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EDITOR'S NOTE It is nothing unusual that Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's week long
visit to India has sparked off all sorts of divergent criticisms. If the sycophants are
lauding about it, the opponents are spotting venous. We have written enough about Girija's
personal accomplishments and consequently do not think it necessary to keep on harping on
them. It would be sheer waste of time and energy. A brief assessment of the outcome of the
visit would definitely meet the requirement of the time. That Girija Prasad Koirala visited India as a weak prime minister and could
not have generated in the minds of his hosts. The kind of regard due to a strong popular
and patriotic leader was there for anybody to see and understand. That the CEOs of both
the countries had not met for four years and such a meeting should have been more frequent
is indeed undeniable. Still the timing did not seem to be propitious. The feelings in the
aftermath of the plane hijack and the Nepal Game Plan were still far from being
normalized. It would have been unthinkable a decade ago that Nepal-India relations would
sink so low that the Prime Minister of Nepal would feel the urgency of resorting to
confidence Building Mission with a State visit to India. But, it has happened. Without
blaming either party for bringing the age old. Friendly relations to such a despicable low
level, it would be advisable to urge both of them for sincere self introspection. How has
this situation helped either party? Can we shut our eyes to the stark reality that we can
be fool ourselves but we cannot be fool the whole world? They, for sure, are aware of the
whole truth. Girija Prasad Koirala had, perhaps, never uttered a truer statement that his
visit to India was nothing but a "confidence Building Mission." If any body in
Nepal had been expecting anything spectacular he must have been disappointed. But, since,
the overwhelming majority of Nepalese knew well that Girija Babu was not capable of
producing a rabbit off his hat, there was absolutely no frustration visit. One thing is
uncertain yet and only our Indian friends can satisfy our inquisitiveness. Could Girija
Koirala convince his hosts without any reservation that it is never in Nepal's interests
to encourage anti-Indian activities from Nepalese soil. For that matter the Nepalese
people would never allow any kind of unfriendly act against any of their neighbors even if
the government of the day proved to be negligent. Indeed, it is beyond their capability to
stop all kinds of people coming into Nepal. And that can be possible only if Nepal
isolates herself, which is unthinkable in this age. We know, intelligence agents from many
countries, near and far, are working here. It does not mean that we have invited them.
Another thing which we would like to know whether our Prime Minister has been able to
impress upon his age old friends the necessity of keeping our differences at the official
and political levels only. We should never let it seep down to the people's level. If that
ever happens, it may become very difficult, may even impossible, to ever mend the fences.
Unfortunately the Nepal Game Plan has made a sinister beginning in that directions. These
kinds of activities must be nipped in the bud, if Nepal-India relation s have to maintain
their traditional character. One of our expectations that India would waive the SAD to oblige Nepal was
fulfilled. But the other one about the Laxampur barrage could not meet the same fate. The
devastation caused by the bund on the poor Nepalese demanded immediate action. Our Indian
friends refuted the Nepalese charge that the bund violated the international norms. Would
they have erected similar bund if the region were contiguous to Chinese or Pakistani
territory? On the whole we must try to look at the Nepalese Prime Minister's visit to
India with a positive perspective. Girija Koirala, with so many personal and
organizational handicaps, has returned almost unscathed. If he did not achieve much, he
also did not lose much. But, this visit of Nepal's Prime Minister to India has brought
into very sharp focus the indispensable urgency of a revolution in the mindset of both
statement and bureaucrats of both countries. The old and worn out rhetorics must be
deleted from our common parlance.
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