Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 28 Dec 2010 17:10

India may have incited Nepal's royal carnage: King Birendra's former aide

According to Shah, who was military secretary to both King Birendra and his successor King Gyanendra, though it was undoubtedly Dipendra who pulled the trigger and caused the carnage on June 1, 2001, in which nine others died, he could have been incited by foreign powers.

No where in the article has Shah been quoted as having said that it was India which incited the carnage. But the TOI has created the headline to suggest this.

RajeshA · Post by **RajeshA** » 30 Dec 2010 23:49

Old piece by a Nepali

Published on Jun 29, 2005
By Sandeep Pradhan
Nepal: Managing A Merger With India

The world's only Hindu kingdom's hobnobbing with Pakistan, the hotbed of Islamic terrorism, has only heightened Indian concerns. Now the Nepalese monarch's moves to pry the country out of India's sphere of influence by boosting ties with China has enervated many an expert in New Delhi. The prevailing view in such quarters is in favor of drastic pre-emptive action. Indian absorption of Nepal would not prove that difficult. As for assimilation, there are already millions of Nepalis living across the eastern, southern and western borders.

Many Nepalis speak better Hindi than most south Indians do. What are the benefits for Nepal? For one thing, our sense of nationalism would be disentangled from anti-Indianism, as we strive to maintain Nepal's geographical and linguistic identity within a larger federation. We can avoid the spectacle of Indian security agents making cross-border forays with impunity.

Nepal can claim subsidies from the federal government in New Delhi every time its finances dip dangerous low. Nepalis can still continue blaming India for submerging tracts of the lowlands each year. Entire Indian states, it is worth recalling, are fighting each other over water.

Readers' Opinions: 1 and 2

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 31 Dec 2010 05:24

Dr Bhattarai going to New Delhi

Maoists see visit as stepping stone in building relations

Following Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s China visit in October, the party has been seeking a proper opportunity to begin dialogue with Indian leaders to improve the party’s worsening relations with the southern neighbour.

Krishna, according to online edition of Times of India, an Indian English daily, is scheduled to visit Kathmandu soon, most probably on the heels of Dr Bhattarai’s India visit.
“But the Indian message remains the same. The Maoists have to disarm following which there can be a political understanding. Bhattarai’s visit will be important for first-hand assessment of current Maoist thinking,” says the report.
Several Nepali politicians, intellectuals, journalists and civil society members are taking part in the seminar to be held from January 6-7 in New Delhi.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala and Indian External Affairs Minister Krishna are scheduled to deliver the inaugural speech.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 01 Jan 2011 11:29

Party walks out of Nepal coalition

A Madhes-based party belonging to the ruling coalition in Nepal split in two on Friday. Nine members of Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party, which has 20 members in Nepal's parliament, formed a separate outfit called Terai Madhes Loktantrik Party (Nepal). TMLP is the fourth largest party in the ruling coalition after Nepali Congress (114), Communist Party of Nepal-United Marxist Leninist (107) and Madhesi Janadhikar Forum-Loktantrik (28).

The breakaway faction led by industry minister Mahendra Prasad Yadav met Speaker Subhash Nemwang and announced the decision to split.

"We parted ways with TMLP as it failed to protect interests of Madhes and also due to president Mahanta Thakur's failure to practice collective leadership," Nepalnews.com quoted Arvind Sah, a lawmaker belonging to the breakaway faction.

According to Parliament Act, 40% lawmakers belonging to a party can form a new outfit after splitting from it.

Friday's development has further weakened unity among the various Madhes-based parties belonging to Nepal's Terai region.

Earlier, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, Madhesi Janadhikar Forum (Loktantrik) and Nepal Sadbhawana Party had also witnessed splits.

If this party alies with the Maoists that it will bring the maoists closer to the goal of claiming power.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 09 Jan 2011 21:20

Neighbour’s choice

The internal conflict within the Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M), the largest party in the constituent assembly, is no longer a secret. But what defied political speculation was party chief Prachanda’s last-minute reluctance to take disciplinary action against his senior colleague Baburam Bhattarai and his supporters. Bhattarai, through a note of dissent in the party’s central committee meeting, said that toeing Prachanda’s political line — a mass revolt for power capture and treating India as the party’s principal enemy — would endanger the country’s independence.

No wonder prachanda was making some conciliatory noises towards India after his trip from pandaland.

