A section believes the reason for 'unofficial blockade' of Nepal is related to India's insatiable need for water
On October 31st, over 200 Nepalis, including former British Gurkhas and their families, had gathered at the Sangam Hall at Burnt Oak Broadway in North-West London to celebrate the Dashain and Tihar festivals. Chief Guest at the function, Matthew Offord, a local MP from Hendon, listened keenly to Nepali community's concerns regarding the impact of 'unofficial blockade' of Nepal by India for the last few weeks. They wanted their local MP to draw the attention of the British government in this regard.Two days later, Dr Offord, who represents the ruling Conservative Party, submitted a written parliamentary question asking the British authorities what representations the (British) government had made to the Indian government on reopening border crossings to Nepal.
In a written reply to the MP on November 10th, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Hugo Swire, informed that acting British ambassador in Nepal, and many other Heads of Mission, had discussed the blockage at the border with the Indian Ambassador to Nepal, most recently on October 30th.
"The British High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan, called on Indian Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar on 7 October to raise the situation in Nepal with him; and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for South Asia and Afghanistan also raised it with Mr Jaishankar during his visit to India from 12-13 October. We continue to engage with India and seek to work with them to help resolve the crisis in Nepal," the Minister said.
Nepal was also on the agenda when Indian premier Narendra Modi met his British counterpart, David Cameron, in London. The joint communiqué issued on November 12th, however, didn't mention anything regarding the 'unofficial' blockade.
"The two Prime Ministers stressed the importance of a lasting and inclusive constitutional settlement in Nepal that will address the remaining areas of concern and promote political stability and economic growth. They hoped the National Reconstruction Authority begins to function as soon as possible to facilitate post-earthquake reconstruction," the statement said.
Obviously, the government of Nepal was not happy the way India and UK referred to its new statute promulgated in September after nearly eight-year-long exercise. A statement issued by the Nepali Foreign Ministry said the constitution making was purely an internal affair and that Nepal was capable of handling its internal affairs on its own.
On Nov 12th, the day Prime Minister Modi arrived on a three-day visit of the UK, hundreds of expatriate Nepalis gathered at Richmond Terrace, near 10 Downing Street—the office and residence of the British Prime Minister—in London. The organisers said they wanted to make it a symbolic event to register their protest against the 'unofficial' Indian blockade. But thanks to the mobilisation of social media and people's anger at acute shortage of fuel, cooking gas and even medicines in Kathmandu and other parts of the country, hundreds of them showed up at the protest to make their voices heard.
Indian authorities, too, took notice of the protest. The Indian Prime Minister's Office asked the Indian High Commission in London for a report, reports said. Whatever the Indian High Commission may report back to Delhi, increasing frustration among the Nepali diaspora could be gauged easily. Similar protests have been organised in Geneva and in front of the UN complex in New York, among other places.
The Non-Resident Nepalese Association—a network of expatriate Nepalis in over 70 countries of the world—appealed the government of India to end its 'unofficial blockade' immediately so as to avoid the situation of humanitarian crisis in Nepal. The organisation also called upon the government of Nepal and the agitating (Madheshi) parties to find a solution to all outstanding issues through dialogue.
On its part, India has refuted allegations that it has been imposing any type of blockade against her Himalayan neighbour. Indian officials insist that the shortage of fuel and other supplies is caused by the Madheshi protesters, though Nepali officials tell otherwise.
So, what could be the reason leading to sudden downturn in relations between the two neighbours?
Addressing tens of thousands of members of the Indian diaspora at the Wembley Stadium in London on November 13th, Prime Minister Modi asked the ecstatic crowd if 18,000-odd villages in India should get electricity or not. "Yes, they should," responded the crowd. Earlier, during his whirlwind election campaign in Bihar state of India, Modi had said that he would provide electricity to villages in one of the poorest states of the country by harnessing water resources from Nepal and Bhutan.
A section of Nepali intelligentsia believes that the reason for ongoing 'unofficial blockade' of Nepal is related to India's insatiable need for water, among others. Prime Minister Modi has announced his ambitious plan to develop 175 GW of renewable energy capacity over the next seven years but the urgent need would be for fresh water for millions of people both for drinking as well as farming purposes.
For Nepal, options seem to be limited. The Himalayan nation must learn to live with two of its giant neighbours—China and India—to protect her sovereignty as well as ensure prosperity for her countrymen. Nepali diaspora seems more than willing to participate in the transformation of the country.
The author is a BBC journalist based in London. Views expressed are his own.
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