National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

No More A 'Big Brother'

Yashwant Sinha attempts to remove suspicions among India's smaller neighbors

By BHAGIRATH YOGI

The overriding mission of Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha seemed to be focused on removing suspicions among its smaller neighbors. During his whirlwind tour of all the neighboring countries of South Asia, except Pakistan, since taking up his new assignment last month, Sinha tried his best to convey this message.

"India is indeed a big country in all aspects in South Asia but we will maintain bilateral ties on the basis of equality and as sovereign countries," Sinha told senior journalists in Dhaka on Sunday.

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In Kathmandu, his message was exactly the same. At the end of his two-day visit (Aug. 23-24) to Nepal after the conclusion of the 23rd meeting of the SAARC Council of Ministers, Sinha said relations between Nepal and India were close and extensive and that there were no major problems between the two countries.

"Some minor issues at a local level surface from time to time. That is not unusual between the two countries with such extensive interaction. But all such issues can be resolved through discussions on the basis of mutual understanding and sensitivity to each other's point of view," he added.

During his visit, Sinha called on King Gyanendra and discussed bilateral issues with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who also holds the foreign portfolio. As expected, Sinha reiterated that his government would continue its support to the Nepalese government in its fight against Maoist insurgency.

Talking to reporters here Saturday, Sinha said the Indian government strongly condemned terrorist activities being launched by the Maoist rebels in the Himalayan kingdom. He said India stood against all mindless violence and destruction everywhere and advocated peaceful means and constitutional process to resolve differences. Sinha recalled that his government had apprehended Maoist terrorists wanted in Nepal and handed them over to the Nepalese authorities.

Sinha not only exhibited his maturity by refusing to comment on Indo-Pakistani relations on Nepalese soil, he was quite open, receptive and courteous during the SAARC ministerial conference, officials taking part in the meeting noted.

During his meeting with Home Minister Khum Bahadur Khadka, Sinha raised the issue of third country elements hostile to India (read: ISI, the Pakistani intelligence agency) making use of Nepalese soil to launch terrorist activities against India. Nepalese officials have been saying they would not allow their territory to be used against the neighboring countries.

Officials from both countries also discussed the issue of updating the four-decade old extradition treaty.

A former finance minister, Sinha recalled that India had raised the quota for copper products manufactured in Nepal by 33 percent. Talking to the Nepalese business community, Sinha said India was interested in making use of Nepal's hydropower potentials for serving the ready market in India. The minister said there were huge potential of cooperation in the agro sector and small- and medium- enterprises development. He also asked the private sector of both countries to look into these issues.

During a meeting with the Indian minister, leader of the Nepalese business delegation, Ravi Bhakta Shrestha, said Indian investors should not only look at the markets of India and Nepal but also consider the opportunity to get a foothold in third-country markets. He said there was the possibility of tripartite cooperation involving Nepal, India and China in business and economy taking into consideration the fast changing economic situation all over the world.

Foreign Minister Sinha responded by saying that the Indian government would extend full support to the private-sector initiatives in promoting economic development of Nepal through the growth of mutually beneficial economic links between the two countries.

Besides handing over Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's gift to nava yuvaraj at the Narayanhiti palace, Sinha was also keen to strike a new chord with the Nepalese officials and the people at large. Sinha seemed to be following the strong argument being forwarded by some sections of the Indian intelligentsia that India should try to win over her small neighbors by offering trade concessions and thus isolate Pakistan. Whether the strategy would really work remains to be seen.

In the case of Nepal, critics, however, say that the tremendous goodwill expressed by top Indian leadership has failed to translate into action due to security preoccupation of the Indian establishment. The weak and fragmented Indian political class has failed to influence the strong and professional Indian military establishment that continues to be driven from its philosophy of "northern security". Countries like Nepal continue to be victim of that old mindset, they say.