Declaring India an enemy by a political party, and a faction within it opposing that line, will not necessarily have consequences for India or for Nepal as there are other crucial factors that determine and dictate the bilateral relationship. And in that context whether Bhattarai should be treated differently from Prachanda will ultimately have to be decided by his actions, and not words alone. He will be judged on whether he will work for democracy without violence, or whether he will still go for a people’s republic that he’s advocated more vigorously than Prachanda himself did during the past four years of the peace process.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 12 Jan 2011 01:01

RajeshA wrote:Old piece by a Nepali

Published on Jun 29, 2005
By Sandeep Pradhan
Nepal: Managing A Merger With India
Readers' Opinions: 1 and 2

Amazing. PRC must be working over time to make sure that this does not happen

Kailash · Post by **Kailash** » 19 Jan 2011 13:18

No supply of lethal equipment to Nepal Army, says India since 2005

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 23 Jan 2011 04:05

India-funded telemed centre to link Nepal, Lucknow and Chandigarh

India is fully funding the project to set up telemedicine network in the entire SAARC region as part of the assurance given by Manmohan Singh, a statement by the Indian embassy in Kathmandu said.

The Lalitpur telemedicine centre, the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for which was signed in 2009, will enable the host institution to receive consultation and Continuing Medical Education (CME) services from select hospitals in SAARC countries.

other countries so far linked- bhutan and afghanisthan.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 23 Jan 2011 21:24

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/world ... &ref=world

In a major step forward in Nepal’s tortured peace process, Maoist political leaders on Saturday formally relinquished control of their 19,000-member army to a special governmental committee.

At a ceremony held about 110 miles from the capital, Katmandu, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, chairman of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) signed a statement with the country’s caretaker interim prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal. Then the prime minister raised the national flag over a gathering of former Maoist fighters.

krisna · Post by **krisna** » 03 Feb 2011 23:22

Profile: New Nepal Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal

Jhalanath Khanal, the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), won a clear majority of votes in parliament after he gained the backing of the Maoist party.

Last month, the United Nations mission charged with overseeing the process withdrew from Nepal after the country's political parties did not extend its mandate.
The disagreements over how to handle this issue has held up the peace process. Last month, the United Nations Mission in Nepal (Unmin) - charged with overseeing the process - withdrew from Nepal after the country's political parties did not extend its mandate.
Analysts say another major challenge for Mr Khanal will be to keep his CPN-UML party behind him.
Many of the party's members distrust the Maoists and have been arguing against joining hands with them.

wonder what will happen to Indian relations.

arunsrinivasan · Post by **arunsrinivasan** » 04 Feb 2011 10:23

Stan_Savljevic, your thoughts on the new Nepal PM will be much appreciated.

arunsrinivasan · Post by **arunsrinivasan** » 08 Feb 2011 10:47

Some not so happy news for India, based on this article ....

Primed to Distrust

Finally, Nepal has found a prime minister in Jhalanath Khanal-a hardcore communist backed by the far more radical Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists (UCPN-M)-which brings the long-awaited Left unity to fruition. As an opposite, if not equal reaction, the Nepali Congress and other democratic forces are already grouping up, possibly as a force of resistance, fearing that the next step of the radical alliance which will monopolise state power will be to establish a “communist dictatorship” in which opposition will have no legitimate space.

The fear is not baseless. Khanal, who is also chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), had a series of closed-door meetings with his UCPN-M counterpart Prachanda, and the duo signed a seven-point secret deal. The two agreed that their inability to join hands would give India a decisive chance to influence Nepal’s political parties and sway the choice of a new prime minister. Although India’s foreign secretary Nirupama Rao had said during her visit to Kathmandu a month ago that India had no favourites in the prime ministerial race, “independent experts” from Delhi were constantly telling the media and NGO-sponsored seminars that Prachanda could not be accepted as PM as he was anti-India.

UCPN-M , the largest party in the constituent assembly, does not have absolute majority. It believes that India interferes too much in Nepal’s internal affairs, and that it is time to assert Nepali nationalism. It was this assessment, in fact, that persuaded Prachanda to give up his claim and support Khanal, giving him 368 votes in a house of 597, and leaving Ram Chandra Poudel of the Nepali Congress and Bijay Gachedar of the Madheshi Janadhikar Forum (MJF) far behind.

Nepalis are largely conservative and traditional and their approach democratic, in the sense that various faiths, ethnic groups, castes and political entities have co-existed with mutual respect and cordiality under different political dispensations. But the political change that occurred four years ago introduced a relentless radical agenda. Any individual or group who was indifferent to or opposed that agenda was targeted as “regressive” by the political parties that drove the change — UCPN-M, CPN-UML and the Nepali Congress. Intolerance and violent retaliation are emerging as the norm in Nepal’s social and cultural life.

This alliance between Khanal and Prachanda is just a logical step forward, and all it has done is to weed out those they consider “revisionists” and “reactionaries”, or puppets of an “expansionist India”. India, though, is not less guilty in this development, which manifests the failure of its Nepal policy. Delhi not only patronised the Maoists — when they were still underground — it also conveyed to parties like the Nepali Congress and the CPN-UML, which were pursuing parliamentary democracy and more moderate approaches that resonated with Nepali society, that they had no future if they did not join hands with the Maoists. That was the message Delhi delivered when it brought the two sides together under the 12-point agreement signed in November 2005, nine months after King Gyandendra had taken over. The Maoists did not keep silent with the overthrow of the monarchy, nor did they honour the commitment to pursue democracy and abandon weapons — two major promises they had made to India at the time of signing the agreement.

