Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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Prem
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Prem »

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world/chi ... tmU5L.html
China ‘assures’ agitating Tarai leaders it is not anti-Madhesi
China has told Nepal’s Tarai leadership, agitating for greater rights in the constitution, that Beijing is not ‘anti-Madhesi’ and believes that for a stable Nepal, Madhesis have to accommodated in a political settlement. It has also told them that burning a China flag does not make anyone ‘pro-India’, just as publicly claiming China step into to compete with India in Nepal does not make anyone ‘pro-China’. It has conveyed to Madhesi leaders India and China are in touch on Nepal, a fact HT had reported last week.Top Madhesi leaders who have been in touch with Chinese officials in recent days have told HT that Beijing was concerned about the burning of a China flag during the ongoing Madhesi agitation in Nepal’s southern plains. The Madhesi parties had condemned the incident, distancing themselves from it.Chinese officials are understood to have clarified their stance to Tarai leaders. “They told us China is not anti-Madhesi, just as Madhes is not anti-China. They added that while China does not speak on Nepal’s internal affairs, it wants a peaceful and stable Nepal, and for a stable Nepal, Madhes has to be accommodated,” a top political source told HT. The Chinese side added that by burning a Chinese flag, no one becomes ‘pro India’, just as by saying China will replace India in Nepal, as some in Kathmandu have suggested, no one becomes ‘pro China’.“The Chinese emphasised that India and China had close ties, and had even been in touch at various levels. They even joked that in Kathmandu, Chinese diplomats have told Indian diplomats they may need their help to get fuel for the embassy.” Nepal’s capital is crippled because of disruption of supplies at the southern border, and many embassies - including the Indian embassy - have written to the Nepal government asking for fuel.Meanwhile, talks between Madhesi parties and the Nepal government to end the ongoing protests against the new constitution in the Terai plains remained inconclusive on Wednesday.Leaders from United Democratic Madhesi Forum sought fresh demarcation of federal states immediately while interlocutors from the government side maintained it has to go through a process.Both sides have agreed to resume talks on Friday.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Bade »

http://news.yahoo.com/nepal-considers-a ... 29740.html
Nepal Oil's Baral said the company was looking at ways to ensure people can get home for the festival, but air-lifting in supplies from a third country would only be a short-term solution.

He said the Nepali government was talking to China, India’s rival in the Himalayas, about fuel supplies.

"If we get the nod from the government, then we can start talking to our counterparts, but even then we estimate we can only receive 10-15 percent of our requirements from China."
Melwyn

Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Melwyn »

Most elites will slink off to some foreign country, including India leaving the commoners to fend for themselves.
Reminds me of how a prominent family of India frequently disappears leaving the cattle class behind.
Paul
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news ... -hand.html

The visible hand

Either stoking anti-India sentiments or playing the China card is not a viable strategy for Nepal

- SANTOSH SHARMA POUDEL

Oct 9, 2015- On September 20, Nepal finally got its much-awaited ‘people’s constitution’. But sadly, its promulgation has divided the nation and riled one of Nepal’s giant neighbours. As a result, India has ‘unofficially’ imposed a blockade on Nepal. In particular, it has restricted the passage of petroleum products. While there are many aspects to this issue—questions of Indian interference, legality and appropriateness of such a blockade—this article analyses how Nepal enabled India to intervene in its affairs and the Nepali response to it.

All pervasive India
A couple of days before the declaration of the new constitution, India sent a special representative of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, S. Jaishankar, in an ill-timed last-ditch effort to delay the promulgation of the document and seek some amendments. The efforts failed to have the desired effect. Following the promulgation of the constitution, India gave a cold response by ‘noting’ the event and spent almost 70 percent of its statement highlighting its concerns about the political developments in southern Nepal. It was also followed by an unofficial economic blockade on Nepal. Instead of the HIT—Highways, Information Technology and Transmission lines—formula suggested by Modi in his speech in Nepal, India has ‘HIT’ Nepal with an economic blockade.
Such a move by India is neither new, nor can it be expected to be the last. Indo-Nepal relation is similar to a bad marriage where a wife depends upon an abusive husband to provide for her. The wife can neither walk away nor is she capable of being independent. Nepal is greatly dependent on India both politically and economically, which are interlinked, more than the Nepali public is willing to accept. This gives India unprecedented leverage. Politically, India influences Nepal through Nepali politicians, many of whom are willing to forgo all principles to curry favour with India. Economically, India knows that the Tarai is the choke-point of Nepal’s economy. Now that the Madhesi leaders are gaining more prominence, its focus on the plains is no coincidence. Therefore, it should not have come as a surprise to anyone when an Indian newspaper printed the seven-point demands of the Madhes-based parties as India’s demands. This is in no way implies that people in the Tarai are not loyal to Nepal. But when the country is divided, it is easier for the external powers to intervene by controlling certain choke points.

Predictable response
Given our dependency on India, it is mere wishful thinking to assume that India would not have any say in our constitution. Granted, it might be a wrong-headed policy (even some Indians are criticising the move), our response to it has not been optimal either.
First, Nepal responded the way it we usually does by stoking the flames of ‘nationalism’—which is essentially anti-India sentiment. This was expected given the ever-present anti-India sentiment among Nepalis and the additional hardships brought about by the crippling blockade. But Nepalis seem to have been carried away by emotions. Prachanda spoke of ‘cycle nationalism’. The PM in waiting, KP Oli, asked the Indian ambassador to Nepal to ‘mind his own businesses’. And #BackoffIndia was trending on Twitter.
On the one hand, these anti-India tactics are not new. Political parties have played the ‘anti-India’ card many times in the past, especially when they have been on the receiving end or in the opposition in Parliament. Such nationalism does not signal Nepal’s strength, especially when one half of the country is anti-India and the other half is looking towards India to further its demands. Given that we ‘need’ India, it will only increase the distance between the public and political leaders, which is not helpful for Nepal’s foreign policy. On the other hand, it has raised fears that the Madhes will not get the attention and respect it deserves. Because India raised the same issues as the Madhes-based parties, the Madhes Aandolan is perceived only a proxy of Indian interests.
Second, some have resorted to playing the usual China card. The CPN-UML sent some volunteers to clear a northern pass in Nepal-China border. Nepal’s ambassador to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, said that if India continues the blockade, Nepal will be forced to seek Chinese help. This is problematic on multiple levels. First, it displays the ignorance of the ambassador about Nepal’s political/economic realities and the conduct of diplomacy. Second, it sends the message that Nepal will not seek to diversify its supply-chain if India lifts the blockade. If that is the case, Nepal will always have to depend on India and ‘hope’ that it will behave like a good neighbour.
Therefore, playing the China card to pressure India is pointless and can instead be counterproductive. China is neither capable nor even willing to replace India in Nepal. China has limited interests in Nepal, and to achieve that, China does not need to displace Indian influence. Second, Nepal does not have enough clout or diplomatic experience to balance the power-plays of its two giant neighbours. Our neighbours are too big for us to be on an equal footing with them under the current circumstances, either as friends or enemies.

