Reach out to Kathmandu now

There is a worrying deterioration in relations between India and Nepal. On Friday, Nepali police reportedly fired indiscriminately on Indians at the India-Nepal border in Sitamarhi district in Bihar, killing a farmer and injuring four others. Bilateral relations have frayed significantly during the past month over a road that India has constructed up to the Lipulekh Pass, which Nepal alleges violates its territorial sovereignty. The tensions could have been quickly defused had the two sides swiftly activated diplomatic channels and initiated talks.

They did not. Instead, they allowed the problem to fester. What’s more, positions have hardened over the past couple of weeks, making a resolution of the crisis more challenging now. A couple of weeks ago, the Nepali government put out a new political map of Nepal that includes Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, territories that are part of India and have been under its control for over six decades. It then went on to seek parliamentary approval for the altered map.

On Wednesday, Nepal’s House of Representatives unanimously approved the tabling of an amendment to the Nepali Constitution to include some 400 sq km of Indian territory to the west of Lipulekh Pass in Nepal. It now awaits the nod of the Upper House. So, why is Nepal suddenly raising objections to the Lipulekh Road? It may be doing so on China’s prodding. But also, it does seem that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is using the issue to stir anti-India sentiment in Nepal in order to deflect attention away from his domestic woes. By projecting himself as a muscular Nepali nationalist, he is seeking to shore up domestic support. But his antics relating to Nepal’s new political map have escalated the crisis with India. He has concretised Nepal’s position and painted himself and Nepal into a corner.

Oli’s brinksmanship is irresponsible; he has put India-Nepal relations on a downward spiral. But the Narendra Modi government has done nothing to prevent or stop that descent. It could have called for talks or dispatched its diplomats to Kathmandu. Instead, like a petulant teenager, it refused to talk. Officials blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for Delhi’s failure to initiate talks. Couldn’t they have used video-conferencing? When Indian military officials are engaging in face-to-face talks with their Chinese counterparts, why is it difficult for Delhi to do the same with Kathmandu?

The government’s highhandedness has eroded public goodwill for India in Nepal. Now by refusing to talk to Kathmandu, it is damaging India’s long-term interests in the strategic Himalayas. At a time when Sino-Indian relations are tense, New Delhi needs Nepal on its side. It must reach out to Kathmandu now.