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Kathmandu,Tuesday May 09, 2000 Baishakh 27, 2057.
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Improve Nepal-India ties
Foreign Minister Chakra Bastola has begun an
official visit to New Delhi. Bastola left for New Delhi only a month and half after
assuming office and it should be noted that prior to his departure he had said he would
attempt to "normalise" Nepal-India relations which, in his own words, are in a
"standstill situation". Although he said that the "whole gamut" of
Nepal-India relations would be discussed, his one point agenda is apparently the
resumption of Indian Airlines flights. This, of course, will carry a price which the
Nepali Congress government seems quite eager to pay. Reports in Indian newspapers which
detail how and under what conditions Indian Airlines will resume its service to Nepal are
not very flattering. It is to be hoped that the neither the foreign minister or the Prime
Minister who is to pay a visit to India at a later date will compromise the Nepalese stand
on the issue. Our government should need no reminding of how difficult it was for Nepal to
ask Indian "wireless operators" who were stationed in the country to leave in
1969.
The resumption of Indian Airlines flights is but
one of the many aspects bedevilling Nepal-India relations. The open border between the two
countries, for instance, is another area that needs immediate attention. In the aftermath
of the Indian Airlines hijacking, responsible circles in India had mooted the idea of
closing the border. But with the passage of time, interest in this idea seems to have
waned. Nepal, on its part, has been calling for proper regulation of the border. Nepal has
also been stressing on the need to monitor everyone passing through check points and
keeping records. There are also problems with the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship
between Nepal and India. The issue of Kalapani has also figured prominently as a problem
in bilateral relations and so has the issue of encroachment along the Nepal-India border.
Then there is also the problem of Bhutanese refugees which has remained unresolved mainly
because of India’s unwillingness to help Nepal and Bhutan with the repatriation of
refugees.
Unfortunately, no forward movement on these issues
can be expected during Bastola’s visit to New Delhi. The Nepal-India Joint Border
Committee has not progressed at all. After all, the committee can only do so much and
nothing more. Nepal has a preferential trade treaty with India but the manner in which
this is being (un)observed in recent days by India has cost the Nepalese business
community billions of rupees. The complications resulting from the Duty Refundable Process
(DRP) and the Central Vat (CENVAT) in India is creating unnecessary problems for many
Nepalese importers of Indian goods. The imposition of Special Additional Duty (SAD) of 4
percent in India has not only proved to be demotivating for those exporting to India from
Nepal but it also directly contravenes clauses of the Nepal-India trade treaty.
An early settlement of these issues is in the
interest of Nepal-India friendship as is the protection of Nepali speaking people, whether
Nepalese or Indian citizens, in north-east India. If the foreign minister’s visit to
India is not to be ritualistic one and if it truly aims at bettering relations, then he
must take up these problems with all seriousness.
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