In May 2009, when Prachanda quit as prime minister — because the president and most other political parties opposed his sacking of General Katwal as army chief -— he put the blame for his exit solely on India. And ever since, the UCPN-M has been claiming that India is interfering with the Maoists’ legitimate right to head the government. That is a perception shared by a large section in Nepal, not Maoists alone.

In 2005, India was clearly anti-monarchy and recognised the Maoists as the true representative of the people, a force that could not be ignored in Nepal’s path towards peace, stability and progress. Five years down the line, it is clearly anti-Maoists, and quiet on, if not indifferent towards the possibility of the monarchy returning to power in Nepal. The people are frustrated with the growing corruption, lawlessness, political instability and external interference that mark Nepal. And India may be perceived as a decisive force for Nepal’s politics, but Western countries and donors have been exerting much greater influence on the social, cultural and religious aspects of the nation, including the ethnicity-centric policies pursued by the Maoists. India is now left without any trustworthy and effective political allies in its north. Some still abide by the long historical, cultural and social connections between the two nations, but most have become critical after the India-promoted vision of radical change only made the situation far worse. These shared social, historical, cultural and religious values are clearly on the wane, under the influence of radical politics.

Khanal’s election as prime minister may have been an exercise of the “sovereign parliament”, but almost everyone here believes that the Prachanda-Khanal duo stonewalled the influence that the south might have had. India’s prime minister, Manmohan Singh, assured Khanal that India would continue as normal and extend all the cooperation required, but dispelling this Himalayan impression would take time and initiative from Nepal’s south. That, unfortunately, does not guarantee Nepal’s stability and the cessation of external “dictate”, in one form or the other.

Sanku · Post by **Sanku** » 11 Feb 2011 15:02

UPA I govt gave a leg up to Maoists both in India and Nepal. In order to shake up the existing power structure and cut deals etc.

The results are all for there to see.

A_Gupta · Post by **A_Gupta** » 23 Feb 2011 19:48

New York Times Op-Ed from Nepal
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/opinion/23thapa.html

Our third and most recent movement took place in 2006, when democratic political parties and Maoist rebels united against King Gyanendra Shah, ending a 10-year civil war. Millions of Nepalis participated in nonviolent demonstrations in a show of support. Nineteen days after that, the king relinquished power; two years later, a newly elected Constituent Assembly abolished the 240-year-old monarchy with a near-unanimous vote. With the democratic political parties and the Maoists vowing to work together peacefully, a “new Nepal” felt attainable.

Five years later, it still has not taken shape.

Instead, we have learned that it is easier to start a revolution than to finish one. Overthrowing the monarchy was difficult, but institutionalizing democracy is harder still.

Our democratic parties are inexperienced, deferring to “big brother” India on all matters political. But India has backed an inflexible policy of containing the Maoists. And the Maoists have also been unwilling to compromise, holding on to their 19,000-troop army and their paramilitary group, the Young Communist League, and refusing to turn into just another political party.

The result has been a bitter polarization between hard-liners of democratic and Maoist persuasion.

The May deadline set for finishing our new constitution is less than 100 days away, but the document remains in rough draft. The will to complete it — among the democratic political parties and the Maoists, as well as in India — appears to be wholly lacking.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 23 Feb 2011 22:51

Arun Srinivasan, sorry for the delay. Every party worth its salt in Nepal seems to have some kinda pro-India/ok-with-India lobby, a moderate segment that will swing both ways depending on the issue, and an anti-India lobby. This is only natural as there is a big fan-following in Nepal for seeing a "big brother" in India and not understanding the core problems of Nepal as a buffer state.
CPN(ML): KP Sharma Oli (pro-India/ok with India), MK Nepal (moderate), Jhalnath Khanal (a bit of anti-India)
Maoists: Dr. Baburam Bhattarai (ok with India), Pushpa Kamal Dahal (moderate to anti-India), Mohan Baidya Kiran (viscerally anti-India)
NC: Ram Chandra Poudel and Sujata Koirala (pro-India/ok with India), Sushil Koirala and Sher Bahadur Deuba (moderate), some other riffraff (anti-India).

There are already reports mentioning that he did nt seek the consensus of MK Nepal and KP Sharma Oli and wanted to hand over Home Ministry to the maoists, a hold that the maoists will use to further their non-disbanding of YCL and stage coups in the internal security apparatus. The central problem is two-fold: 1) the maoists want to use him and his grandiose ambitions to do a MK Nepal on Nepal, 2) there is no unity in any party in Nepal and that includes CPN (ML). The point being Khanal is a puppet, whose days are numbered. The external pull that the maoists would put on Khanal will pull him down while the internal tussles will burn him and his party. MK Nepal was essentially a spineless PM worried about doing x y or z, the same issues will hog Khanal's PMship in case that even fructifies in some decent measure. There is not much semblance of unity within the maoists either, else Prachanda could have bulldozed his way through to a PMship despite claims of India playing spoilsport yada yada. Every td&h wants to be a PM, but the problem is its a thorny crown with no huge powers especially with a fractured mandate. The best course for stability in Nepal is elections, but then the status quoists are worried that they will lose their power in such an exercise.

