On our way to the hotel, some of us conversed with the car driver half in Nepali and half in Hindi— and opted for Hinglish whenever Hindi failed us! The desk-offices at Hotel Claridges, Indian girls in saris, looked very familiar- the prettiest ones looked very much like our own damsels. All the while it felt as if we were still in Nepal, just a different city. And why not? After all, we had traveled to India without visas and the bank at Tribhuvan International Airport which couldn’t change our Nepali currency because of a shortage of Indian notes requested us to use our ATM cards upon reaching Delhi. Yes, you can walk into any ATM machine or shopping mall and swipe your local card that has “valid only in Nepal and India” written on it. It’s that easy. Moreover, during lunch time I overheard my colleague Narayan Wagle, editor-in-chief of Nagarik daily telling the waiter, “Bhai alik wine thapa na.”
It’s this similarity—even sameness— that makes India-Nepal relations special and unique, and at the same time, bizarre and complicated. Yes, we are similar in many ways, and yet we are two sovereign nations and two sovereign peoples.
We, Nepalis and Indians, eat similar food, watch the same movies, our favorite stars come from the same Bollywood pool, we listen to the same music, wear similar dress (more so for those who like kurta salwar) and we have even inherited and cherished the same piss-on-the-wall and spit-wherever-you-like culture!
It’s this similarity—even sameness— that makes India-Nepal relations special and unique, and at the same time, bizarre and complicated. Yes, we are similar in many ways, share an open border and move seamlessly between the two countries and yet we are two sovereign nations and two sovereign peoples. We desire separate national identities— as distinct as the flags of the two countries— and desire mutual respect as one would expect between two sovereign nations.
This is where things start to get complicated. There are huge asymmetries between Nepal and India—asymmetry of geography (size), history, economy, military prowess, global standing and confidence. And wherever officials, politicians, civil society leaders or media personnel of the two countries meet and talk—formally or informally— the reality of this asymmetry gets into the head of the Indians and into the heart of the Nepalis and creates a barrier to constructive debate and dialogue.
Two other things have contributed to the mistrust between the two countries. First is India’s real or perceived duality. Historically, no Nepali politician has ever been confident about India’s role and intentions, and they have often complained of Indian high-handedness. Matrika Prasad Koirala, BP Koirala, Girija Prasad Koirala, Puspha Kamal Dahal, the late kings Mahendra, Birendra and Gyanendra, all had their own grievances against India. Each of them received support from the southern neighbor at certain points of their career but eventually all of them felt betrayed. But this also says as much about the character of our politicians as it says about India’s duality. When you talk to our politicians and bureaucrats about India’s intentions, there is a consensus on at least one thing: India wants, as much as possible, to keep tab on everything and everyone in Nepal so that it controls not only the process but also the end result of any important social or political phenomenon. When control is the central objective, India cannot always rely on benign processes since they may not always yield the desired result.
Second, the level of cynicism against India in the streets of Kathmandu is also a result of huge mismatch between India’s political engagements and its developmental supports for Nepal. Nepalis have a vivid memory of India’s political engagements and maneuverings in Nepal right since the 1950s. These memories have been passed on to every successive generation and are enlivened by the never-ending debates and disagreements within Nepal. There are people who hail the role played by India in overthrowing the Rana oligarchy and there are also those who term the tripartite Delhi Agreement a betrayal. Same is true for the 12-point agreement. People remember Delhi’s disagreements with King Birendra and the subsequent economic blockade of 1989 and also India’s role in reinstating multiparty democracy in 1990 and 2006. But then they also remember India’s allegations when Indian Airlines’ flight IC-814 was hijacked from Kathmandu in December of 1999. So, there definitely exist a lot of bad memories in the mind of the Nepali public when it comes to India.
Contrary to the degree of India’s political engagements with Nepal, there is no parallel in its development assistance, especially the kind of development projects that people in Kathmandu, where the fervor of nationalism is high as is often the case in the capital city of any particular country, can relate to. Public memory of the last Indian project of any significance to Kathmanduites is the Tribhuvan Highway that was constructed in the 1950s. For this reason as well, when Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal officially proposes a project to clean the Bagmati river and its 26 tributaries during his August 18-21 visit to India, the Indian government should jump upon it. Right now there is no better project to improve India’s public image in Kathmandu.
India must also see its relationship with Nepal and other neighbors in a larger context and interest. As India is poised to become the third largest economy in the world in the next two decades or so and dreams of achieving superpower status in future, it must realize that its neighbors can become either important partners or impediments in realizing this dream. A poor and unstable neighborhood will pose serious threats to Indian’s, both economic and political ambitions—instability in the region can also destabilize India.
But Nepal should also shoulder responsibility to take its relationship with India to a higher plane. We cannot always play crybaby. If we lack confidence, that’s our problem. If we lack competence in dealing with India on complicated issues such as security and energy negotiations, that’s our weakness that only we can address. Let’s not forget that we need India more than India needs us. We sometimes overestimate our importance to India, especially in the field of hydropower. India’s demand for power will grow by over two hundred thousand megawatts in the next ten years and even if we are serious and achieve our best, the target of 10,000 megawatts will still be ambitious.
Taking India-Nepal relations to a new level will, therefore, require efforts and corrective measures from both sides and let’s not shy away from them. Let’s also not forget that ours is a relationship that’s as open as a panipuri and also as delicate. It needs careful handling.
ameetdhakal@gmail.com
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