Let them compete
Both stoking anti-India sentiments and playing the China card are not viable strategies for Nepal. The best Nepal can do is get its act together and invite some more Chinese influence, not as a substitute to Indian influence but as a competition to India so that the southern neighbour remains on its toes.
This does not mean that we accept the blockade as ‘fate’. Instead, we have to address the genuine demands of Madhes while putting political pressure on India. Then, we have to put forth a common front to inform India about Nepali interests. We need to show our manipulative side than the confrontational side. In the long run, there is no alternative but to diversify our economic and foreign relations. China can offer us that diversity. We have to understand that we cannot hand India the gun, and then trust it not to point the weapon at us. This blockade is our litmus test. We can either pretend that it will not happen again or make sure that it does not happen in future. Goodwill from neighbours should be expected, but it should never be taken for granted.

Sharma Poudel is a PhD student of international relations at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
ramana
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by ramana »

X-Post

chetak wrote:The empire strikes back, but which empire --- nepalese or chinese??

‘Lavish’ terms force Indian NGO to pull out of quake-hit Nepal -


October 11, 2015

‘Lavish’ terms force Indian NGO to pull out of quake-hit Nepal

The NGO was planning to build 100 health posts in the country and Nepal wanted granite finish on all tops of work counters, besides heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems.

“Harsh” terms and conditions and “way too lavish” guidelines by quake-hit Nepal has forced an Indian NGO to abandon its ambitious reconstruction plans for the Himalayan country. The NGO, Bhartiya Jain Sanghatna (BJS), which was planning to build 100 health posts in the country, has now wound up its operations after the authorities refused to tone down the stiff conditions. BJS head Shantilal Muttha said the guidelines laid down by the Ministry of Health and Planning had made it an “insurmountable challenge” to complete the task and has also raised the issue with the Indian embassy in Kathmandu. He said the list of facilities, which were required to be incorporated in the project, were “way too lavish”. These, he said, included granite finish on all tops of work counters, besides heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Other facilities the Nepalese authorities wanted to be included were marble floor for corridors, waiting spaces and staircase treads, besides carpets in the office space and conference room, solar heating system, solar back up generators, hospital waste management plan and fire safety considerations. “The MoHP has mandated the provision of certain facilities for a health post which are practically impossible for an NGO to fulfill while providing reconstruction services free of cost. As per our survey/records/photographs even the existing healthcare services in Nepal do not provide such facilities through a health post. “The Nepal authorities also put the onus of taking a public hearing on us in the village we intended to build the posts. How can we do that in a foreign country? We were left with no option, but to wind up the operation,” Muttha, founder of the BJS said.

Obviously don't want NGOs to put up health posts.

Nepalese are sabotaging their own beneficiaries.
Could be under EJ influence. All it needs is one bureaucrat under influence to sabotage by demanding higher standards. Keeps Indians out.

BJS could reduce the number to 25 or 10.Why walk out?
chetak
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by chetak »

some details not in public domain earlier are covered here.

surprising, the phoren intrigues, deception, duplicity and undoubted bribery that has gone on for the "secular" constitution of a small country.

and yet we disregard very strong evidence of similar happenings in our own country



Nepal bends to ease its crisis of Constitution

Nepal bends to ease its crisis of Constitution

Realisation is dawning that the 2015 Constitution lacks legitimacy. Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai has come out in support of the Madhesi cause.

SANDHYA JAIN New Delhi | 26th Sep 2015

Opposition party supporters at a protest in Kathmandu following the crafting of the new Constitution, burn papers symbolising the Constitution of Nepal on Monday. REUTERS
The crisis in Nepal could have been handled better by Indian diplomats as the draft of the new Constitution was made public for two weeks in July 2015, to elicit popular opinion. As the overwhelming majority of people favoured a "Hindu rashtra", the Nepal government agreed to withdraw the term "dharma nirpeksha" ("secular") from the proposed Constitution and insert "freedom of religion" as a compromise. This made Indian diplomats complacent. But European diplomats became hyperactive and "dharma nirpeksha" was reinstated before the promulgation of the Constitution, keeping New Delhi out of the loop. Our external intelligence agency, Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) should have realised this beforehand.

For centuries, Nepal has been a Hindu rashtra with a secular ethos. Though Muslims are barely 4% of the population, Eid is a national holiday and Muslims get government subsidy for Haj. However, King Prithvi Narayan Shah disliked foreign interference in his kingdom and asked the Italian Capuchin monks to leave in 1769; this made the dynasty a target of the missionaries. The secular Constitution, voted on 16 September, stunned the Hindu majority. Its sole concession to Hindu sensibility is to declare the cow as national animal.

