India-Nepal: Time to Strengthen Ties

India’s External Affairs Minister SM Krishna has just concluded a three day official visit to the neighboring Nepal. Both the countries have signed number of pacts including infrastructural development projects and agreed to tackle the menace of terrorism. Most of these pacts and understandings aimed at boosting bilateral ties further and to instill trust among a section of Nepalese populace who have been accusing India as ‘regional hegemon’.

As a matter of fact, not all is well between India and Nepal. Two issues which show India in a bad light in Nepal: border encroachment and meddling in the internal affairs. Main opposition Maoist party and its other constituents have been blaming the government at the helms in Kathmandu for being Indian stooge and accused India for political interference in Nepalese affairs for long. Early last week Nepalese Maoists have burnt copies of Indo-Nepal bilateral treaties terming them unequal and against the interest of Nepalese people. Those bones of contention included the Sugauli Treaty, 1950 Friendship Treaty and the Mahakali water sharing treaty. These virulent anti-India tirades notwithstanding, India indicated to re-visit the 1950 Treaty and would look forward to hammer out an extradition treaty with Nepal any time soon.

For India, it is now important to ensure the peace process in Nepal is taken to its logical conclusion and see the new constitution in place. New Delhi should work with all political parties (including Nepalese Maoists) in matters relating to development of Nepal. New Delhi should take note that selective political support or affiliation would generate a climate of distrust and eventual anti-India feelings within Nepal. It is the sole responsibility of India to build security mechanisms with Nepal only to curb and curtail transaborder organized crime. It is not at all a bad idea to have a trilateral agreement between Nepal, China and India for the development of the country, as proposed by some Maoists leaders.

For Nepal, especially for the Maoists, anti-India feeling doesn’t augur well for the future of Nepal. It can have a pro-China policy, but cannot deny credit what New Delhi has been doing for their country.

Posted by Animesh Roul on January 18, 2010. Respond »

In the News: “Dialogue Key to Ending Leftist Violence in Asia”

In the Bangkok Post, Michael Vatikiotis writes that a “new threat is emerging in Asia.”

...[T]he newest non-state armed groups battling governments in the name of justice and freedom draw on what was once thought to be a dead ideology: Marxism.”

Citing examples from India, to Nepal, parts of Burma, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Thailand, Vatikiotis concludes:

... In the experience of the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, which has convened dialogue with parties in armed conflict across Asia and Africa for the past decade, resolving any conflict necessitates the initiation of dialogue, almost always in conditions which initially will not be conducive or promising.

More broadly, governments need to recognise that armed violence against the state won’t disappear when Osama bin Laden is one day captured and al-Qaeda defeated.

For millions of disenfranchised people across Asia, whether they are facing ethnic or economic marginalisation, it would appear that Marxist ideas of popular struggle still have enormous appeal.

It would be a shame indeed, if all the effort expended on defeating terrorism this past decade is not related back to the basic root of the problem, which is that when people run out of peaceful ways to see their grievances redressed, they will take up arms.

Rather than becoming obsessed with cultural and religious divides - and in the process reinforcing them - the best way to deal with the problem is to engage in a dialogue to bring about an end to violence, whatever the root cause or driving ideology.”

Read the entire op-ed here.

Posted by Matthew Shannon Stumpf on December 14, 2009. Respond »

Nepal: What Ails the Himalayan Nation?

In Nepal, the so called ‘lasting peace’ remains elusive, even after the Maoist revolution (People’s war) ended couple of years ago with subsequent peace process. Maoists have tried their hands in statecraft too with popular mandate but failed miserably to stand upto the Nepalese expectation. What exactly has gone wrong since? The answer perhaps lies with the Maoists themselves.

The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal observed recently that the “growing number of acts of violence by political parties and affiliated groups, and subsequent retaliation, could threaten the peace process.”

The country has witnessed political squabbling, targeted attacks, and covert conspiracies to topple the government with country wide protest march and shut downs, especially after the fall of a short-lived Maoist led government in May 2009. Since then, there has been a sharp rise of confrontation among political parties which falters the future stability of Nepal.

Most recently, on June 12, the general strike called by the ethnic wing of the Unified CPN-Maoist party has affected normal life in at least nine districts in Magarat Autonomous Province. This was in fact the fourth day in a row in which the Maoist-affiliated ethnic outfits have imposed a shutdown in various parts of the country protesting against the President’s move to reinstating the Army Chief. On the previous day the Madhesi Mukti Morcha, another ethnic Maoist affiliate had imposed a general strike in Terai region.

After failing to rule Nepal, even with the popular mandate, the Maoists have created chaos across the country with series of nationwide strikes to cripple normal life including business and political activities. They have also perpetrated violent clashes with political parties allying with the present government.

There is an urgency for all political parties to find pathways to end the parliamentary deadlock for the interest of Nepal’s democratic future and its people. At the same time, the Maoist leaderships (who are progressive and moderate in their thinking) should attempt to stop the violent activities of the Young Communist League (YCL) immediately. There is also an utter need for reconciliation and mutual cooperation among political parties, including the warring factions of Maoists and affiliates to figure out whether the republican system or a constitutional monarchy is imperative to protect Nepalese interest at home and abroad.

Posted by Animesh Roul on June 14, 2009. Respond »

This South Asian moment

The ASI blog is born at a moment that is eventful for many across the large subcontinent of South Asia.

• In Pakistan, the tripartite tug of war between the Taliban, Pakistani government and the US war on terror provides the foreground for yet another large wave of IDPs in a state that cannot take care of them. On the day I am posting this, Lahore has seen fresh bomb blasts with a large number of casualties.
• Nepal’s new republican democracy has been in crisis as the army and Maoist-led government locked horns, resulting in the resignation of the Prime Minister. Developments in Nepal could hold important lessons for other polities coming out of civil war.
• Parliamentary elections took place in the Maldives last week, consolidating the process of democratic transition that began with the election of President Nasheed and the ouster by the ballot-box of President Gayoom.
• India has just re-elected its ruling coalition but more resoundingly than before. The challenges the new government faces are legion. Whether it is able to use its mandate to make a positive difference on each front or whether coalition imperatives continue to form an obstacle course, remain to be seen.
• The Sri Lankan army’s long campaign to wrest territories in the control of the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam culminated in the death of the LTTE’s entire leadership. The campaign came at a huge humanitarian cost, and rehabilitation, reconciliation and a political solution must all be pursued with the same determination.

Posted by Swarna Rajagopalan on May 27, 2009. Respond »