Indo-Nepal JOM Talks: Is Ice Breaking?

Indo-Nepal relation is standing in the worst turn on the history in this time. Land dispute raising as a pivot problem that may disturb the relation for long time. Both should be solve the issue.

 

 Among the deadlock of cartographic war, the 8th Joint Oversight Meeting (JOM) between Nepal and India organized in Kathmandu. The news of the meeting brought the waves of estimations were run more emotional than rational in social media. However, it shows the anxiety of people about the long–running multidimensional relationship between both countries. But the border-issue was not the agenda of the meeting. Still, the meet raises the possibility of removing the communication-gap on the border too; some diplomats are saying. Many of them in Nepal are still in doubt that India will show honesty for history and truth because it has already occupied that land and starting to claim on it.

 

  The New development for talk 

 

 After seven months of communication gap, the formal meeting is a symbol of a bit of ice break that the regular meeting of secretary-level Joint Oversight Mechanism of Nepal and India take palace in Kathmandu on August 17. Just after five months-long Indian blocked on Nepal in 2016, the joint mechanism was formed according to the guideline of a high level political understanding. The last sequence of the meeting was held about one year ago in Delhi.

 

The inner-party sharp contention is running in ruling Communist Party of Nepal from last few months. Prime Minister and one of the party chairperson KP Sharma Oli led government in Kathmandu was facing the uncertainty of continuity. In the meantime, on August 12, PM Oli confidently said to a television talk-show that the controversy in the party would over within the five days his statement is showing few positive signs so far. With the sign of stability of the Oli government, India and Nepal started to bridge the communication gap through the JOM meeting. A central committee member of the Communist party said with the condition of anonymity, the chronology of date and event clears the picture, but he did not clear the fact. Political analyst Prof. Surendra KC saying that the major factor of party internal feud is India that wants to remove the Oli government as the revenge of publishing new map.

 

  Before two days of this JOM meeting, the Prime Minister of Nepal KP Sharma Oli was express congratulation to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the occasion of 74th Indian Independence Day on 15 August over the phone. Some Indian analysts are describing that Nepal realized the essentiality of India now and coming back from the influence of China. They are looking approximately confident that Nepal will be ready to give up the claim on Lipulake, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani. Indian daily newspaper Amar Ujala writes as now due to Nepal's softening stance, preparations for talks on border disputes are going on till the end of September. The Kathmandu post from Nepal also writes about the possibility of border talk with India Next month but a government source denied such developments in Kathmandu. A joint group to arrange border was working since 2014 but after was stopped when India unilaterally included Kalapani and Lipulekh in its map last year. 

  

Whatever, after contact of two PM, the JOM meeting becomes possible for bureaucrats of both neighboring countries who were in meeting to observe the progress of ongoing India supported projects in Nepal. All the efforts for the meeting were not any special but under regular events only.

 

 

According to Nepali sources, Trans-border railway, roads in the Tarai region, Arun III Hydro project, Petroleum Pipeline, Panchesowar Multipurpose Project, reconstructions after the earthquake were the main agendas in the meeting. Likewise, irrigation projects, the establishment of Police Academy, power transmission lines, Ramayana circuit, and Covid19 pandemic were also in agendas in the meet. The discussion was amicable in the meeting.  India and Nepal are committed to working together in forthcoming days.

 

India is mostly blamed for holding projects and not completing it in time in Nepal. Most people in Nepal consider this to be a gimmick of India's Nepal-policy. 

 

  Is the sign to resolve the land dispute?

 

India was angry to publish Lipulekh Limpiyadhura included map by Nepal, in the situation, any formal meeting between the two countries was suspected to begin immediately but the JOM meeting proved that bilateral cooperation other than border issue continues is a positive sign in the relationship.

However, it is too early to think that formal negotiations in the matter of land will take place soon as there have been various types of blame over the issue that caused a loss on the traditional foundation of trust. Nepal has portrayed as India's traditional enemy like Pakistan and China. Many people in Nepal started to believe that the real face of the alleged bread and daughter relationship has exposed during this period.

 

Nepal has always followed a policy of balancing to protect its sovereignty, especially with two neighbors China and India; Nepal is under a nightmare of history that both giant neighbors have eliminated the entity of Tibet and Sikkim.

 

In recent context, Nepal was dependent on India especially after 1990. India imposed economic blocked for the internal issue in Nepal four years ago. A small country Nepal was pushed to China by India to cross the line of unilateral dependence on India. Nepal needs not to host enmity with China and Pakistan from the side of India because Nepal is marked as one of the members of the enemy group by India, said a political cadre in Kathmandu. Ultimately India and Nepal should review their relationship in the light of changing context.

  

The Lipulek and Kalapani were already recognized as controversial lands by both sides. India unilaterally included the controversial area in its map in September 2019. Despite the protest of Nepal, India was doing constructions of a road to link Lipulek was inaugurated by Indian defense Minister Rajnath Singh on 8th May. Nepal felt uneasy about the unilateral steps of India in border. Now, she had two options either take counter steps against Indian action or leave the claim over the land. Nepal fallowed the first option and not only published the Kalapani, Lipulek, and Limpyadhura included a new map moreover endorsed it from Parliament with a complete majority on 18th May. Nepal proposed bilateral talk to solve the problem about three times, but India is not ready so far in this issue.

 

The border issue is rising as an obstacle in the way of India Nepal relation. Without taking some efforts to solve the problem, other co-works also would not give effective and faithful results.