Indian Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar's last ditch effort to persuade Nepali leaders to address the concerns of the Madhesi, Tharu, and Janjati groups was doomed to fail. It is surprising neither the Ministry of External Affairs nor RAW was alert to the prospects of duplicity after Kathmandu denied Prime Minister Narendra Modi permission to hold public meetings (at Sita's birthplace at Janakpur; Buddha's birthplace at Lumbini, and the Vishnu temple at Muktinath) when he went to attend the Saarc summit in Kathmandu last year.

However, in the first sign of thaw following the uproar against the new Constitution, the authorities have introduced an explanation clarifying that "secularism" means the preservation of dharma sanskriti (religion and culture), which has been in existence for generations (sanatan), and freedom of religion and culture. The right to convert a person of one religion to another religion, or to disturb the religion of others, has been denied, despite strenuous efforts by the European Union and Scandinavian countries.

To clinch matters, New Delhi must insist that Kathmandu make the findings of the official July poll public, and honour the wishes of the people. As former Nepal Foreign Minister Ramesh Nath Pandey told this writer, "It is up to the top political leaders to act swiftly and provide good governance, shun the old habit of putting all their sympathisers in all top positions of the state. Otherwise, time will turn against them."

The six-week long unrest on the open border is hurting the land-locked country, with the Madhesis blocking border entry points and the highway, and crippling the movement of goods. In the past month, barely 200 oil tankers have crossed the border at Biratnagar, Nepal's third biggest customs point, as opposed to an average 1,500 tankers.

The bravado that a Constitution slanted against the pro-India majority population could hold has evaporated.
The main agitation is over the delineation of the provinces. President Ram Baran Yadav, a Madhesi, had warned the leaders of the Nepali Congress, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist, and Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist that any promulgation would be unwise without Madhesi consent. But he was overruled and forced to sign the charter on 20 September. Now, the unrest has taken nearly 50 lives.

However, with realisation dawning that the Constitution lacks legitimacy, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala met senior Madhes leader Mahanth Thakur on Tuesday, 22 September. Later, Sushil Koirala, UML chairman K.P. Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" met Tharu leader Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar. Significantly, Maoist ideologue Baburam Bhattarai has come out in support of the Madhesi cause.

Fortunately, UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon has refused to back a document opposed by India, and has urged political leaders to act in the broad national interest and "with continued flexibility and inclusivity". The Nepal envoy to India, Deep Kumar Upadhyay, complains that India did not convey "suggestions or reservations or expectations" in time; as amendments have to be passed by a two-thirds majority, the best possible scenario is for the parties to arrive at a political agreement. But, in a bid to placate India, Sushil Koirala's press adviser, Prateek Pradhan, and social and development advisor, Bijandev Pant, were made to resign on 21 September, after S. Jaishankar disapproved of their anti-India writings in the Nepali press.

New Delhi has made a comparative analysis of the interim Constitution of 1990 and 2015, and insists Kathmandu make certain amendments for an equitable statute. Article 84 of the new Constitution does not include the contents of Article 63(3) of the Interim Constitution, which provided electoral constituencies based on population, geography and special characteristics, "and in the case of Madhes on the basis of percentage of population". This gave the Madhes 50% of the seats in Parliament as they comprise over 50% of the population; they naturally want it restored.

Similarly, Article 21 of the Interim Constitution said various groups would have "the right to participate in state structures on the basis of principles of proportional inclusion". But Article 42 of the new Constitution dropped the word "proportional", which disadvantages the smaller groups.

Article 283 of the new Constitution states that only citizens by descent can hold the posts of President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Speaker of Parliament, Chairperson of National Assembly, Head of Province, Chief Minister, Speaker of Provincial Assembly and Chief of Security Bodies. This discriminates against large numbers of Madhesis who have acquired citizenship by birth or naturalisation. India wants their concerns addressed, but this is being fiercely resisted by the CPN-UML. Madhesis also want automatic citizenship for wives from India.

Article 86 states that the 59-member National Assembly will comprise eight members from each of the seven states and three nominated members, but the Madhesis want representation based on the population of the provinces. Further, based on the majority of the population, the five disputed districts of Kanchanpur, Kailali, Sunsari, Jhapa and Morang, or parts thereof, should be included in neighbouring Madhes provinces.

Article 154 of the Interim Constitution provided for delineation of electoral constituencies every ten years, which the new statute increased to 20 years (Article 281); the Madhesis want status quo ante.

The bravado that a Constitution slanted against the pro-India majority population could hold has evaporated, with Prime Minister Sushil Koirala forced to cancel his trip to New York, to attend the UN General Assembly meeting. Hectic negotiations are on with Madhesi and Hill groups and a peace dialogue committee is likely to be formed soon. Nepal's much anticipated Constitution of 2015 may turn out to be its shortest ever.

Sandhya Jain is a senior journalist.
Paul
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

Kanak Mani Dixit ‏@KanakManiDixit 57m57 minutes ago
Needed: a seminar on why Kathmandu- & New Delhi-based international media looked other way for 20 days, failed to call a blockade a blockade

Rubeena Mahato ‏@rubeenaa 51m51 minutes ago
@KanakManiDixit I would love to grill some people on that.

Kanak Mani Dixit ‏@KanakManiDixit 45m45 minutes ago
@rubeenaa If you are in Kathmandu, let us meet and plan and invite in person/skype the individuals concerned.

Rubeena Mahato ‏@rubeenaa 44m44 minutes ago
@KanakManiDixit done!

Kanak Mani Dixit ‏@KanakManiDixit 26m26 minutes ago
@rubeenaa OK. Think u have my tel no. Also, we need to put up the best example(s) of S-Block handout journalism practiced out of New Delhi.

.
Brabim Karki ‏@brabim7 21m21 minutes ago
@KanakManiDixit @rubeenaa Need to grill some diplomats and ex professional who could find way but didnt delve it gingerly
Paul
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

The Bhutanese do not think too highly of the Nepalese....ignore the gloating at the end but pay attention how the Bhutanese percive Indian and Chinese interests in Himalayas. The chinese are content with the status quo here and do not wish to meddle too much in Nepali affairs. Hence it is for India to sort this out. The rivals here are most likely the EJs acting thru state department
http://www.thebhutanese.bt/?p=1075
The Nepal crisis and four lessons for Bhutan
admin October 5, 2015 OPINION Leave a comment 626 Views

There is now little doubt that Nepal is undergoing an effective trade blockade by a combination of protesting Madhesi groups in Nepal’s southern border and Indian custom officials at the border who have used the excuse of the protests to strengthen checks and slow down or even stop trucks moving into Nepal.