The lack of honesty in terms of simple, progressive politics, the lack of unity within parties to come up with an agenda to win people's hearts and minds, the consequent lack of confidence that they will retain power in any future democratic exercise, the lack of an agenda across parties in terms of a Constitution writing exercise, the lack of consensus in terms of where they even see Nepal in the 21st century -- all these are morphed into a blame India, blame us, blame India, blame us, ring-a-ring-a roses. Expect one more manufactured crisis as the Constitution writing deadline nears. There will be some wailing from Nepali outlets about how terrible we are to have missed the deadline yet again. The MRP scandal is still seeing no big hopes, god save Nepal. It is getting boring to even follow the happenings there.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 25 Feb 2011 02:34

Police have seized fake Indian currency with face value of INR 19 million in the past one-and-half year from Nepal. Eighty per cent of such cases involve Pakistani citizens, said officials.

Nihar Nayak says essentially what I did in a more PC language: Will the ‘New’ left government resolve the political impasse in Nepal?
http://idsa.in/idsacomments/WilltheNewl ... yak_160211

Khanal has to negotiate some important challenges in the coming days. The first and foremost task before him is to accommodate the questions raised by former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal and senior leader K.P. Oli on the secret seven point deal. If Khanal compromises with the UML’s political agenda, then he may face stiff resistance inside his party. This could be suicidal for the UML in terms of losing its identity and may result in poor electoral performance in the coming days. Some factions of the UML may also split the party. On the other hand, if Khanal ignores the Maoist demands, then the alliance will be deadlocked.
...
Third, it is likely that the distribution of various portfolios would be a major challenge. The home portfolio became a matter of contention between the two parties. Maoists think that their holding the home ministry would pay good electoral dividends in the next elections, ensure control over internal security and provide a free hand to the Young Communist League. The portfolio could also be important for the Maoists given the possibility of integration of some PLA combatants with the formation of a separate paramilitary force.
...
Last but not least, the deadline for the already extended CA is approaching. The government has to write the constitution before that. Since the parties failed to meet the 2010 deadline, the CA was extended till May 28, 2011 to complete the peace process. That is unlikely to happen due to differences among the parties on various issues like the nature of government, federalism, integration, judiciary, etc. As result, an absolute (2/3rd) majority in the constituent assembly to adopt the new constitution looks elusive.

Outcome:

Political stalemate with high degree of confrontation — Pressure builds up on the opposition parties due to the consolidation of the left coalition. Civil society and media also feel insecure. No party is willing to compromise on its political and ideological issues. The proceedings of the House get delayed further, leading to adverse political and economic implications. Internal conflict in the UML intensifies on the continuation of the coalition with the Maoists. Opposition parties protest in the CA and the streets against the seven-point agreement. Madhesi armed groups target the ruling parties again for not accommodating their demands. Political confrontation percolates to the popular level. Political stalemate delays the promulgation of the new constitution. International community intervenes to resolve the stand off. Parties enter into a new agreement to resolve the stalemate.

Which is what is called old wine in new bottle.
Read also: http://southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cnotes7%5Cnote617.html

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 03 Mar 2011 04:10

The cat that pretended to be a tiger tucks its tails. Should give signs to CPN(ML) and NC, dont acquiesce to everything, it is in the maoists self-interest to retain some semblance of power and credibility.

The Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (UCPN-M) is preparing to join the Jhala Nath Khanal cabinet even without the home ministry, it is learnt, according to Nepal News. The Maoist agreed to join the Government even without the home ministry for now. It is learnt that there has been a tentative agreement to keep the home ministry with the Prime Minister himself for now and give the ministry to the Maoist once the segregation of combatants going for integration and rehabilitation is completed.

A Standing Committee (SC) meeting of the party at party headquarters in the morning of March 1 discussed on joining the Government. However, a decision was not reached due to absence of many SC members. Maoist vice chairman Narayan Kaji Shrestha told reporters after the meeting that we discussed on the options of joining the Government, but could not reach a decision as many SC members were absent. The Standing Committee will meet again on March 2 (today) to take a formal decision, according to Shrestha.

