Indo Nepal relation: View Around Lipuleke Border Dispute

Nepal continuously claiming Kalapani Lipulake but India deployed the army since 1962 and recently constructs road access to Lipulake. India is supporting Nepal in various sectors; this is not the meaning of permission to derogate the Nepalese sovereignty.

                       

   

    

   Chaos in diplomacy

Whenever, Nepalese sentiment breakout against India, the Indian diplomats, experts and intellectuals are often appeared in the Media to comment on the current controversy. Most of them express the same stance that Nepal should not go off the periphery of Indian interest and they do not forget to add, anyhow Nepal is to be kept under the impact of India because it is a matter of strategic necessity for India. They never miss adding in their opinion that the relation between the two countries is in a very unique; it confuses the meaning of real friendship because the friendly practices are not seen in the ground.

 

They accuse Nepal to be a naughty neighbor who without cause shows the eyes to India. On the border issue also they are citing repeatedly this version. They think Kathmandu always playing the card against India to cash Nepalese sentiment. Nepal is ruled by the so-called Communist party in this time, this matter also is not easily digestible for the Indian bureaucracy and ruling political elite.

 

 Whatever is cooking in the recent political atmosphere, India and Nepal are not only very close in Geo-cultural tie but both are the only most populated countries of Hindus in the world. This tradition has been coming from the prehistoric period. India was suffered by the different types of invaders in the past, especially Muslims and British but Nepal anyhow success to keep itself unaffected.

 

The thread of this glorious tradition of two countries seems like weakening in the past decades. The political egos are blindly raising controversies between the two neighbors. In the situation, inherently some complexities are coming on the surface with the passing of time but the ruling classes are denying the moral line of peaceful co-existence.

 

It is another reality that India has been supporting Nepal to develop different sectors to confine within the Indian interest. India was partially successful in this policy to engage Nepal for a long time.  India has deep concern, especially in security. Nepal should address the Indian concern on the basis of truthful friendship. Though, Nepal never violates the moral line to hit Indian security. As a poor and sovereign country, Nepal is inherently ambitious to develop relations out of India too.

                             

Recently, Indian Army Chief Manoj Mukunda Naravane said amid the border tension that Nepal is provoked by someone else. His clear indication was to China. How an Army Chief hastily spoke a political language is very mysterious. Although the matter is not new but running from years ago.  Is India threatening Nepal with military strength without any dialogue? Newly appointed, Mr. Naravne traditionally is to be honored as the honorary chief of the Army of Nepal also.

 The past already proved that India always wants the loyalty of Nepal, and have been continuously trying to implement this policy. Nepal feels Indian ruling and sub-ruling classes have been constantly trying to implement the legacy of colonial British expansionist thought, for a long time, in Nepal.

   Political instability of Nepal and India

After the downfall of the Rana regime, Mohan Shamsher Rana became the interim Prime Minister of Nepal on 30 April 1948. India asked him to military support for the invasion of princely state Hyderabad. Mohan Shamsher sent 10 battalions of Nepal army under the command of his son Major Sarada Shamser. Hyderabad was included in India on 18 September 1948. Mohan Shamsher was hopeful that India would secure his chair but he resigned later.

After the downfall of Rana oligarchy, Nepali Congress leader Bishweshor Prashad Koirala became the Primenister of Nepal in 1959. He was the first elected Prime Minister of Nepal. Koirala had remarkable goodwill of Indian ruling and opposition because he was also actively involved in the Indian freedom struggle.  He solved the northern border of Nepal and sign an agreement with China on March 21, 1960, and also started a bilateral relation with Israel on 1 June 1960, which was a bold decision for Nepal without any consultation of India. In this case, Delhi was dissatisfied with Koirala. 

 

On 27 November 1959 Indian Priminister Nehru’s said in Lok Sabha “May I just repeat what we have declared that any aggression on Bhutan or Nepal will be considered by us aggression on India”. The statement of Nehru was refuted by the Koirala was a shock for the Indian establishment. It was no crime that Koirala sincerely exercised the sovereign power of the country. India was not satisfied with the steps of Koirala. He Jailed until 1968 and went to self-exile in India. The importance of Koirala was over for Delhi now. It was proof that King Mahendra was in consultation with India for the 15 December step of 1960. Koirala felt some bad surroundings for Nepal and return Kathmandu in 1977.