As a result Nepal has only around a week’s supply of fuel left and the prices of essential commodities are rising, not very different from the 13 months blockade of Nepal from 1989 to 1990. The blockade apart from causing a lot of hardship to the Nepalese has considerably worsened India-Nepal ties.

The dispute started with the new Nepal Constitution, aspects of which was not found acceptable to large sections of the Nepalese population comprising of Indian origin Madhesis, hill tribes and low caste Janjatis and other smaller groups who make up more than 50 percent of the population. Of this the biggest and most active group are the Madhesis inhabiting Nepal’s Tarai or southern plains.

If a comparison of the Tarai was made to Bhutan it would be our Assam and Bengal duars that Bhutan originally conquered from neighboring Indian princely states and then lost to the formidable British empire after the duar wars.

Drawing from the brief outline above are several relevant observations and also lessons for Bhutan

Nepal’s own southern issue and its hypocrisy
From the 1990’s during and after the southern problem in Bhutan, Nepal vociferously criticized and even defamed Bhutan not only in the region but also on the international stage. An army of Nepalese politicians, aristocrats, bureaucrats, journalists and activists mainly from the elite and dominant upper caste Nepalese section went around the world battering Bhutan’s image.

Their intervention was over the fact that they shared the same ancestry and culture with the people in the south and so wanted to influence the course of events in southern Bhutan. One of their major criticisms was over Bhutan’s citizenship laws. The issue of a demographic invasion of Bhutan, illegal immigration, laws of the land and the fate of Sikkim fell on deaf ears in Kathmandu. It must be clarified here that the majority of southern Bhutanese are patriotic and progressive citizens and it was only a disgruntled few who created problems in the 90’s.


Now years later the same group of mainly upper caste people who form Nepal’s ruling class are accused of coming up with various provisions in the new Constitution in Nepal that alienates the Indian origin Madhesis and would make it more difficult for their children to become citizens if they married outside Nepal. This is seen as being a major problem for the Madhesis who have close ties to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and marry from there. Though being Nepalese citizens it also excludes many of them from several high offices. The Constitution framing process dominated mainly by the upper caste elite of Nepal also limits the political muscle of Madhesis which they anyhow have due to their large numbers.

In short this shows the high levels of hypocrisy of the elite Nepalese section in Kathmandu who pointed fingers at Bhutan in the 90’s but are now accused of worse by their own citizens.

The Indian involvement
The Indian government has got involved in the current Nepal crisis for three reasons.

The first was that it was involved in the early days of brokering peace in the civil war between the Maoists and mainstream parties (who themselves did not hesitate to turn to India for support and shelter in their own early struggles). In short India was invited to be an interested broker between various competing factions all of whom while maintaining a stringent nationalist line in public, competed with each other behind closed doors to curry favor from New Delhi. Frequent trips were made to Delhi by Nepalese politicians of all hues and various in principal assurances were given there. Indian PM Narendra Modi also made what at the time was a popular visit to Nepal and all looked well.

Secondly the Madhesis comprise of both what could be defined as indigenous groups who at some point of their history was under Indian princely states and also later migrant Indians mainly from UP and Bihar. Thus many had Indian origins and close cultural ties with India. More importantly instability and violence in these areas could affect and boil over into the neighboring UP and Bihar region and especially in Bihar which has important state elections coming up.

The third reason for the involvement was that given Nepal’s diplomatic blunder of unwisely using the China card one too many times over the decades, India was left feeling insecure. It then saw the Madhesi people as a golden opportunity to have a strong pro-India support base within Nepal and so hedge against Chinese influence in Nepal. But since it takes two to Tango the Indian government also had to cater to the political interests and aspirations of the Madhesi people.

The failed China card
An often quoted theory by hardcore nationalists in Kathmandu is that if India acts too tough then Nepal can turn lock,stock and barrel to China turning the China card into a whole pack of cards. This was in spite of the fact that there were no public or institutional assurances given from China.

Both the 1989-90 blockade and the recent ongoing unofficial blockade by India has shown how fundamentally flawed and unrealistic this theory is.

By the admission of Nepal’s own leaders Nepal is currently down to a week’s supply of fuel in spite of stringent fuel rations. In the past few weeks Nepalese leaders at the senior most levels have been hoarsely and repeatedly begging China to send fuel and supplies but there has been no response. China has so far not even sent the requested airplane fuel and as a result Nepal is asking international airlines to bring their own fuel.

a reInalistic assessment of where Nepal stand’s on China’s priority list, China has not even bothered to properly repair the two highways from China into Nepal that was damaged in the quake months ago.

Now given that China’s economy is around five times that of India’s and its military is also much bigger, the Nepalese nationalists always calculated (in their own heads) that China would swoop down from the high Tibetan plateau and rescue poor Nepal from big brother India.


Yes, India and China are rivals and China is trying to strengthen its presence in South Asia and nothing would please China more than weakening India. However, where Nepal’s leaders have miscalculated their China card is both in terms of Geography and Strategy or Geo-strategy.

In terms of Geography the Tibetan plateau is one of the biggest and harshest land masses on earth. China with great difficulty built highway roads and later a single railway line to the plateau.
It would rather use this transportation system to maintain control and stability on the bigger and more important Ugyhur Xinjiang and the Tibetan Plateau, both of which are far away from the mainland, than effectively supply seasonally disgruntled Nepalese in far away Nepal.

When you look at strategy, Nepal is too small and weak and shares too many ties with India to be an effective counterfoil to India for the Chinese. The Chinese also know that deep down Nepal has its own existential fears about red China.

