ID For Air Travellers From October
First Step Towards Regulating Nepal-India Borders?

By Our Correspondent

IN an agreement that could have far reaching consequences, Nepal and India on Friday decided to demand proof of nationality from passengers flying between the two countries from October. Until now, Indians and Nepalese did not require any form of document to cross into each other’s territory.

From October 1, both Nepalese and Indian nationals will be required to produce some kind of identity - a voter’s ID card or passport or citizenship certificate in the case of Nepalese. The decision was taken after talks between the Nepali and the Indian Home Secretaries in Kathmandu last week.

Indian Home Secretary Kamal Pande was in Kathmandu to discuss a number of security-related issues with his Nepalese counterpart Padam Prasad Pokhrel.

The decision to keep a tab on passengers flying between the two countries of the region comes in the wake of the resumption of Indian Airlines flights to Kathmandu which were stopped for six months after a Delhi-bound plane was hijacked on December 24. The hijacking incident seriously questioned the misuse of the privileges that the peoples of the two countries enjoyed by third country nationals and even by citizens of India and Nepal.

The decision taken at the home secretary level talks also comes in the aftermath of Indian media allegations, with the alleged connivance of the central government, that Nepal is being increasingly used by third countries, particularly Pakistan, to wage unwarranted activities against India.

The question is, will the regulation stop at the airport, or will it eventually encompass the 1,800 km-long border?

Pande, prior to his departure for Delhi on Friday, informed that regulating the long, open border which the two countries share had also featured during the meeting. Increasing criminal activities as well as smuggling along the border are of utmost concern to both the states. The free passage of people through the open border is making it hard for both the countries to keep vigilance on criminal activities.

The implications of trying to regulate the border that has been open for centuries are many, especially for those living in the border areas for whom the border is no more than an imaginary line.

For the time being, the secretaries agreed to curb and control cross-border criminal activities through more effective and enhanced mechanisms.

Demand For Border Regulation

By Krishna Shrestha

Regulating the 1,800 km-long open border between Nepal and India is a Herculean task. But the Nepalese people want it so, even demanding passports be introduced.

An opinion poll conducted by Media Services International (MSI), a development communication agency run by a group of professional people, in 15 hilly and Terai districts of the country has shown that a resounding majority of the Nepalese wants the traditional open border with India regulated.

Out of the 1,300 respondents, 85.5 per cent said the existing unregulated border should be done away with. Of them, 42.9 per cent even out right called for the introduction of a passport system.

However, this issue of regulating the border prods diverse thougths: To what extent should it be ‘regulated’ when the global trend is opening up borders? And members of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC), which include Nepal and India as well as Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, are opting for a common open market in the coming days.

Way back in 1983, HMG's then National Population Commission (NPC) of Nepal had formed a task force under the convenorship of Dr. Harka Gurung to prepare a report on internal and international migration. In August that year, the main report presented to the then Prime Minister and Chairperson of the (NPC) had recommended three stages for human traffic regulation across the border.

In the first stage, it was recommended that people crossing the border should be made to register at specified border points. In the second stage, it had recommended the introduction of an entry permit system, with people residing within 10 kilometres of the border receiving renewable multi-entry permits. In the third stage, a passport system was suggested.

Dr. Gurung's findings were largely considered impractical then, and some quarters even demanded that he be hanged.

Seventeen years later, the governments of Nepal and India are finally toying with the idea of regulating the border.

So far, citizens of both Nepal and India have been able to cross the open border freely without any hindrance. Nepal’s borders with India in the east, south and west are open, and allows unrestricted movement into each other’s territory. But Nepal’s northern border with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China does not allow free movement.

It is hard to say since when the free movement of peoples of both the countries were allowed. Besides, there was no clear demarcation of territory centuries back.

It was the Treaty of Sughauli signed in 1815 between the East India Company and Nepal which formally led to the demarcation of the boundaries between the two countries. However, it was the Treaty of Peace and Friendship signed between Nepal and India by Nepal's last Rana Prime Minister Mohan Shumsher and Indian Representative Chandreshwar Prasad Narain Singh on June 31, 1950, which allowed the peoples of both the countries free movement across the common border.

The treaty, among others, demands that nationals of one country be allowed to participate in the industrial and economic development of another country, a treaty that the Nepalese feel is unfair.

According to the MSI opinion poll survey, only a meagre, 8.7 per cent, do not want any change in the present open border system.

