Nepal and India must admit the realities

India's finance minister turned foreign minister Yashwant Sinha is talked to be in Kathmandu shortly for having bilateral talks. What the Nepali establishment has planned to talk with the visiting dignitary is not known to us but then news leaking from the Shital Nivas hints at the fact that the visiting Indian minister will be told to remain instrumental in sorting out a host of problems that have been plaguing the Nepal-India bilateral relations.

Which were the issues that have been at times causing irritations both in Kathmandu and in New Delhi are known to us all. Among the crowd of many is definitely Nepal's repeated request to "friendly" India to be of some support in sorting out the overly stretched Bhutanese refugee issue and the instant refusal of the other side to mediate in an affair what she calls a bilateral issue and in the process knowingly or unknowingly exhibits her clear political preference to Bhutan vis-à-vis Nepal.

What India forgets or wishes to forget deliberately in the whole process is that she has signed a treaty dating back to 1949 with the Dragon Kingdom which does not allow Bhutan to decide on its own any matter that is not related with India. More specifically speaking the treaty imposes restrictions on Bhutan which forces the latter to be in consultations with India on matters related with third country relations. Clearly, the Nepali side can seek the Indian support in this regard forwarding the same "binding" treaty provisions and impress upon India to use her good offices if she too wished to have sound and most friendly relations with this country. Let her claims of having traditional and most friendly ties with this country must not remain in routine rhetoric. Indeed we have very cordial relations with neighboring India. There is no doubt about that. Nevertheless, the fact is also that a sizeable chunk of the Nepali population possess some reservations on Nepal-India ties for they consider that the bilateral ties more often than not suits Indian interests, politically and economically as well. It is this section which also claims that neighboring India can go to any extent should this country hurt her political interests. A good case, for example, in this regard could be cited as the economic blockade India imposed on her small neighbor Nepal as back as in 1990 which in essence facilitated the congress and the communists to overthrow the erstwhile regime. This is a fact.

Let us not hide the facts. Let us admit that Nepal-India ties were not free from tensions. Let us also admit that the relation can be made really better should both the countries remained honest in their dealings with each other. Let us admit, for example, that the 1950 Nepal-India treaty is already a lost case and hence its timely review has become urgent. Indian establishment must now search the reasons as to why a large section of the Nepali population possessed reservations with regard to this said treaty and its provisions and try to address the grievances raised by that section. After all if we wish to be good neighbors then what is the harm in feeling the moods of each other. The hard fact is that neither Nepal nor India can wish to brush aside the geographical locations of each other. We can't change neighbors simply we dislike each other. We will continue to be neighbors at all circumstances. Let us admit this fact and act accordingly which ultimately will make us good neighbor. Or else we will be good neighbors only in lectures and history pages. If India becomes serious, Nepal too has to reciprocate with the same energy and vigor.

It is time that India feel the sensitivities of Nepal and the latter also reciprocate. To begin with, India, as a test case, convinces Bhutan to take back its nationals now languishing in Nepali camps since twelve years plus. If India comes forward in this regard will mean that India too has become sensitive to Nepal's pressing problems. India should in essence take up the matter seriously simply because the refugees have entered Nepal using the Indian land route and hence it is already an issue which demanded India's active role.

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