Instead China already has a big, powerful and an all season asset to counter India in South Asia in the form of Pakistan. A bulk of Pakistan’s military infrastructure from high tech missiles and planes to low tech military aid that targets India comes from China. China also gives huge aid and investment to Pakistan including working on a new silk route.

For China its small Himalayan moves with Nepal or any attempted move with Bhutan is not the main game with India. It is only to irritate India or throw it off balance and then move out when push comes to shove. China does not really need Nepal or Bhutan in its strategic calculations as it already has an overwhelming geo-strategic edge with its massive military capabilities along its borders with India all the way from Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh as demonstrated in the 1962 war.

For India, on the other hand, after the 1962 war it realized its huge vulnerabilities on its eastern borders and has been sparing no expense and effort in strengthening its position including ensuring that it has stable and friendly buffer states in Nepal and Bhutan without too much Chinese influence. Coupled with this is India’s ultimate nightmare of a two front war with Pakistan in the West and China in the East. In short India needs Nepal and Bhutan more than China which already has bigger fish to fry with Pakistan.

In many ways the former elected government of Bhutan totally underestimated the depth of insecurity and even paranoia of India when it comes to China.

Good leadership separates Bhutan and Nepal
While India was blockading Nepal in 1989-90 and was also cancelling all its planned hydro project investments, the much smarter Monarchy of Bhutan in the form of His Majesty the Fourth Druk Gyalpo ensured increased aid for Bhutan and got hydro power investments in Bhutan originally intended for Nepal.

There is no doubt that there are genuine issues between India and Nepal but the Nepalese leadership had made a mess of things and a series of diplomatic blunders to make a bad situation worse.

The situation has reached such a level that popular politics in Nepal and even to a certain extent Nepalese identity is being defined with being anti-India. Even domestic issues are no longer seen as being domestic and there is a foreign hand seen at every corner. While there is no doubt that India for its own security interests takes a keen interest in Nepal there is also a lot to blame on the failure of Nepal and particularly the Nepalese elite who have not given a coherent, unified and wise leadership to its people.

The very worldly and wise trait of the Bhutanese Monarchy extends all the way from His Majesty the First King.

Remember John Claude White who wrote highly of the First King and helped strengthen ties between Bhutan and the then British Empire.

The same John Claude White according to British sources was an arrogant imperialist as a Political Officer in Sikkim who, to put independent Sikkim’s Royal Family in line, locked up the then Chogyal and his wife in their palace without food and water for a while. He then also initiated the British policy of settling in large numbers of Nepalese into vacant Sikkim land.

In contrast John Claude White shared a close friendship and had deep respect for the much tougher but also wiser First King of Bhutan as evinced in his own memoirs.

Bhutan’s Monarchy in that sense has been able to make the best out of a tough neighborhood and the tough leaders in it. The Bhutanese people over the decades have trusted the Monarchy to make the right moves in terms of foreign policy be it with the British or India and the Monarch’s have in turn exercised great wisdom and long term foresight in their dealings.

In contrast the scene in Nepal has been one of chaos where the leadership has consistently failed and as a result pushed its country and people to the brink on several occasions. As is evident the end result is a lack of stable institutions in Nepal and policies and issues seem to be decided by volatile groups on the streets.

In nature scientists have observed something called ‘swarm intelligence’ or ‘group intelligence’ whereby certain species that have such higher levels of collective intelligence do better be they certain birds, insects like ants or even Wildebeests. On the other hand some species even if they have high levels of individual intelligence like the Zebra cannot function well as a group together making them easier targets for predators and as a result are smaller in numbers and less successful then the less glamorous wildebeests.

The ordinary Bhutanese may not be your average Einstein but the Bhutanese society and as a nation under the wise leadership of the Monarchy has a high level of this instinctive ‘group intelligence’ and an understanding to work for long term benefits that has served Bhutan well.

By Tenzing Lamsang

Editor-in-Chief
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by brvarsh »

May be it is too controversial thing to ask but what has been a general analysis of the feelings with in our Army's Gorkha battalions with Nepalese Gorakhas service with honors about what is going on in Nepal and how it impacts India and the blockade? Is there a similarity between how Pakistan tried to impact Sikhs serving in Army with Punjab chaos and how indirectly (may be) Chinese trying to do with Gorakhas? Hope Army and Intelligence have an eye on that perspective.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

Madhesis protesting Kthmandu lutyenites. Curiously there is some synergy between the Kathmandu elites and their Delhi counterparts

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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 345255.cms
"India relies on new Nepal PM to resolve crisis over Constitution"
The newly elected deputy Prime Minister Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar has promised that the new Constitution will be amended with revision on the federal structure in order to address the demands of agitating people in Tarai-Madhes.

The proposed changes include delimitation of constituencies, proportionate representation of disadvantaged groups in the administration and redrawing of provinces. Gachhadar was quoted as saying they might go back to the eight provinces agreed earlier rather than seven. But India says it will wait to see what happens.

While India had consulted the Nepalese leadership on the broad areas to be covered by the Constitution, it has refrained from getting into the nitty-gritty of drafting, largely to give the Nepalese space and avoid being accused of micro-managing the process. In summer, it became clear that the "hill" elite wanted to keep the 'plains' people out of the power structure. Under cover of holding a "dialogue" with the Madhes parties, the 'Big Three' rammed through 200 articles of the Constitution on a single day by issuing a whip to the Constituent Assembly members while also holding the vote on the entire Constitution.

India was caught flat-footed and rushed to limit the damage. The setback to ties is so severe that it may take months, even years to resolve. The Modi government had thought the PM's successful visit would be enough to repair what has been a difficult relationship for decades. But the latest developments upset all such calculations.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

PM Oli was the one who told Indian Amb to mind his own business when he tried to bring up the Madhesi subject.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

China is not cooperating with Nepal in the opening of more supply routes per Madhesi Twitterati. This should help India in putting more pressure on Oli.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir ... a-34492873
The line of parked cargo trucks stretches at least 18 miles (30 kilometers) from the Nepalese border. Some have been waiting on the Indian side for 45 days.

