Prime minister Girija Koirala’s recent official visit to India is being hailed by him and his supporters as a roaring success. Nothing to be surprised at all. Koirala’s all previous visits too have been tremendous success in their eyes. But this time there are enough reasons for him to be extra elated. He has been equated with the Presidents of the US and China – an honor seldom given to ordinary mortals by the Indians. Why Koirala should have been treated in such a high profile must be beyond comprehension of ordinary people. But it was definitely not a spontaneous expression of admiration or esteem for the Nepali people is self-evident. Since King Tribhuwan took refuge in the Indian Embassy nearly fifty six years ago, Nepali’s pride has been deliberately hurt innumerable times by India’s domineering behavior and proud Nepalis now cannot believe that India would ever condescend to pay her smaller neighbor the respects due to her. Knowledgeable Nepalis do realize that the Nepalis themselves are to blame for inviting such indignities upon themselves and taking the poor unfortunate country to this unenviable situation. Consequently, it would not be true justice if we start accusing Girija Koirala only. Indeed, he was accorded royal welcome and awarded with a big packet of alms and loans. Since Nepal’s rulers have turned proud Nepal into a beggar nation, she has been relegated to a situation when she cannot survive without alms. And India has been the first ever country to start that process in the nineteen fifties. Of course, at the request of her Nepali friends. If there have been some hard to see motivations to prompt such munificence, it can naturally be understood by astute politicians and statesmen. Because in state to state relationships, there are virtually no rooms for charity. It always has to be a “quid pro quo.” As such, if India’s big brotherly concerns for Nepal have some sinister connotations, the poorer Nepalis have to accept them with a pinch of salt and learn to live with them. As a matter of fact, Nepal’s vulnerabilities, dearth of honest and patriotic leadership and decades long exploitation of the poor people have brought Nepal to the crossroads of destruction and survival. If we want to get across the yawning ditch we have to sink our differences and face the situation together as one people. The Maoist leadership have engendered a most revolutionary change in our country. But the Seven Party Alliance has started reaping the benefits. It is high time for the people of Nepal to distinguish who is a good and honest leader dedicated to the service of the poor people and who is an opportunist leader interested in his own aggrandizement. It has also become imperative for Nepal’s friends, donors and well-wishers to reshape their thinking and policies about Nepal and not be led astray by third party interest. And most of all Nepal’s good friend and neighbor, India specially must not fail to realize that alms and loans only can never buy lasting goodwill and win hearts and neither they can heal the cancerous wounds. It is not rhetorics but sincerity that always seals friendship. The sooner India learns this in earnest, the better the chances for lasting peace in South Asia.

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