Meanwhile, Maoist Vice Chairman Mohan Vaidya has said that his party will continue to support the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML)-led Government from outside even in the absence of an enabling atmosphere for them to join it. He said that his party will not participate in the Khanal's cabinet if the seven-point deal signed with him is not implemented in its entirety. But we will not withdraw our support to the Government, he assured. He, however, conceded that the crucial talks between PM Khanal and Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda to resolve the current deadlock was positive and it has greatly increased the likelihood of Maoists joining the Government.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 04 Mar 2011 19:45

Stan_Savljevic wrote:The Irish will become the next test playing nation hah. Skewing the asian bloc voting again. While in the short term, they may side with bcci, eventually skin color will dominate. Time to cultivate Nepal and Maldives.

Stan saar: I totally agree with your sentiment in that dhaaga; my reading of Maldives is they seem to be friendly towards India. I have not followed Nepal; do you think Nepal is friendly towards India? Both at the people and government level?

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 05 Mar 2011 00:26

People level are usually dont care, just get along, as much as I can glean. Baba Ramdev was a massive hit, but this was around the Biratnagar area (a traditional NC stronghold and an area with a massive Bihar influence). Pashupathinath issue has cooled down quite a bit, there were 1000s of pilgrims from India who went for Sivaratri just a couple of days back. Noone had an issue as far as I can tell. Government level, there are two things: posturing and realpolitik (or response on the ground). Posturing is negative esp by the maoists and CPN(ML) (often). But when the govt runs, it has to keep all the posturing aside and run the show normally (in many terms). The maoists were a lot of bad things for India, but despite all yakkitak about rewriting the India-Nepal Friendship treaty, during their regime nothing happened. Point is, Nepal stands to gain a lot by the Treaty because it accords people from Nepal a right to work in India, WITHOUT providing the same right to Indians in Nepal. Nepalis can own property in India, but the reverse is not allowed. It allows for free border crossings for both sides, but Indians use it for tourism, visiting temples, and not many go to work in Nepal (illegally). So whatever India does/allows only enrichens their coffers. There is a huge labor shortage in India and Nepal gains from it.

Despite that, cussing India-type posturing gets votes. So that may seem like contradicting the point that people are ok. The point is people have short-term memory just as in India. Emotions get whipped easily, and can be manipulated during elections time. In fact some of the media like Kantipur dish out anti-India propaganda if they lose out on commercial contracts as happened with Dabur. It is a nexus. While people migration seems like a one-way street (in Nepal favor), yet India holds the upper hand in balance of trade/cash transfer. Indian companies make money out of Nepal, but they are not Indian companies. Nepali companies (subsidiaries would be a better word) of Indian parents (that difference technically is there). In return they are willing to underwrite media, and the media agrees to go soft on them, Indian embassy looks the other way, the parties know this and want to be underwritten to a certain extent as well, the embassy is ok to look the other way as long as the emotions/anti-Indian feelings are in check and the circle continues. Add one or two idiots who want to spoil the broth because of their stupid reasons (usually garnering votes) and the equilibrium shifts a bit. These are the Hrithik Roshan controversy, Machine Readable Passport scam, Palungtar plenum, Seven point agreement (of which there have been N of them) etc. The problem with Nepal is a corrupt political system. At least in a few states in India, some of these corrupt parties transfer a certain amount of cash to the people via trickle-down economics (like say amma rule during 91-96). Nepal is like DMK rule of 96-2001, only the oiseaules at the top get to make the cash, the people suffer.

It is a myth that china enjoys great and deep penetration inside Nepal. Sure, there are pockets where the chinis are having fun and support, some even across the Bihar-UP border with the language center coming along. The trade balance with china is even worse than with India. What can Nepal export to china? Tinker bells, the chinis do it better. Butter, it gets screwed in the harsh transport terrain, Yak meat, only the Tibetans eat that. So when Nepal says they want to balance India with china, you know thats unrealistic posturing meant to get sound-bytes. It cant be economic, it cant be political, it can be foreign policy (but that is subject to economic and political rather than otherwise, esp in Indian subcontinent). How can you balance one with the other when you can only surrender to a totalitarian exploiter? Even the vaunted hydro power prospects of Nepal cannot be shipped across the Himalayas, but only downstream. Unless of course, the chinis in a daring of "anjaneyaring feat" move the Sanjeevi to china (a laughable proposition if you know what it means to build a HV transmission and distribution system) across a mountainous terrain, with the shitty transformers and feeders that the chinis build. There are reasons why the Indian Railways is slow in providing connectivity to the NE, and almost all the same reasons apply to Nepal.