On the other side, hundreds of ethnic Madhesis are protesting against Nepal's new constitution. With them blocking the road, Indian truck drivers say they're stuck

The border impasse — now in its third week — has halted the majority of shipments into Nepal and left the Himalayan nation hobbled by a shortage of fuel and goods. Nepal said Thursday one of its newly appointed deputy premiers, Kamal Thapa, was invited to go to New Delhi on Saturday for talks to resolve the stalemate.

Nepal has accused India of imposing an economic blockade to support the Madhesis, who have strong links with India, in their demand for more constitutional representation. But India insists the problem is Nepal's, and that Indian truck drivers won't resume their deliveries because they are afraid to cross into the middle of a protest camp.

There, the Madhesis have erected tents and set tires alight. On Wednesday, some 1,500 were rallying at the camp, and no Indian or Nepalese police or border guards were patrolling anywhere nearby.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Bade »

So India is playing the China card back on Nepal... Indian market access for China being larger than Nepal and sensitivity on Tibet issues for China. Going forward Nepal has very few choices...due to the economic growth in India.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Prem »

DPM Thapa leaves for Delhi, to meet Swaraj on Sunday evening
http://thehimalayantimes.com/kathmandu/ ... y-evening/
KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa will meet Indian Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Sunday evening.Making his schedule in New Delhi public today, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs informed that the meeting would take place at the Hyderabad House at around 7:30 pm tomorrow.Before that, MEA Secretary S Jaishankar would call on Thapa at the Hotel The Oberoi at 2:30 pm tomorrow, according to the Ministry.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa has left Kathmandu for New Delhi of India on Saturday afternoon to ask the southern neighbour to ease supplies of essential goods including petroleum products which were obstructed instantaneously after the promulgation of new constitution in Nepal.Accompanied by Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and senior officials from the Ministry of Commerce and Supplies, Thapa will hold talks with senior Indian officials today itself.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Prem »

http://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/we ... itution-3/

Welcoming new Constitution
NOW, ITS EXECUTION

India has extended its best wishes to the people on the promulgation of the new Constitution and requested to resolve all problems amicably. However, it has yet to send a message of congratulation. Interestingly, almost all big countries have expressed their concerns over the agitation going on in the Tarai region against the adoption of the Constitution.

The Constitution was adopted with 507 votes out of 601 members, which comes to about 84.3 per cent of the seats, whereas, in terms of popular votes, it had the support of 6.8 million under First-Past-the Post (FPtP) and 7.2 million votes under Proportional Representation (PR). In the election, about 9.5 million votes were cast. In 2013, the total population was estimated at about 29 million against the last census report (2011) of 2,64,94,504 population, out of which only 12 million people were registered as voters. Sadly; about 19 million people, who remained unconnected with the process of representation, saliently question the mandate of the CA, which left them behind the entire process.The three major parties who have joined hands together had secured about 6.8 million votes under FPtP and about 6 million votes under PR, have 471 seats covering about 79 per cent of seats. Actually, the electoral system was responsible for the disproportional representation, which helped develop a psychology of a giver who could give their own constitution to those, who were in the minority and in the status of a receiver. Moreover, the dissenting groups in every party were not allowed to deliberate freely on crucial issues. They had to obey the undeclared whip of the parties. Some of them had to withdraw their amendment motions. Ironically, the newly born Constitution that required amendments before it was promulgated has registered amendments and agitations are continuing against it.

Instead of executing the new Constitution, the major parties are engaged in sharing the seats of power, and contesting elections, even as a new prime minister has already been sworn in, which may, very likely, delay the patching up work with the agitating parties and also the implementation of the new Constitution. As a result, it may water down the people’s aspiration of getting a duly elected federal government along with provincial and local governments on time.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by member_29172 »

^^ another country filled with maoists and an increasingly anti Indian attitude, this is going to bite us in the a$$ fairly soon. So, is Nepal still a Hindu state or is it a secular nautanki like us now?
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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http://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/indi ... with-beef/
JANAKPURDHAM: Local Muslim community and the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) have clashed at Kanma Bazar in Bihar state of India on Sunday.

A constable from Nepal’s Armed Police Force was also injured in the clash.

The confrontation ensued between the SSB personnel and local Muslim youth when the SSB arrested a local in possession of beef and threw the meat into a pond, at Kanma Bazaar, that borders Samshi of Mahottari district of Nepal.

He was nabbed by the SSB during a routine police check while trying to enter Nepal in possession of the meat, which is banned in both nations.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

Nepalis are looking for a goodwill gesture to allow some supplies for festival season. Probably want us to intercede with Madhesis
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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Well, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 443333.cms
Swaraj also told Thapa that whenever the disruptions, or protests on the Nepalese side have slightly eased India has tried to send supplies across the border and five to six border crossing have been consistently in use but the worst affected entry point has been Rauxul and Birganj, which has been blocked by the agitators.

Indian truckers and other vendors have also expressed fears about their safety, she told Thapa, who is also the coordinator of a three-member team formed by the Nepal government to hold talks with Indian authorities to end blockade of key trade points by Indian-origin Madhesi people who are opposed to splitting the country into seven provinces.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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http://abcnews.go.com/International/wir ... s-34569539
The deputy prime minister of fuel-starved Nepal said Monday that Indian officials have assured him of increased supplies.

Kamal Thapa returned home after meeting in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj....

Thapa said the Indian leaders promised that fuel trucks lined up at the crossing would be rerouted and that more fuel would be supplied through other border points to ease the shortage.

"The Indian leaders have assured me that there will be no obstructions of the flow of trucks to Nepal from the points that are not blocked, fuel supply will be improved, and trucks that were stuck would be rerouted," Thapa told reporters at Kathmandu airport.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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"At India-China Border, Nepal Telecom Connects Indian Soldiers, People"
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/at-india ... le-1234556
About 20,000 people and even security personnel deployed beyond the hill-town of Dharchula in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand along the India-China border are dependent on Nepal Telecom to communicate, Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju has written to defence and telecom ministries.

