In his address to the Nepalese Parliament on 19 May, Nepalese Premier KP Sharma Oli, said, “Those who are coming from India through illegal channels are spreading the virus in the country and some local representatives and party leaders are responsible for bringing in people from India without proper testing”. And then, in a deliberate act of provocation, he made the astounding statement that the “Indian virus looks more lethal than Chinese and Italian now”.
What caused Oli to spew such venom? A day earlier, the Nepalese government made a unilateral change to their map, on the North western extremity of the Nepalese border with India. The traditional trijunction at Lipulekh Pass between India, Nepal and Tibet had never been a point of dispute, but the Nepalese Parliament now claimed that the trijunction was at Limpiyadhura, a point about 32 kilometres North West of Lipu Lekh. The Nepalese Parliament also took up a resolution to get back the territory, a stretch of approximated 335 square kilometres from India, through diplomatic and political efforts.
Was Nepal acting on its own or at the behest of its other big neighbour is a subject which can be debated. The boundary between India and Nepal is the Kali River, which has its origins in the springs of kalapani. The Boundary came into being over two centuries ago, post the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16, whereby in the Treaty of Sagauli, the Western boundary of Nepal was fixed as the Kali River. While the river itself is not in dispute, the origins of the river came up for discussion for the first time in 1997, with Nepal claiming the Kalapani area. The Indian contention was that the origins of the river lay in the springs of Kalapani, and this has been India’s stated position, which is aslo borne out by local lore.
While Nepal earlier only claimed the Kalapani area, which is a territory of about 35 square kilometers, it has now jumped the ante and laid claim all the way to Limpiyadhura, seeking claim now over an addition 335 square kilometers of area. That its Parliament has resolved to get this area back, means that this will always remain a contentious issue in local Nepalese politics, making it virtually impossible for any future ruling party to rescind the demand. The stated provocation was India’s inauguration of a road to Lipu Lekh, which cuts down the journey time for the Mansarovar pilgrimage by a week or so. But that road has been years in the making and in any case, Indian pilgrims have been going to Mansarovar via Lipu Lekh for decades now. Evidently, there were other factors at play in Oli’s outburst and Beijing’s tightening embrace over Kathmandu will surely not be a factor that can be ignored.
Chinese actions on India’s borders have been aggressive at the tactical level, though the India-China relationship at the strategic level remains stable. The recent spat between the soldiers of the two countries at Naku La in North Sikkim on 8 May, point to a consistent pattern in Chinese behaviour, which has earlier been witnessed at Pangong Tso lake, Demchok and other places as well. The Naku La incident resulted in both countries sending in additional troops to the area. Naku La, lying at over 5000 meters is hardly the spot for raising temperatures, but it has added a further measure of uncertainty between the security forces of both countries. It would be naive to believe that these incidents are unconnected. The Chinese military is part of the political establishment and its actions are neither random nor not through. So are the Chinese trying to give India a message?
Covid-19, the disease bought on by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has isolated China across the world stage, with many countries pressing for an independent probe into the origins of the virus from Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei province. China also senses a weakness in the USA and Europe which are engaged, as indeed much of the world is too, in the fight against Covid-19, and has ratcheted up its claims over Taiwan and in other disputed areas in the South China Sea. So, are the border clashes and the messaging emanating from Kathnandu, a not too unsubtle message to India to not lend its voice to the growing clamour against China?
That being said, the need to repair the India-Nepal relationship is of paramount importance, but negotiating the same will require deft political and diplomatic skills. Over the longer term however, there is a need to invest in building upon the traditional goodwill that exists between the peoples of the two countries. Through such goodwill can perceptions be changed and the relationship brought once more on an even keel.
The author is a retired Major General who is currently, Director India Foundation.
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