakur, a policy professional, writer and columnist.

What are the key revelations in the book from your anecdotal accounts as India’s longest serving Ambassador to Nepal?

K V Rajan: At the outset, let me clarify that whatever I have set down is with the intention of conveying the total picture as I know it—pertaining to Nepal and to India-Nepal relations. If in the process I have upset or hurt anyone, I can only apologize and hope that the overall context of goodwill and empathy for Nepal will not be doubted. The core message that should come across through the anecdotal reflections is one of hope and optimism for Nepal's future, respect for its insistence on equality and sovereign space, and admiration for the resilience and capacity of the Nepali people and leaders over many years to take the country forward in the face of major odds. 

The linkages between our two nations are old, many and time-tested, the economic complementarities have a compulsive logic of their own, the reservoir of human talent is huge. We need only to understand and draw lessons from the past, deal with imagination and sensitivity to the trends and issues of the present, in order to craft a great future for a peaceful, inclusive and prosperous India-Nepal subregion which will be a role model for the region and perhaps the world. 

We need to have a broad based consensus on the kind of relationship we both want, and establish mutual acceptance in our ties. We can achieve wonders by jointly building on our soft power assets, new technologies, and complementarities. No issue is incapable of solution between India and Nepal if tackled in the right spirit and in the context of their unique linkages and unshakeable faith in a common great future. 

Happily, a consensus-based effort on both sides in tackling problems and making progress is possible, so that projects can be negotiated and delivered despite changes of government. This has been demonstrated time and again, for example spectacularly during the negotiation and parliamentary ratification process of the Mahakali Treaty. 

The book has a different take as to who might have perpetrated the royal assassination of 2001 that wiped out King Birendra Shah and his family, which changed Nepal’s natural progression. Can you elaborate?

K V Rajan: The readers’ will have to draw their own conclusions after going through the concerned chapter in the book. Even the facts that are in the public domain support the strong probability of an international conspiracy whose core was a foreign-based large scale smuggling and terrorism-related industry that was thriving on misuse of the India-Nepal border. The palace tragedy followed a series of serious incidents and exposures. India and Nepal were enjoying excellent relations under the twin pillar policy being followed by the former, of supporting the monarchy as well as multiparty democracy. The expanding Maoist insurgency was a matter of growing concern for India as well as Nepal, but signals were being exchanged on possible compromise solutions. The smuggling-terrorist nexus was the one major force which did not want such a negotiated compromise to be reached and had also been steadfastly trying to undermine relations between India and Nepal and was also uncomfortable with Nepal’s identity as a Hindu state.

All available indications are that the crown prince was trapped in a sinister plan combining serious drug abuse with targeted misinformation. The rest is history. 

How do you think we can reclaim India-Nepal relations in the changed times with Nepal grappling with challenges on several fronts including governance and economy?

K V Rajan: As vibrant democracies the two countries have the duty, responsibility, the right, and the necessity to reclaim their age-old relationship for the sake of peoples on both sides of the border and of future generations. A reset in the bilateral relations is a necessity, for Nepal today is a completely transformed country and India too is very much on the rise, both confronted by new challenges as well as new opportunities in an uncertain and changing world order. Strengthening democracy, improving governance, and accelerating inclusive development must occupy top priority. Future major cooperation must be consensus-based cutting across party lines to the extent possible and civil society needs to play its part in this exciting endeavor.

Catering to the interests and aspirations of youth on both sides on the border, and improving the lot of the marginalized, the most disadvantaged, the poorest and the most needy, should also be a focus. Just as India has set a goal of becoming a developed country by 2047, we should dare to think of a new vision for India-Nepal ties, so that they can scale new heights within the next two decades. A joint endeavor in this direction—which would include sectors like education, health, creation of job opportunities on a huge scale to protect the demographic dividend, and new supply chains which will foster greater interdependencies and economic integration— would go a long way. 

Opportunity is banging at the door. A business-as-usual approach will not do. 

As a long-time scholar on Nepal, your book is making news in both India and Nepal. Could you reflect on Nepal’s prolonged transition and fluctuating graph of India-Nepal relations?