Nepalese wanting and not wanting the border regulated have their own reasons for thinking so. Among the respondents, 28.1 per cent opined that border regulation would stop cross-country criminal and other undesirable activities. 27.3 said it would protect Nepal’s nationality and identity. Likewise, 22.8 per cent said such a move would help retain opportunities and possibilities of employment for Nepalese within Nepal.

No doubt, cross-border crime is one of the serious issues, confronting both the countries. Many Nepalese have been looted along the border areas by Indian criminals.

In many cases, the open border has proved to be a safe haven for smugglers, criminals and terrorists. Unofficial trade is rampant along the border areas. Though Nepal and India have signed an agreement to control unauthorized trade, according to the former President of Federation of Nepalese Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mahesh Lal Pradhan, the volume of unofficial trade is still much higher than that of official trade.

A more severe problem is, as charged by the Indian media and officials, that Nepalese territory is being used by foreign elements for activities against India.

The Indian magazine India Today recently, quoting a secret report of the Indian Intelligence entitled "The Nepal Game Plan" had stated that the Pakistani Intelligence agency ISI was using Nepalese territory to conduct terrorist activities against India with the help of Indian extremist elements from Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab who have no difficulty in freely crossing the open and largely unregulated border.

India media have repeatedly been charging that the open border is being misused by Sikh militants and Kashmiri terrorists. An article placed in the internet titled "Movement of Population Between India and Nepal: Emerging Challenges" by Sangeeta Thapliayal, Research Officer, IDSA, states that "due to strict vigilance on the India-Pakistan border, the Kashmiri militants have been using Nepal as a transit route to visit Pakistan for military training……… The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Bodo insurgents are also reported to use Nepal as a sanctuary, often with the help of the Pakistan embassy. Their Indian nationality enables them to cross the border without a visa or passport."

The problem does not stop here. Thapliayal has rightly pointed out that the provision of free movement of people between India and Nepal is being misutilised by other countries too. "It is said that illegal migrants from Bangladesh enter Nepal as Indians. … …They enter Nepal after crossing the Indo-Bangladesh border."

Nepal has categorically said time and again that it would not allow any country to launch activities against neighbouring countries.

Whether the contents of the reports are true or false remains a big question mark. But the reports indicates the massive activities of the Indian intelligence in Nepal.

Girl trafficking has taken immense dimensions, precisely due to the open border. Every year, hundreds of Nepalese women from economically backward areas of the country are sold in Indian brothels. Such unwanted activities could be reduced, if not controlled fully, once the border is regulated.

Another problem is of migrants. The stream of Indians flowing into the country is pushing cultivable land in the Terai to the limits. Not less than four million Indians are said to have entered Nepal, but there is no official record. Again, it is very hard to distinguish between a Nepali and an Indian. On the other hand, India claims that there are six million Nepalese in India. If this is the case then there are more Nepalese going to India than Indians coming here.

But before making any hasty conclusion, a country's size and the population should be taken into consideration.

If all the Nepalese were to enter India, its population would go up by a mere two percent. On the other hand, if three per cent of the total population of India were to enter Nepal, the Nepalese would be displaced.

Then Prime Minister (late) Manmohan Adhikary, during his visit to India in 1995, had said that India was in a position to absorb the Nepalese migrants, but Nepal would be swamped by migrating Indians. Many people have taken advantage of the open border to take dual citizenship.

The 8.7 per cent of the respondents who favoured the status quo have their own reasons for demanding so. They say the border should not be regulated because of matrimonial ties between families living in the border areas; the compulsion to cross the border to buy daily essentials; the need to go to India for education and medical treatment; and the need to go to India for employment.

For an effective border regulation, majority of the respondents feel that a passport system would be a better (42.9 per cent) proposition. Some 30.2 per cent said that the practice of examining travel documents at entry points was OK. A total of 14.9 suggested the introduction of work permits while 4.8 per cent wanted identity cards for border residents.

According to the MSI opinion poll survey, traders and industrialists have benefitted the most (41.1 per cent) from the open border, followed by smugglers (22.6 per cent), criminals engaged in murder and dacoity (17.8 per cent), general public (8.5 per cent) and political leaders (5.8 per cent).

The respondents opined that traders (25.9 per cent) would oppose any move towards regulating the Nepal-India open border followed by smugglers (22.4 per cent), people residing near the border on both sides (17.6 per cent), criminals (17.5 per cent), politicians (11 per cent), terrorists (3.5 per cent) and people working in India (1.7 per cent).

Majority of the people feel that Nepal is capable of regulating the open border. However, 44.4 per cent of the respondents feel that it is the governments of both the countries that don't want any change.

