A Fine Balance In Nepal

Context: Political uncertainty in the neighbouring country does not benefit India. India must remain engaged without being interventionist

Background to the constitutional crisis in Nepal

• For the second time in weeks, Prime Minister K P Oli has persuaded President Bidya Devi Bhandari to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections.
• The earlier dissolution was challenged in the Supreme Court, which declared it unconstitutional.
• Political uncertainty in Nepal is never good news for India, as is Nepal is always the hotbed of fevered conspiracy theories, most of which implicate India without any tangible basis.

Suggestion to deal with Nepal at this moment:

• India should declare unconditional support to Nepal’s republican democracy:
  • There has been news that India has been supporting the rise of the monarchy in Nepal, in support of the rise of Hindu Rashtra status, aimed at keeping China at bay.
  • However, it must be noted that the monarchy in Nepal has always tried to distance Nepal from India and promoted nationalism which takes hostility to India as its main driver.
• India should remain fully engaged with Nepal at all levels and across the political spectrum.
  • A hands-off policy (to remain distant) will only create space for other external influences, some of which, like China, may prove to be hostile.
  • India must dispense with the recurrent tendency to label Nepali political leaders as friends or enemies; One should advocate policies rather than persons.
• India should be careful not to mimic the elite’s disdain for Madhesis:
  • In the past, Madhesis have been discriminated against as citizens - a constitutional provision was in place which denied citizenship to children born of Nepali mothers who had foreign husbands.
  • While PM Oli has recently reversed that provision, he supported the provision that allows Indians to marry Nepali women and have their children become Nepali citizens.
  • Our engagement with Nepal must find an important place for Madhesis, who are our immediate neighbours, and act as a kinship, cultural and religious bridge between our two countries.
• India needs to appreciate that the people-to-people links between the two countries:
  • The challenge to our Nepal policy lies in leveraging this precious asset to ensure a stable and mutually productive state-to-state relationship.
  • People-to-people relationships, including longstanding religious and cultural links, cannot be a substitute for sensible state-to-state relations but are instruments to enhance the latter.