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Nepal in a Zone of Conflict - Ganesh Raj Sharma
Having diverse but cohesive communities, Nepal was built up as a nation in a long historical process. As every ethnic or religious group is a minority with the rest of the communities, its assimilation and integration has been an unavoidable way of life. Nepali nationalism has evolved and been consolidated more through social and cultural interactions than conflicts and coercions.
Nepal has the advantage of being the only country in South Asia having its own process of political consolidation and integration in a continuity of national independence since time immemorial. It never had a ruler of an alien root and culture. Whoever emerged victorious in the body politic was assimilated and merged within the nationhood. Because of this unique heritage and national characteristics, Nepal has exhibited, all the time, an ingenuity of resolving its conflicts and contradictions.
Nepal has passed through several turbulences with serious results whenever there has been any interference from any external force in the past. But, this has very destructive results in recent days. Whenever Nepalis have been left to themselves to resolve their conflicts and contradictions, they have shown a remarkable capability of doing that and living in harmony.
Some of the recent events have again proved this internal capability of Nepal. Persons involved in the armed insurgencies have shown their capability to deal with the adversaries of the past. Some of them who are in power with a background of violence as one of the constituents have for them the National Army as their security guards without any incidence of vendetta and animosity of the recent past. The community at large has gradually accepted them as any other political force in interaction.
Whatever unmanageable threats of conflict and violence are there, any deep study of such developments may reveal a third party's overt or covert role to destabilize the country for its miscalculated strategic interests. For long, Nepal was free from the widespread turmoil of larger dimensions due to its equidistant political posture with its neighbors. Even now, it has a lowest magnitude of violence due to its delicate geo-political location compared to areas of conflicts nearby, i.e. Kashmir, Assam and an emerging red crescent in India from north to the south.
Nepal's conflict may cause much damage to it but if this conflict goes on aggravated, it would definitely be counterproductive for its very initiators. Nepal faces a constant challenge of living in the enlarged conflict zone of this part of the world. It is in every body's knowledge in Nepal that the ongoing acts of terror and disorder till now have the source in India as a solo player yet.
This has now activated response from China after the failure of some of the western countries' attempt to keep away the two regional powers from collision in Nepal. As there is no permanent friend or foe in politics, a process of realignment has begun as seen by hectic contacts of political persons towards the capitals of the south as well as the north. Maoists, who had safe sanctuary with all kinds of logistic support from a non-communist democratic neighbor in the south since long, now, instead, due to an ideological affinity have increasing contacts with the communist regime in the north. A brutal massacre of Maoist militants in large number in a border town of Gour a few months back was the turning point in this realignment.
Nepal under the military control of one on its side would definitely have a destabilizing effect on the other side of it. If India controls Nepal, China may lose Tibet, and thus, the country may face a process of disintegration. Apart from the army, India on its side has the strong presence of the Dalai Lama. Similarly, if China controls Nepal, India may face an imminent threat of disintegration. China on its side has organized and indoctrinated allies as communists on the south. India has been very generous, more towards China than communists, to emerge as a single largest political force with respectable image in Nepal during the popular uprisings of 1990 as well as 2006.Nepal's height in the Himalayan range as well as its accessibility to the Gangetic plain has its strategic importance to both of its neighbors as their soft bellies of security.
For the security of both the emerging powers of the region, strategic importance of Nepal has tremendously increased, in the present circumstances, compared to any time in the past. It is due to this strategic factor, a position of equidistance is not a matter of choice but has been forced upon Nepal which guarantees her survival. Instead of graceful deal, it has been a compulsion of geopolitics on both its side which has ensured Nepal's survival as a nation yet.
A lot of blood has been shed under several disguised operations in Nepal in recent years but that is much smaller than what is now going on in Kashmir and Assam and which has just now started in some other parts of India apart from dormant violence in the Punjab. In each of these areas loss of lives and destruction of properties have been many times higher than what Nepal had to undergo. A game of destabilizing one strategic position has an inevitable retaliation at the other. What Nepal is suffering is not basically from internal rifts but till now due to a kind of disguised operation of a regional power. It would be prudent to foresee the unique strategic position of Nepal and let it continue with equidistance and non-belligerent relations with both of its neighbors.
It has been a hard earned lesson of history that Nepal has to go through any kind of horrendous phase of covert military operation against it. But that kind of operation may provoke another equally powerful adversary on the other side to react and retaliate promptly and effectively. Chances of Nepal's survival have increased much now than at any time in the past. Due to miscalculation of any of its neighbors, it may undergo any kind of violence and destruction, but that cannot do away with its existence as an independent nation. Its equally powerful neighbors are its greatest safeguard from any serious encroachment in its territorial integrity from either side. Nepal may bleed much, but a serious observation without any exaggeration suggests that it would endure any kind of onslaught on its existence not alone by the inner strength of it, but mainly due to its geopolitical location.
The best and wisest policy is to let Nepal enjoy its unique historical position as a friendly link between the two ancient seats of civilization as well as emerging economic powers of the world. Nepal has a great future for peace and progress if its immediate neighbors enter into a new vista for intimate cultural as well as closer economic ties like that of the present European countries which had a much hostile past among them.
Now the greatest challenge of the time in the history of Nepal is to its people and particularly persons in the lead role to realize the delicate situation of Nepal in the regional context and keep away from the horrors of this ongoing regional conflict looming large around Nepal which may use any person or group as a prey or instrument for covert operation. Enough damage has been done by simpleton Nepalis either in ignorance or by mistake to one’s own country in the past by falling into that kind of trap. Enough lessons have been imparted by shedding bloods of our own kith and kin in the past. A time has come to forge broadest unity and understanding within the nation ignoring all the divisive jargons and dogmas and embracing all the elements of society, traditional as well as modern. Unless the people are motivated for it, any goodwill and support from any body from any where in the world may not be very much helpful to keep Nepal from the devastating effects of a growing menace of the conflict of the zonal scale. Peace and stability are not only the needs of Nepal but that ensure peace and stability on both of its sides.
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