Overall, it is still a game for India to lose. And India is doing many things to lose the game. Ignoring Nepal would be no. 1 in this list. No. 0 in this list will be the fact that people are not even aware that they are ignoring. How many times have you seen news about Nepal in our media except for negative reasons (Birendra episode, throwing chappals, civil war etc.) or in normal discourse? The South Block has nt forgotten Nepal, that is an accusation that is not tenable with record on the ground. India keeps sending emissaries to ensure that some political combine can form a govt that is reasonable to realpolitik. India (and by that I mean the elite of which the media is a part) is too engrossed on all things Pakistan. Perhaps it is hatred, perhaps it is stockholm syndrome, but the fact on the ground is that the elite are blind to win-wins elsewhere, as in Maldives or Seychelles or Mauritius or Bangladesh or Nepal. There have been a 1008 positive things that have happened in BD since SHW's regime, so the posturing on the India-BD dhaaga has reduced from what it used to be under the 1/11 CTG. But nevertheless, the reams and reams of information flow on Pakistan (even with the importance associated with its dissolution for India) does nt justify the lack of focus elsewhere. If I was to understand the happenings in the South Block on a low-pass filter scale, I would track the visits of the top 2 or 3 of the IFS babus. If I know that much, there surely are more informed/well-articulating/better-reasoning out people in the media and yet the reason why they dont do it is beyond me.

The first goal is to recognize our antipathy to our neighbors (minus Pakistan) and stop focussing inwards. India has been spending the last 50-60 years too engrossed in itself and while that can be understood, explained and even justified, it is time to make win-wins a reality. Here would be a list of items that could be on the agenda (as usual, I dont know how to square the circle and the much cussed about South Block folks will know how this happens):
1) Trade imbalance: Get free transit to BD in both ways (ongoing) for making Nepal feel less itchy about their landlockedness, well-connected international power grid spanning East Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, NE India, Bengal and Bihar (it is not talked about in so many terms as I did, but this is where the situation is headed if one connects the dots), IT-vity/services sector prospects for Nepal in collaboration with Indian/India-based MN companies, agricultural productivity increase for self-sufficiency (now that is a hard task given the shady terrain, but with enormous water resources hope is there).
2) Political imbalance: Bulldoze a fresh elections on the ground so that a Constitution can be written. Well, if Baba Ramdev can have such a fan-following in Nepal, he can as well start a party there. His party would nt be as terrible as the ones that exist on the ground. That says a lot about Nepali politics. Jokes aside, if i had the power, I would do a "Pope election" with the five main contenders of Nepal (maoists, NC, CPN(ML), army and the erstwhile monarchy). Easier said than done, but if man can set his foot on the moon, stitching an agreement with Nepali poles is not that impossible. Noone wants to do it, that is the issue. Worse, noone wants to be seen doing it. The visits of Shyam Saran and SD Muni were so silent as was Sitaram Yechury's. Even Nirupama Rao's visit did nt garner much limelite.
3) Awareness imbalance: This cannot be mandated by fiat. And knowing India, the elephant will sleep till some great swat on its posterior. We like to talk a lot about how we share religion and culture in common, but reality at times is on a gray scale. We as a nation need to realize the shittiness in our system (aka we are like that onlee) before we can fix our ills (that is a broad swipe encompasing many things), but well-deserved if you ask me.

SwamyG · Post by **SwamyG** » 05 Mar 2011 01:43

Thanks for that good report.

Your 3rd paragraph of the Chinese myth is heart-warming. But your 4th paragraph on the attitude of Indians is sad but it is nothing new. Yet, I see glimmer of hope about the positive things happening in BD and elsewhere. I think India as a country should attract these small countries around it and keep them in its sphere of influence. Period. And it takes work and does not come free.

I for one have recommended earlier, in BRF, about creating newer Ministries or agencies that will look towards these countries and accord them due importance. If India wants to be the big brother, it better take care of its younger brothers and keep them happy. A lot of unhappy younger brothers can become PITA, so the big brother should not take anyone for granted. Nepal, BD, SL, Maldives and Burma should have more focus. I understand not rushing things are getting too close for comfort; but we better watch out.

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 05 Mar 2011 02:41

^^^ It would also be good if the channels run something like a two part series weekly titled "saarc this week" or something, part 1 focuses on one tourist attraction in that country and current happenings. Part 2 can focus on current state of India's relations with critics and supporters on both sides and their grievances. People in that country will get additional media coverage(it never hurts even if it doesnt help) and we would get to see something apart from regular pakistani junk speaking in english and calling himself liberal and harping upon kashmir

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 09 Mar 2011 07:11

Bad news in three parts:
http://southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cnotes7%5Cnote619.html

Of the Madhesi factions, Upendra Yadav is being tempted with the portfolio of foreign affairs. Other Madhesi Groups have declared that they will not join the government.

Next to Home, the most important portfolio would be that of Peace and Reconstruction which the Maoists have already bagged.

These developments could not have taken place unless Khanal has given in on something or there has again been a secret deal.
...
There are also reports to indicate that even if Khanal retains the Home portfolio, he will have the assistance of a minister from the Maoist ranks to help him in looking into the nitty gritty details of integration. Thus, one way or other, the Maoists are seen to have achieved their objective of having a decisive say in the integration and rehabilitation of the PLA combatants.

arunsrinivasan · Post by **arunsrinivasan** » 09 Mar 2011 12:47

@Stan_Savljevic, thanks for the detailed update.