They have to depend on Nepal Telecom because no Indian telephone service provider currently has coverage in these areas.

Mr Rijiju recently visited the 625 kilometre-long "middle sector" - that runs along the watershed from Ladakh to Nepal and spreads across Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. In his two day trip Rijiju visited far-flung areas Nabhidang, Gunji, Budhi, Malpa and Gunjee along the border.

"I find this unacceptable," Mr Rijiju told NDTV. Apart from security concerns - that security forces also use the Nepal Telecom network to talk to their families - the fact that there is no Indian telecom service available is a matter of concern if not shame, the minister said.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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"Nepal Prime Minister to Visit India Soon: Envoy"
http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/nepal-pr ... oy-1234625
Kathmandu: Nepal's new Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli is likely to visit India soon, the Indian envoy in Nepal said on Tuesday, a day after the visit of Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa to New Delhi to discus hiccups in ties following the Madhesi-led blockade of main trading points.

Speaking to reporters at the Indian Embassy in Nepal, India's Ambassador to Nepal Ranjt Rae said that Mr Thapa, during his three-day visit to New Delhi, discussed with Indian leaders the upcoming visit of Mr Oli.

Mr Rae, however, said the date of the visit is yet to be finalised.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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Himalayan Challenge from Frontline...worth a read.
http://www.frontline.in/world-affairs/h ... epage=true
A major development in Nepal’s polity since jana andolan II has been the rise of an increasingly self-assertive Madhes, or the terai areas lying between the hills and the Gangetic plains. The area was annexed into the kingdom by the Gorkhas in their first flush of expansion. Much of it was ceded to the East India Company in 1816 at the Treaty of Sagauli and returned after 1857 as a token of gratitude following assistance rendered by the Ranas in suppressing the uprising. The dhoti-wearing Madhesi, speaking Hindi or its dialects and often with family connections across the border in Bihar or Uttar Pradesh, has never been accepted by the hill-centric ruling elite of Kathmandu as equal citizens. The famous geographer and anthropologist Harka Gurung is said to have remarked that Madhes had to be reconciled to its status as conquered territory. Given these attitudes, it is not surprising that Madhesis were targeted as Indians during the Hrithik Roshan riots of December 2000. The Madhesi still recalls that in living memory he was obliged to carry identity documents for visiting the capital.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by member_29172 »

Why not make Nepal an Indian protectorate/State? It's the perfect size, plus most states get to keep their culture while learning a new one at the same time. It ensures Nepal remains stable, gets economic growth it needs, keeps the maoist takeover threat away and won't use Nepal as a springboard for pakis,cheenis,amreekans or other anti India forces to jump into India.

It has been a part of India for the majority of it's existence, why not once more? We need each other and it'd be excellent if the dharmic states merge again. I hope MHA takes this seriously.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Bade »

It will take time and demographic changes will take its course. Wait and be patient. Nepal is not going anywhere without India as a state in the union or otherwise.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Kakkaji »

Alka_P wrote:Why not make Nepal an Indian protectorate/State?
I hope MHA takes this seriously.
Good suggestion!

Why don't you lead an army to conquer Nepal and make it a state of India? :roll:
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by member_29172 »

Kakkaji wrote:
Alka_P wrote:Why not make Nepal an Indian protectorate/State?
I hope MHA takes this seriously.
Good suggestion!

Why don't you lead an army to conquer Nepal and make it a state of India? :roll:
Sure, I am heading there next saturdin wanna come? :D

good thing we don't even need vijja bijja, no time lost on paper work, let's go on saturdin and come back sundin evening.

P.S.: Plese bring your own guns, my other one is in the repair shop.

On a serious note, there's a difference between political merging and outright invasion...
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Prem »

Bade wrote:It will take time and demographic changes will take its course. Wait and be patient. Nepal is not going anywhere without India as a state in the union or otherwise.
This is precisely the reason Madhes are kept out of power by Hillites. The new constitution bring equality and soon Madhes will become deciding factor in Nepal's future with India .
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by mayo »

Subu Swamy ji is tweeting about some US nuclear deal with Nepal!
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Rahul M »

nepal as another Indian state doesnt add much to India. but nepal as an independent but firmly pro-India country would be a big gain for us. it's something we should be able to manage otherwise we have no job playing power games.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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Rahul M wrote:nepal as another Indian state doesnt add much to India. but nepal as an independent but firmly pro-India country would be a big gain for us. it's something we should be able to manage otherwise we have no job playing power games.
Nepal is a resource rich country, mostly Hindu, has similar culture. Their own resources can be utilized to develop and integrate them in India. I doubt the influx of maoists and chrislamists will keep Nepal pro-India or even Hindu for long, I give it 10 years, you'd be seeing EJs roaming around everywhere by then. It's in our best interest and the best interest of Nepalese (if they care about their culture, religion and national future) to be an Indian state.

Nepal is going to be anti-India sooner or later and it's too valuable an ally to lose.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Rahul M »

if we cant prevent those factors in nepal we cant prevent them in India either. meaningless landgrabs are not going to help us in anyway.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Paul »

Nepal is already as anti India as it can get. All this anti Indian attitude is a legacy of King Mahendra's attitude encouraged by the Brits. This has been taken over by the Kathmandu lutyenites. For all these years Madhesis were at the bottom of the pile. Now they are agitating for their rights. Madhesis hold all the cards. The Kathmandu lutyenites are looking for PRC support economically but China cannot lay a pipeline just cuz they want to gravitate in other direction.

