Misfortune never comes alone. When the country is deep in sorrow as a result of the recent earthquake, another important issue, India and China agreeing to open a route through Lipulekh—Nepal's territory by all accounts—must also get top priority. This act is illegal and in violation of Nepal's inalienable right to territorial integrity. Nepal as a fully sovereign country is a permanent entity. Any decision or agreement taken singly or jointly by infringing on its territory is unacceptable. It is not necessary to remind this to China and India who have themselves undergone foreign occupation in the not too distant past.China was a victim of Japanese aggression and Western countries and India was reduced to a British colony. Both had to fight for their liberation and to establish themselves as independent sovereign states. Nepal was never colonized yet it showed its determination to protect its independence when attacked by British India or China.
The Sino-Nepal Border Treaty (1961) is an example of how China and Nepal have historically developed their relationship based on mutual trust and cooperation since Chairman Mao's time. China's Nepal policy has been stable and firm. Both Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping looked to strengthen Sino-Nepal relations. Now, suddenly, China seems to have deviated from its much-appreciated policy as it has entered into an agreement with India to open a path over Lipulekh without consulting Nepal. Can't this be labeled a breach of the spirit of the Sino-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty? China has been a true friend of Nepal for a long time. So it must clear doubts about this agreement by revising it.
India has always been overbearing in its dealings with Nepal. It had been treating Nepal as inferior since Pandit Nehru's Prime Ministership after the end of British rule, so much so that Ballabh Bhai Patel wanted Nepal to be incorporated into India. BP's historic "NO" to Pandit Nehru's claim of Himalaya as its natural frontier is something that has to be reckoned with to safeguard Nepal's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured Nepalis that he would not hang on to India's wrong policy, indicating a new outlook.
But even before new Indian policy was starting to take shape, the agreement between China and India over Lipulekh has already aroused suspicion. Nepal and India are two close neighbors, interdependent and interconnected not only strategically but through commercial, social and cultural bonds. Any breach in this kind of relationship can be harmful in the long run for both the countries.
Nepal cannot remain complacent in matters of national interest and take half-hearted actions. Leaders must stake their position to protect and safeguard national independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. There is no other way.
It may look out of place to criticize Nepali leaders for their lack of preparedness at a time when the country is devastated by the Great Earthquake. But it is also not the time to stay quiet when Nepal's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests are on the line. So long as these questions remain ignored, there will neither be peace, stability and security nor economic, social and cultural progress. It will be in the interest of all that India and China reconsider their plan to operate a trade route over Lipulekh.
At a time when one of the founding members is badly affected by a natural disaster, SAARC seems to be indifferent. It indicates that SAARC with all its commitments, plans and agreements in the past three decades remains largely ineffective. Regional integration efforts should be broader, more so in the times of need, be it devastating earthquakes, massive droughts or other serious natural disasters. In this context it is important to draw the attention of Nepali leaders to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its usefulness and potential to Nepal. But it has become a habit of Nepal not to take such initiative. So Nepal is only a dialogue partner in the organization, while India and Pakistan have become full members.
People are haunted with fear that Nepal might also go the same way as Haiti. Haiti happens whenever a country's leadership is weak, indecisive, careless and self-serving. Similar earthquake, some eighty-two years ago in 1990 BS, is still fresh in my mind. Rana Prime Minister Juddha Sumsher handled the situation without any foreign help and donation. He not only managed to extend loan to aggrieved people for reconstruction and to build relief shelters in Tundikhel. He also broke them from the shackles of loan sharks. The present leadership of Nepal needs to learn from the past and from the experience of our neighbors.
China and India should inspire Nepal as it is looking to rebuild. When Tangshan was hit by a formidable earthquake in 1976, killing more than 200,000 people and virtually destroying the industrial city, Chairman Mao stood up as a real leader and started the process of reconstruction and rejuvenation without any foreign help and transformed the place. Similarly, when Gujarat was hit by an earthquake in 2001, with a loss of about 20,000 people and massive loss of property, the Indian leadership did not lose patience. It swiftly recovered from the disaster and turned it into a world attraction under Chief Minister Modi.
In the case of Nepal, though assistance in the form of grants is expected to flow smoothly, the loan promised for reconstruction may depend on how effectively the current leadership uses them for people's benefit. Those in power instead of concentrating on alleviating people's sufferings are looking to serve partisan interests with an eye to securing majority in upcoming elections by manipulating materials and money provided by donor countries and INGOs. People would have appreciated it more had they built public parks in different places in commemoration of people killed in the quake.
Nepal can never be a vassal state or anyone's satellite. The builders of independent and sovereign Nepal have shed enough blood in safeguarding their territory and the present generation will not sigh away from their duty to motherland, too.
It is the time for Nepali leaders to transform themselves into a strong team and act as one. If they cannot do so they must hand over the responsibility of saving the country to younger generation. This is the time for Nepal to safeguard and assert its independence and regain its deteriorating image in the international arena.
The author is former prime minister of Nepal
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