Sushupti · Post by **Sushupti** » 11 Mar 2011 03:37

Jailed Nepal TV chief shot at by ‘hitman’ from India

Mohammad Yunus Ansari, the jailed chairman of a television channel here, was shot at by an Indian national at the high-security Kathmandu Central Jail today. Ansari, who was arrested for his suspected involvement in drug trafficking and fake Indian currency racket, sustained injuries in his neck.

Ansari was reportedly near Sobhraj when he was shot. He was rushed to Norvic Hospital, where doctors said he was “out of danger”. Ansari, 35, son of former Nepal minister Anis Ansari, is the chairman of private television channel National Television. He has been serving a jail sentence for nearly a year after having been found to be linked to a counterfeit Indian currency racket and drug trafficking.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/jaile ... a/760958/0

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 15 Mar 2011 10:58

Lotsa nepali cables are floating around courtesy the hindu. Those who are keen can do a "I knew it before" thump

.

negi · Post by **negi** » 26 Mar 2011 18:48

Chinese army chief concludes Nepal visit

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 01 Apr 2011 02:23

Indian MPs' team meets Khanal, Prachanda
http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/01/stories ... 921300.htm
Look at the contingent, all the stakeholders are there.

Leader of the delegation Biju Janata Dal MP Kalikesh Singh Deo...
Other MPs in the team included the former Prime Minister Chandrashekhar's son and Samajwadi Party leader, Neeraj Shekhar, Kamlesh Paswan and Sanjay Jaiswal from the BJP, O T Lepcha of the Sikkim Democratic Front and Pradeep Majhi of Congress.

Kamlesh Paswan has no connections to Ram Vilas Paswan, but is elected from Bansgaon (near Gorakhpur), UP. Lepcha is from SDF which has recently favored the formation of Gorkhaland.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... mal-gurung
Neeraj Shekhar is elected from Ballia (the same constituency from which PM was elected) in Bihar. Sanjay Jaiswal is elected from Paschim Champaran, Bihar. Kalikesh Singh Deo is from the erstwhile royal family of Bolangir and is married to Meghna Rajya Laxmi Rana, daughter of Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana (http://www.royalark.net/Nepal/lamb6.htm). Pradeep Majhi is elected from Nabrangpur, in which constituency lies the infamous Malkangiri district. Majhi has a stake in the process because of maoist connections to his constituency. There you go...

For those keen (and even if you aint that keen), the much-expected process has started

The tenure of the sub-committee under the Constitutional Committee (CC) formed to resolve disputes in the issues to be incorporated in the new constitution has been extended for the second time by 15 days.
...
Meanwhile, with less than two months to go before the extended term of the Constituent Assembly (CA) ends, the Communist Part of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML) leader Madhav Kumar Nepal has hinted that CA tenure could be extended. However, the UCPN-M secretary C. P. Gajurel said if the two-thirds majority helps in constitution-drafting process, it should be adopted but the aspiration of all the parties in the CA should be reflected in the process. Gajurel said his party is not for CA term extension.

Elsewhere,

Babu Ram Bhattarai said on March 30 that the accomplishments of peace and statute drafting processes are in peril as internal populism and culture of democracy are getting weaker. The Maoist ideologue remarked that the party could split if ideological debates are banned in the party, just like a pressure cooker explodes when if its vapour outlet gets blocked. "Those creating hue and cry inside the party while trying to initiate debate over ideologies are spreading the rumour that the party is splitting," said the Maoist vice chairman, during the fourth annual assembly of a community radio, 'Hamro Radio'. "How can a party that lacks democracy within itself can build a democratic constitution?" Bhattarai questioned, hinting at the internal conflicts within his party.

Wonderful, if the cleaving away from the idiot cabal that runs the show now happens, our babus and Dr. Babu could be in bed. Mazaa aagaya, seriously. Break the deadlock by divide and rule, sounds like a workable plan to me.

Atri · Post by **Atri** » 06 Apr 2011 19:11

Hindu, Christian tug-of-war over Nepal’s Pashupatinath temple intensifies

KATHMANDU: Nepal's oldest temple, the 5th century Pashupatinath shrine revered by Hindus worldwide, is in the eye of a new storm as Christians and Hindus fight it out in court over an ancient forest that belongs to the hallowed shrine.

The Supreme Court said on Wednesday it would give its verdict on two separate writ petitions filed separately by a Hindu activist and Christians on April 12. Judges Balaram KC and Bharat Bahadur Karki made the announcement after Nepal's Christians, who are on a relay hunger strike for the 15th day demanding the government give them land to build an official cemetery for the community, finally went to court, triggering a retaliation by a Hindu activist.

