Habituated to toppling democratically elected and legitimate state governments, and having made Andhara Pradesh government of Chief Minister Bommai its latest and 95th victim, India is trying to do the same among its neighbors. In recent months India has sent 80,000 troops to Sri Lanka and permanently placed 500 army troops in tiny Maldives.
India’s latest victim is Nepal a small land locked country of 18 million people perched high among the Himalayas. It is a monarchy working its way, albeit slowly, towards a democratic tradition. Its invoked India’s wrath for it tried to play neutral and equidistant to both India and China the two giant nations that sandwich it. Nepal’s latest sin in India’s eyes is the purchase of some arms and defense equipment from China.
India’s view that Nepal has violated the Nepal India treaty of 1950 is clearly erroneous. Most outside analysts and Nepal government itself do not feel that to be the case. India has blocked most of Nepal’s roads that carry its foreign trade. This has resulted in acute shortages of food supplies and other essential goods which in turn have lead to internal unrest and riots. India’s blockade is a deliberate and calculated move to bring down the Nepalese government that in turn will embarrass King Birendra.
There has been a vitual trade war between the two countries since bilateral trade and transit treaties expired on March 23. While India insists on negotiations on a fresh composite trade and transit treaty, Nepal is of the view that the two aspects should be dealt with separately. By combining the two aspects of bilateral issues of transit and trade India has held Nepal to ransom for years draining away Nepal’s limited and scarce resources.
It may be remembered that under various UN Conventions, a land locked country has certain transit rights. Unfortunately India has unfairly decided to extract its pound of flesh from the hapless and land locked nation. Behind all the jargon that India is using, its prime interest is to keep Nepal in line as far as its relations with China are concerned.
These tactics are not new. Nepal has faced similar blockades from various rulers of India from time to time. The brave people of Nepal and the legendary Gurkha soldiers have displayed indomitable courage and spirit in the face of such hardships. There is little doubt they will overcome this crisis also with unqualified success. We wish them success.
India has failed to realize that the hardships as a result of road block will only unite the Nepalese against India’s bullying tactics. More seriously, there are hundreds of thousands of people of Nepalese origin in India, many of them in the Indian Army. What will be their reaction to India’s arm twisting? It may also be remembered that the Gurkhaland problem has not yet been resolved in India (remember the Darjeeling unrest in West Bengal?)
Last year the head priest in one of the cardinal temples near Kathmandu did not allow Rajiv Gandhi’s wife Sonia to enter the premises of the temple. Is that why Rajiv is wreaking vengeance on Nepal?
No doubt bullying the weak is an art form in India.
Article extracted from this publication >> May 5, 1989
