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Nepal's Maoist movement has
clearly benefited from the Nepal-India open border - Prakash A Raj
Mr Prakash A. Raj is a member of the
Nepal Council of World Affairs. He is an engineer, former staff member of the UN
Secretariat and UNHCR and now working as a consultant for various organisations. He has
authored numerous publications about Nepal.
Nepal is an independent country. However,
until 1961, India had an important influence on Nepal. The war between India and China and
the construction of a road to the Chinese border were occasions for Nepal to assert its
independence. Nonetheless, Nepal-India border is open, which has sometimes caused
problems. Whereas India in the past has tried to exert domination over Nepal but things
are now changing. Problems have not disappeared though and the 1999 hijacking of an Air
India flight from Kathmandu to Kandahar, Afghanistan, has fuelled the arguments of India
that has always denounced Pakistan's alleged influence and terrorist activities in Nepal.
The 1989 economic blockade imposed on Nepal by India is yet another glaring illustration
of the troubled relations between the two neighbours. India took such a measure in
retaliation of the purchase of Chinese weapons by Nepal. The latter nevertheless nowadays
receives weapons from the USA. But as the USA is supporting India in its fight against the
Talibans, they are not in a position to oppose any American move. Another issue is that
the Nepal's Maoist movement has clearly benefited from the openness of the Nepal-India
border and the fact that the Indian government has not done anything until recently to
stop the insurgents. It is however, now a danger for India as well, which is facing
similar movements in her own territories.
Thus, Nepal and India are likely to work
together for the solution of the problem. If India cooperates, the problem will be solved.
The problem is that the emphasis is put on
the need to keep Nepal independent whereas India would try to "Bhutanize" Nepal
as it would have become to much independent. Criticism does not only come from Nepal:
Indians pretend that attacks on their territory are conducted from Nepal and that Nepalese
are producing fake Indian banknotes. With the arrest of Pakistani diplomats and the
normalisation of India-Pakistan relations, there is hope that difficulties will be
reduced. The issue is however still of concern.
(Amandine is a French student of MA
Political Science, FRANCE, now an intern at the telegraph weekly) |