Indian strategy is to get Madhesis on high table as equal partners. Once that happens they will prevent a complete gravitation to PRC or equidistance as was happening in the past.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Bade »

In another decade, it will be in Nepal's economic interest to tilt more towards India. This is an interim uncertainty that even the non-Madhesis have. It will all be decided by the absolute size of the Indian economy and if they can partake in that more easily and benefit as a result. So yes patience will be what will pay dividends in the long run for both Nepal and India. We just have to manage the transition to an even closer-knit economic bond. Everything else will fall in place.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Prem »

China refuels Nepal as India fails to deliver

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b49e1840 ... z3pny0nwCg
H
China is to supply fuel to its impoverished neighbour Nepal for the first time, amid a halt in Indian supplies that has severely disrupted life in the mountainous country still struggling to recover from April’s massive earthquake.Nepali officials flew to Beijing on Monday to negotiate the terms of the petroleum purchase deal, which will in effect end the longstanding role of India’s state-owned Indian Oil Company as Nepal’s monopoly fuel supplier.Nepali government officials have said the initial transaction will lead to China providing 1.3m litres of fuel, but analysts suggest it could evolve into a long-term arrangement that would end Nepal’s dependence on India.The deal comes as Nepal and its 28m people face crippling fuel shortages amid severe disruptions to supply from India.“Nepal is reeling,” Kanak Mani Dixit, publisher of Kathmandu-based Himal Southasian magazine, told the Financial Times. “The hospitals don’t have oxygen. The ambulances don’t have gasoline and the roads are empty. All industry has come to a standstill.”New Delhi denies imposing a deliberate fuel blockade on its poorer neighbour, blaming the disruption on the unwillingness of Indian truckers to pass through parts of Nepal where residents are protesting — sometimes violently — against a recently adopted constitution.But after nearly a month of fuel and cooking gas shortages, most Nepalis believe the crisis is the result of New Delhi seeking to force the country to change the document.
“India is trying to blunderbuss its way to forcing Nepal to be a client state and do its bidding so the Indian state can get what it wants,” said Mr Dixit. “But India must understand that it is playing with fire, which will ultimately not do itself any good.”Many Madhesi politicians are aggrieved that the plains — home to about half of Nepal’s population, including people from other ethnic communities — was not designated as a distinct province but divided into different parts of multiple provinces. Madhesis have seen this drawing of state boundaries as a deliberate plot to weaken their political influence.New Delhi has not called publicly for any particular changes, but has urged Nepal to find a “mutually acceptable solution” that will satisfy all parties.The tension between Kathmandu and Delhi is an unfortunate turn in a relationship that was poised for strong improvements a year ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi became the first Indian premier in 17 years to visit Kathmandu.In an emotional address to Nepal’s constituent assembly in November last year, Mr Modi won many hearts by speaking in Nepali, emphasising the ancient cultural, spiritual and social ties between the two countries, and promising to help boost Nepal’s physical and economic “connectivity” to India.India also won many hearts with its rapid rescue and relief efforts after Nepal’s devastating earthquake in April.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by dsreedhar »

So the dragon has entered in Nepal now. Interesting how this all plays out and has strategic implications to India in future.
China is riding high on its economic and military power for now.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

Post by Prem »

No relevance of talks now, says UDMF
http://thehimalayantimes.com/nepal/no-r ... says-udmf/
The United Democratic Madhesi Front which has been blockading border, particularly the Birgunj-Raxaul entry point for weeks, today said there was no relevance of holding talks with the government.The UDMF response came after police cracked down on protesters at the Birgunj-Raxaul border and the administration clamped curfew after police firing resulted in the death of an Indian citizen.Hridayesh Tripathi, Vice-chair of Tarai Madhes Democratic Party said the environment for resolving issues raised by protesting parties was gradually building, but the government had spoilt it with its action at the Birgunj-Raxaul border entry point today. He said the government would now be solely responsible for the consequences.
Talks between government negotiators and UDMF representatives yesterday were termed positive as government negotiators told the protesting parties that the government was positive about amending the constitution to address their grievances regarding provincial boundaries on the basis of political understanding.Tripathi said the government was staging a drama of talks. It had, in fact, been preparing to mobilise the army and activate the Armed Police Force and expand the prohibited areas to foil the movement of Madhesis and Tharus.He said the government did not appear serious about negotiations and only used talks as a strategy to crackdown on the agitating forces.We condemn the government’s conspiracy to foil the dialogue,” read a release issued by UDMF at a press conference here today jointly signed by Tripathi, Karna, Federal Socialist Forum-Nepal Vice Chair Lalbabu Raut, senior leader of Tarai Madhes Sadbhawana Party-Nepal Ram Naresh Ray and Chair of National Muslim Struggle Coalition Samim Ansari.
The front said in its release that the government’s crackdown on Madhesi forces had ended the relevance of talks. “Therefore, we urge the government to act responsibly to prepare conducive grounds for talks,” the front added in its release.When asked if the death of an Indian citizen in today’s police firing was evidence that the movement in Madhes was being infiltrated by Indians, Tripathi said there was one Indian citizen who was martyred in the 2006 popular movement too.UDMF negotiator Laxman Lal Karna said often the government had imposed curfew to fire at protesters indiscriminately and the curfew in Bara today could also be used as a pretext for such action.Karna said since there was open border between the two countries, people’s movement was not restricted.“Should the police kill an Indian citizen if he/she comes on this side of the border,” Karna wondered. He said today’s incident had further angered the Madhesis and it could lead to ethnic tension in the country.
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Re: Nepal and Bhutan News and discussion

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Chinese fuel finally arrives in Kathmandu
http://thehimalayantimes.com/business/c ... kathmandu/
KATHMANDU: Finally, the petrol provided by China as a grant has arrived in Kathmandu on Monday evening.Nepal Oil Corporation, Thankot depot chief, Rabin Sharma, told the Rastriya Samachar Samiti that the first lot of grant has arrived in the depot today.Of total 1.3 million litre fuel pledged by China, as much as 102,000 litre oil has arrived in Kathmandu, according to the NOC.After fuel supplies to Nepal from India dwindled heavily for last one month, the government had initiated process to import fuel from China.The NOC had sent 12 tankers to the Chinese city of Kyirong to bring fuel last week.
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