                                                                 BP Koirala
 

 Suddenly King Mahindra suspended the constitution and overthrow Koirala government on 15 December 1960. Interesting is that the Chief of Indian Army Mr. Thimyya was in Nepal visit at that time. Later, king, Mahendra has signed an agreement that recognized the border on 5 October 1961 in Beijing that creates a little confusion but it was not a treaty with India. Bilateral border agreements are never signed with third one.

 In 1961 King signed an agreement to construct a road to link China was a gretat headache for India. Indian diplomats often have been defining such types of Nepal China cooperation, as a ‘card” against India.   King Mahendra was not in the path of his father King Tribhubana. After the Indo–China war in 1962, Indian security concerns became more aggressive, especially in the northern border.

 

India divides Pakistan through a war in 1971 and Sikkim a sovereign country was included within the Indian Territory in 1975 that was also a terror for Nepal too. The royal palace also got some bad information about the Indian secret intension to include Nepal within India. King Mahendra died in 1972 and prince Birendra became the king of Nepal. King Birendra proposed Nepal as the Zone of peace. More than 1 hundred 30 countries the world supported the proposal except for India. Nepal was doing it to be self-protected from Indian intervention. It comes to understand that the small countries, especially from northern India, were in tension for their existence at that time.

  India and democracy in Nepal

 India supported Nepali political parties who were agitating for multiparty democracy against Monarchy in 1990 because India was not happy especially on Nepal’s relation with China.  There were some disputes in transit and commercial between the two countries. In this pretext, India imposed trade and transit blocked to Nepal. Powerful Monarchy abolished and it was converted to a constitutional monarchy, Nepal resumed the multiparty democracy.  Before this, some Indian political leaders came to Kathmandu to participate in mass meetings against the monarchy. Later the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi openly told a journalist that the new political change in Nepal is of his credit.

 After the political change in 1990, Nepali political leaders were grateful to India because they succeeded the agitation against monarchial Panchayet on the support of India. There was a glowing hope on the horizon the Indo- Nepal relation will carry to a new hight on the altar of faith but was proved a hoax.  India started to use Nepal as a chessboard and political leader as the stamps of chess. Nepal became fully dependent on India, the relations with third countries was confined than the time of the powerful monarchy. Still, India was continually trying to unstable Nepal. Was it an unanswered question of what India really wants from Nepal?

 

 The ugly face of the Indian ruling class was uncovered in this period because the political strength of Nepal was losing on step by step.  No government in Kathmandu could stay the full time in power for a long time. Nepal did not enjoy a full-time government for a long time and a serial of Delhi visit race of Nepali political leaders' was to gain power in Kathmandu started like provincial leaders of Indian states.

 

 During outlawed Maoist insurgency India was indirectly supporting them to pressure on Kathmandu. At the time of climax, king Birendra was assassinated along with his clan in the royal palace in a mysterious situation on 1 June 2001, and  Gyanendra became the king of Nepal. India was indirectly or indirectly in the contact with King, Maoists, and political parties. More the 17000 people lost their lives during the Maoist insurgency. Ultimately a twelve-point agreement was signed on 22 November 2005 in Delhi. In this whole of scenario, India was a doubtful role in Nepal. Most of the task was handled through the Indian intelligence RAW.

                                                         Maoist rebel

In this political instability, not only India but later western forces came to play. Monarchy was abolished and Nepal became a republic country. A massive internal debate of cast race and region came on the surface. The first Constituent assembly did not settle the issue and the second election of the Constituent Assembly election also held. Many tribes, gender, casts, and Madhesis were agitating to sure their right in the new constitution, was also an inherent process. In the eve of to promulgate the constitution, India sent a special envoy to make pressure to correct the draft of the constitution but the Nepali leaders denied the pressure of Delhi was irritated. The new constitution promulgated in September 2015. Madhesi of plan were still not satisfied with the new constitution and were in strong agitation.

                                                        Madhes movement

         

After a long time, newly elected Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nepal in August 2014 Nepal open heartily welcome him. Mr. Modi also verbally not left any space to assure Nepal. Nepal assumed that it would be free from previous troubles by the side of India. Before 2014 congress was in power in Delhi that always had been adhered to a policy to tightly confine Nepal within the interest of India.

Around the Madhesh unrest India imposed blocked on Nepal to build up a pressure to accept its conditions to Kathmandu when Nepal was facing a panic situation of earthquake. Nepal did not surrender and blocked was running over five months. The hopeful image of Modi government converted into hate within year in Nepal.

Later years the relations were seen about on normal normal   way but border issues comes again in surface.