Atul K Thakur: Despite their much-vaunted ‘special relationship’ (a term rarely used by Nepal in recent times), India-Nepal ties have repeatedly experienced setbacks, some of them with long-term implications. Since India’s independence, Nepal has undergone several significant transformations, and not coincidentally, India has been intimately involved in many of these pivotal moments. 

Yet, there have been regular anti-Indian eruptions in Nepal, and there is so much mutual distrust and suspicion despite India's best intentions. I believe Nepal and India, both at the level of government as well as civil society, urgently need to come to terms with the past, understand comprehensively and objectively the unique challenges and opportunities offered by the present, and ‘repurpose’ their relationship if it is to achieve its exceptional potential in the coming years. 

Our book, based on first person experience, deep research, analysis and introspection, and new resource materials, facilitates understanding of how an India with credible aspirations to becoming a major world player and a transformed Nepal in a transforming world order could revisit their ties to ensure a steady upward trajectory.

Both countries owe it to their peoples to free the relationship from political vicissitudes as well as the negative legacies of the past. Concepts of national interest and mutual security need to be relevant to the world of today and tomorrow. Only mutual empathy, as either country strives to overcome its major challenges, can transform the relationship into a truly special one.

The book makes a sincere and honest effort to add to the literature on the subject through original analyses, interpretations and research.

How is China a big factor for repurposing India-Nepal relations?

Atul K Thakur: The new post-monarchy dispensation only hastened the expansion of Chinese influence and removed possibilities of ending long festering irritants like the border dispute in the Kalapani area—a unanimous multiparty Parliamentary vote endorsed a new map of Nepal incorporating border areas which it had not claimed earlier.

India has made its Nepal ties a function of Nepal-China relations. Yet the fact is that Chinese influence in Nepal will continue to expand. It is only natural that the people of Nepal, particularly the younger generation, yearn to take advantage of all kinds of economic opportunities and benefits that China has to offer. Nepal's importance to China was initially because of its desire for security on the question of Tibetan refugees. It did not seem to mind India’s preponderant influence over Nepal. Today China has additional reasons to assert itself: one is to reduce India to size to the extent possible, the other to ensure that its Middle Kingdom credentials are enhanced. But India can draw comfort from the increased wariness of Nepal about Chinese intentions because of its overtly intrusive interest in the former’s internal affairs, and the long term price of too close a Chinese embrace.

China is just not over-pervasive in Nepal with projects and political manipulation, its best edge is with the propaganda machinery that is oriented to damage the finer fabrics of India-Nepal relation beyond the core. The China factor is being played out in Nepal and unfortunately not for a constructive aim of enhancing its economic ties with the northern neighbor but to create a complex web involving India’s stake and finally letting a disastrous narrative help the traders of ultra-nationalism for scoring high politically and ruling the game of late.

How should Idia reclaim the true spirit of its old good bilateral relations with Nepal or reset it in the changed times?

Atul K Thakur: India and Nepal must return to the core strength of their unique social, cultural, strategic, political, and economic ties. India and Nepal share deep social, cultural, strategic, political, and economic ties that have been forged over many centuries. Unfortunately, ties wither if exposed to the changing fundamentals of time. India-Nepal ties have frayed slowly as the economic bonds between the two countries have failed to keep pace with India’s modernization and growth. The opportunities offered by India’s prospering economy have become increasingly inaccessible, and thereby irrelevant to ordinary Nepalis. The persistent border dispute between the two countries is an opportunity for them to modernize old ties towards a shared vision of prosperity. India and Nepal must do more than merely resolve boundary issues.

Notwithstanding the centrality of complementarities in bilateral relations, oftentimes, the official line has taken its own turn in interpreting the not-so-easy situations. While repurposing India-Nepal relations, the prudent move would be to rely more strongly on the trust factor, subsiding apprehensions and complexities. India and Nepal have a credible past as well present in engaging with each other—and walking with the changing times. In knowing the new aspirations of both sides, and accordingly creating the background of cooperation, India-Nepal relations will see further heights. In the times to come, hopefully better chapters of India-Nepal bilateral relations will be scripted.