Kailash · Post by **Kailash** » 07 Apr 2011 13:06

Nepal Army needs Indian arms badly

The Nepali team informed about Nepali Army’s need of arms and ammunition, military hardware, vehicles, uniforms, equipment and advanced training for army officers, said Nepali team member colonel Ashok Narsingh Rana, military attaché at the Embassy of Nepal. “As far as resumption of Indian arms assistance to Nepal is concerned, government of Nepal needs to make a formal request to the Indian government,” Rana said. He said though the Indian government was ready to resume arms supply to Nepal, it wanted to do so only when the government of Nepal makes a formal request. Rana said the Indian government understood well the sensitivity of resuming arms supply at this stage when the peace process was still on. Nepali Army is in dire need of arms and ammunition for its training and other duties including for peace missions, but the government of Nepal has so far shied away from making a formal request to the Indian government for the same due to UCPN-M objection. Rana said details of Indian assistance on security would be discussed in future at higher levels.

why not capitalize on this need?

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 08 Apr 2011 02:56

Kailash wrote: why not capitalize on this need?

Why not a question that is beyond a single phrase?

abhishek_sharma · Post by **abhishek_sharma** » 10 Apr 2011 10:50

US Ambassador to India visits Bhutan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/usembassyn ... 328338285/

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 16 Apr 2011 11:09

Here is the list of nationalities for whom visa on entry is not available in nepal

1. Nigeria
2. Ghana
3. Zimbabwe
4. Swaziland
5. Cameroon
6. Somalia
7. Liberia
8. Ethiopia
9. Iraq
10. Palestine
11. Afghanistan

Any idea why the porkis are not here, whats the deal between pakistan and nepal??

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 16 Apr 2011 11:27

Any idea why the porkis are not here, whats the deal between pakistan and nepal??

Murali ji, good question and i have questioned this Nepal-Pakistan link before. Tremendous amounts of FICN is being smuggled there, support to Maoists, linking up with sleeper cells in UP being done through Nepal. India should have forced Nepal to tighten it's visa rules vis a vis Pakistan 11 years ago after IC 814 itself. Nepal is fast losing it's Dharmic Hindu pro India identity by allowing Paki-Chinese influence. Compounded by GOI's don't see the truth and anti Hindu stance, it has no clue how to go about sorting this problem. The border through Nepal is also extremely porous. GOI is just not doing enough in it's blind apathy and state of denial.

ManishH · Post by **ManishH** » 16 Apr 2011 11:46

India has a leverage in the form of Nepal Army. In fact, US is also wooing Nepal Army of late - by inducting their CoAS in some "hall of fame". India cannot afford to outright arm-twist Nepal, but I'm sure no stone is left unturned to undermine Paki perfidy in Nepal. Just that GoI isn't going to do a full-scale shankh-naad before taking the needed steps ...

Pakistani diplomat shot in Nepal

Just that GoI isn't vocal about things doesen't mean it's in "blind apathy and state of denial".

suryag · Post by **suryag** » 16 Apr 2011 13:43

Took 8-10 bullets and survived very lucky

harbans · Post by **harbans** » 16 Apr 2011 16:15

Manish ji, no the Pakistani diplomat being shot in Nepal is not indicating one bit that GOI is doing anything significant in Nepal. First Indiadoes not carry out assassinations. And i think thats the right thing. The shooting incidents in Nepal indicate gang wars/ fiefdom battles etc. It indicates Paki's are getting well entrenched in Nepal. By inviting Paki's by the plane load, Nepal is inviting trouble not only for itself but for India too. This has been going on now for some time. India even should be leveraging Thailand for that matter to restrict Paki visas and personnel. India certainly is not pro active enough. The problem lies in romanticized notions that all will be well and chalta hai attitude prevalent.

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 16 Apr 2011 19:15

harbansji,

100% correct. India for all it is doing after 26/11 to prevent further attacks, should definitely be more proactive on the nepal border. I dont think sealing the border is a good option, because in the long run, India as a power should look at absorbing nepal in one way or the other. But for now, they should flex their muscles and make sure that Nepal takes India's interests into account. I just fail to understand, what does nepal gain by pleasing pakis, if they think it is a counterweight, thats a very poor one. India needs to squeeze them to the hilt. An economic squeeze would be the way to start, other options can be excercized later. They have to make sure that nepal adds pakistan to the list of nations that will not get visa on entry.

Regarding thailand, I dont know much and hence cant comment.

Stan_Savljevic · Post by **Stan_Savljevic** » 17 Apr 2011 06:42

Murali, what happened to updates on the fencing? anything significant of late or is it same shit, new day.

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 17 Apr 2011 07:00

Stan_Savljevic wrote:Murali, what happened to updates on the fencing? anything significant of late or is it same shit, new day.

Stan sir, I will put up a detailed post. But overall, there is progress albeit at a slow pace. The refencing which was ordered has been done pretty fast, new fencing is slow but not bad.

But again, sometimes the numbers dont add up!!!

I will post in detail today afternoon.

muraliravi · Post by **muraliravi** » 17 Apr 2011 13:04

http://dailypioneer.com/332325/GMR-proj ... Nepal.html