Third Nepal Motion Picture Awards 34 Films Vying For 27 Awards

By Our Correspondent

The Third Nepal Motion Picture Award ceremony may lack all the glitter, glamour and professionalism of the Oscars or Bollywood’s Filmfare Awards gatherings, but the organizers take great pride in hosting the event two years after it ended in a lot of controversy. The award ceremony-cum-Nepali film festival ends today.

Jointly organised by the Nepal Motion Picture Association and Nepal Motion Picture Producers’ Association, the festival is considered a leap forward in the development of the Nepalese film industry.

On the opening day of the festival on Friday, the organizers felicitated three government employees - Bishnu Pratap Shah, Narayan Raj Tiwari and Lok Man Singh Karki - in recognition of their valuable support to the film industry.

Similarly, the festival has awarded director/producer Neer Bikram Shah with the Mahendra Motion Picture Sadhana Award for his decades-long contribution to the film sector. Meanwhile, it has declared actor Rajesh Hamal and actress Karishma Manandhar as the most popular artistes of the decade.

A total of 34 Nepali feature films are contesting in 27 different categories in the Third Nepali Motion Picture Award, the results of which will be declared on the concluding day of the festival.

Five actors have been nominated for the best actor’s award. They are Shiv Shrestha (Thuldai), Rajesh Hamal (Saathi), Shree Krishna Shrestha (Aafanta), Bhuvan K.C. (Nepali Babu) and Ganesh Upreti (Nata Ragat Ko).

Likewise, best actress nominees are Karishma Manandhar (Saathi), Niruta Singh (Nata Ragat Ko and Aafant), Gauri Malla (Mukundo) and Bipana Thapa (Paapi.

Similarly, Tschring Ritar Sherpa (Mukundo), Ugen Chhopel (Nepali Babu), Prakash Thapa (Nata Ragat Ko), Rabi Baral (Chameli) and Dayaram Dahal (Thuldai) have been nominated for best director.

Meanwhile,, Mukundo (Mila Production), Chameli (Real Image), Nepali Babu (Kajal Films), Nata Ragat Ko (Bas Production) and Thuldai (Jaya Chamunda Films) are contesting for the best film award.

Row Over Dr. Lohani's Victory

By Our Correspondent

The swearing in of Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani of the RPP as member of the House of Representatives is turning out into a conflict in the parliament.

The CPN-UML and the National People’s Front boycotted the sessions of both the Houses of parliament on Thursday to protest against Dr. Lohani’s admittance into the parliament.

Dr. Lohani was administered the oath of office as member of the House of Representatives on Wednesday after the election court declared him victorious. Votes of the general election held last year were recounted in Nuwakot’s No. 1 constituency that declared Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani victorious.

The defeated MP Rajendra Prakash Lohani of the CPN-UML appealed at the Appellate Court of Patan on the same day calling the verdict of the election court that overturned the earlier election results illegal.

Immediately after the election results was declared last year, Dr. Lohani had petitioned at the election court demanding that the votes be recounted in several booths of the constituency citing rigging . That time UML’s Lohani had won by 15 votes.

In his appeal UML’s Lohani has argued that he was ahead by two votes at 11,488 votes as against 11,486 votes of Dr. Lohani when the election court’s decision showed him adrift by a single vote at 11,483 as against 11,484 votes of Dr. Lohani.

Earlier the UML had demanded with the Speaker of the House of Representatives not to let Dr. Lohani take the oath of office until the issue is finalised by the court. However, the appeal was made on the same day Dr. Lohani was formalised as the member of the parliament.

The decision to overturn the election result is considered a landmark in Nepal's parliamentary democracy.

Dr. Lohani has called the decision a step towards making the elections fair and free.

Meanwhile, there are two more petitions to recount the votes in Jhapa’s No. 2 and No. 6 constituencies against UML’s K.P. Oli and NC’s Chakra Prasad Banstola, and the election court has also ordered the recounting of the votes. Oli had won the election by 18 votes against his closest rival Giriraj Kumari Prasai of the Nepali Congress and Banstola had won 26 votes more than Yukta Bhetwal of the UML, his nearest competitor.

Koirala To Visit India In August

By Our Correspondent

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala is scheduled to pay an official visit to India in the first week of August.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, during the visit PM Koirala will be holding talks with his Indian counterpart on various bilateral issues.

Koirala will be going to India at a time when a visit by a Nepalese Prime Minister is being long overdue, and several new issues have cropped up in the relations between the two countries.

This is the first visit to India by a Nepalese Prime Minister after Sher Bahadur Deuba, who had visited India four years back.