Breaking Ice On A Winding Road

India-Nepal ties had hit a nadir. It’s up to Nepal’s visiting PM, Prachanda, to restore them to an assured ease.

- Pranay Sharma in Kathmandu

SINO-Indian rivalry in Nepal may no longer be a viable option for either of the two Asian giants or the leadership in Kathmandu. But Beijing seems hell-bent in fighting for its corner, particularly the gains it made in the Himalayan kingdom in the past year or so, to ensure they are not frittered away by Nepalese leaders in their bid to move close to New Delhi.

To keep up this pressure, Chinese president Xi Jinping’s scheduled visit to Nepal, scheduled for the end of October, now seems to be in jeopardy. Though it has not been called off yet, observers in Nepal say there is now a big question mark over it. But his planned visit to Dhaka next month, around the time of his India visit mid-October for the BRICS summit, is still on.

Though China believes India can play a major role in Nepal’s stability, it does not want to get marginalised in the process. It has already signed a transit agreement with Nepal and wants to ensure the Nepalese leadership, despite frequent changes in the government, should not renege on the commitment made by former PM K.P. Sharma ‘Oli’ on the one-belt one-road project and the infrastructure network linked to it.

India has traditionally loomed larger than any other country on the Nepalese political radar. Most Nepalese politicians, while describing Indo-Nepal ties, would run through the entire gamut of commonalities that bind the two countries together. The long, open border, the shared history, tradition, religion, ethnicity, language etc are all cited as essential elements that define this unique relationship.

Besides, India runs a series of development programmes and gives millions of dollars in aide and other assistance to prop Nepal’s economy and, as part of the 1950 Treaty of Friendship between the two sides, plays host to over eight million Nepalese.