How India lost rapport with Nepal...

On 28th October, we got two major news stories from Nepal. First, Bidhya Bhandari was elected as the first woman President of the country; second, Nepal inked its first fuel agreement with China thus ending decades long monopoly by India.

While the news of a woman leader being elected as the President of a country was news that brought cheers to many of us in India as we saw it as a sign of decreasing gender inequality in the Subcontinent, but the other one about the fuel deal with China surely upset many on both sides of the border.

India and Nepal had a historic bonhomie because of the similar cultural and social structures. India was in fact one of the first nations which helped Nepal with relief measures when the earthquake struck it.The relief work of Indian army and other volunteer groups was lauded by one and all, until of course the Indian media started harassing the victims with insensitive and completely apathetic questioning. Even after the media fiasco the work of other India agencies
was widely acclaimed.

The problem between the two nations started shortly after the Nepalese constitution was adopted by the elected constituent assembly of a sovereign country. Some groups in the southern part of Nepal along the Indo-Nepal border started protesting against the constitution on the pretext that the Madhesi people and their interests have not been properly dealt with. The Indian government in an unprecedented move decided to formally pressurise Nepal to not accept the constitution. This was perhaps the first time that Indian government formally tried to interfere in the internal matters of Nepal which is a sovereign country.

This formal acknowledgement of the grievances of the Madhesi people gave a fillip to their movement and within days the protests became violent. The major roads that were used for transportation of fuel from India to various destinations in Nepal passed through the region marred by protest and violence. Many transporters refused to enter landlocked Nepal due to security concerns. The Nepal government tried to allay their fears by stating that it will guarantee the safety of the trucks entering from India. But even after such Guarantee of safety the trade did not resume.

All this led to acute fuel shortage in Nepal which was further worsened by the festive season and the chilling cold season which was just beginning. With scores of trucks lining  up on the border and refusing to enter Nepal the situation kept on deteriorating with fuel rationing across the Himalayan nation. The Nepalese people felt that India was using its fuel monopoly to force Nepal's hand.They are accusing India of perfidy.

China, at this point, tried to quell the fuel dearth by agreeing to donate 1.3 million litres of petrol to Nepal. Nepal which was irked by the hegemonic attitude of India thus decided to sign its first fuel agreement with China. China National Oil Corporation signed the MoU with Nepal government, ending a decades-long monopoly by India.

The relations between New Delhi and Kathmandu have reached an all time low following the recent events. The facade that is left of the good relations is also eroding quickly. It is the need of the hour for both the countries to iron out their differences as sour Indo-Nepal relations are in the interests of none. The business on the Indian side and the common people across the border are both on the losing side if this ebb in relations is not addressed with utter urgency and sincerity.