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As Nepal endorses new map, bilateral ties under scanner

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Even as tensions along the Line of Actual Control deescalate following pull back of troops both by China and India ahead of military-level talks, there is fresh worry for India now on the Nepal front.

The Nepal Parliament has equivocally given a thumbs up to the country’s new political map proposed by Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli led government which includes Lipu Lekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani. India claims these areas as its own territory.

For Prime Minister Oli, who came to power riding high on a feverish anti-India nationalist pitch, this isn’t just about sending a terse message to India regarding border disputes but also a potent pitch to deflect attention from demands of his resignation echoing loud and clear on the domestic front. He has been successful in changing the political narrative within Nepal with the opposition Nepal Congress also welcoming his proposed new map, now ratified by the Parliament.

Home Minister, Rajnath Singh, solution, Doklam standoff, India, China
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But what was the trigger? The inauguration of the “new road to Mansarovar” in the middle of the raging COVID pandemic on May 8 by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, experts say, upset Nepal. A portion of this road incidentally cuts though Nepal’s territory and connects to Tibetan Autonomous Region of China through the Lipu Lekh pass. As per the Sugauli Treaty inked between the British rulers of India and Nepal in 1816, all areas on the eastern flank of the Mahakali river (passing though modern day Uttarakhand) including Lipu Lekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, which are at the northwestern edge of Nepal, on its side.

With the border dispute spanning decades, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Nepal in 2014, a first for any Indian PM in 17 years, the then PM of Nepal Sushil Koirala also raised this issue again. The two PMs agreed to resolve the issue on a priority basis and agreed to Foreign secretary level talks but six years down the line, tensions continue between the two nations.

ALSO READ: India-China talks lead to a breakthrough, both sides disengage in Ladakh

Incidentally, when PM Modi visited China  in 2015, Nepal had waved the red flag yet again when India and China had agreed to use Lipu Lekh pass for trade and transit, saying it cannot be kept out of the ambit and demanded that they to be consulted.

While India hasn’t taken to Nepal’s new political map lightly, for PM Oli it’s a question of survival. Is he playing to the unseen hands of China which finds itself globally cornered and isolated over its mishandling of the Covid pandemic. Is China trying to use Nepal as a pawn to hit out at India to further its own territorial designs? Is landlocked Nepal, which has traditionally depended on India and its ports for its commerce, playing with fire.

During the economic blockade following the Madhesi agitation, Nepal ended up paying a hefty price. While strategic experts monitoring bilateral ties feel that gave China a backdoor entry to Nepal, the big question is, isn’t it better in the interests of the two nations to come to the discussion table by shunning the belligerent tone and iron out the disputes? If this reaches the UN, waters of the Mahakali river will only get muddied further.

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