In April 2022, when Arzu Rana Deuba, wife of the then Prime Minister of Nepal, Sher Bahadur Deuba, visited the Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi, offered prayers, and praised the transformational development of Varanasi in the last few years, little did anyone expect that a year down the line, next Prime Minister of Nepal, with perceived diametrically opposite views on religion, would similarly visit another central Hindu religious shrine in India, the Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, and offer prayers.
While paradoxes have, over the last several years, become more of a norm than an exception, in Nepal’s domestic politics of shifting allegiances, fractured mandates and coalition compulsions, the visit of the incumbent Prime Minister of Nepal, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, ordinarily known more as ‘Prachanda’, at the Mahakaleshwar Temple, also deeply resonates the profound cultural and religious connect that Nepal and India share till date, and the significance of the same, irrespective of political complexities, and how even today, Lord Pashupatinath or Vishwanath or Mahakaleshwar, Lord Shiva in other words, continue to remain the most sacred thread that binds the two nations with a strong and invisible bond.
Understanding Relationship
Like many other aspects, there is an innate paradox in Nepali politics surrounding India. While blaming India for all and sundry is a common phenomenon there, expectations from India are sky-high too. It is not unsurprising, though, and is perhaps unique among brothers who have shared bonds for centuries. There is perhaps a symbiotic relation of being critical and yet being most connected to India.
On part of India, in spite of areas of major differences, India did stand rock-solid with Nepal during the worst phase of covid pandemic, and supported Nepal in every way possible with provisions of vaccines, oxygen, medicines and medical equipment. What makes the Indo-Nepal relation unique is that from the perspective of Nepal, they simply just expect India would have to help and therefore it is not considered something special and neither it evokes surprises when India indeed helps. It is like seeking help from the extended family, which is considered a legitimate right.
Why India Matters for Nepal
Among the major issues that were agreed upon, what has been the icing on the cake for Nepal is the pledge by New Delhi to procure 10, 000 MW of hydroelectricity from Nepal over the next one decade, up from 452 MW that India procures from Nepal annually now, in addition, to expedite work on some major cross-border transmission lines.
The visit of Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the Mahakaleshwar Temple, deeply resonates the profound cultural and religious connect that Nepal and India share till date
Interestingly, Nepal, in the realm of the power sector, too, suffers from a strange paradox. Being home to more than 6,000 rivers, Nepal’s technical hydroelectricity generation capacity stands at around 83 GW, while its feasible hydroelectricity generation capacity is about 43 GW. While its total installed power generation capacity is about 2.5 GW, with the present hydel power production capacity hovering somewhere around 2 GW, even while harnessing much less than its intrinsic potential, Nepal produces more power than it essentially requires for domestic use. If it has to expand its hydel power generation potential and make it a money spinner for the struggling economy, then it invariably would have to depend on India to procure it. India, meanwhile has made it very clear than it would procure power only from those hydro electric projects which has Indian investments. In other words, India would simply not procure power from hydro projects in Nepal that are being constructed by China.
“The religious and cultural ties between India and Nepal are very old. In order to further strengthen this beautiful link, pm Prachanda and I have decided that the projects related to Ramayana circuit should be expedited. We will continue to work to give our relationship the height of the Himalayas” -Narendra Modi, Prime Minister
Given the geography of the region, Nepal can only sell the power to India since selling it to China would entail massive investments in transmission lines across the difficult terrains of the Himalayas that would make the projects unviable. India, on the other hand, has not only always finished projects in Nepal on time, but also, Nepal has never faced any serious debt situation owing to Indian involvement in infrastructure projects there, unlike the rising Chinese debt quagmire that Nepal is currently grappling with due to Chinese investments in some big-ticket infrastructure projects with alleged repayment mechanisms (of Chinese loans) which are heavily skewed against Nepal’s economic interests.
The Positives of the Visit
Therefore, India’s initiatives in deepening cross-border rail connectivity with Nepal, agreeing in principle to give Nepal access to India’s inland water channels for faster movement of goods and facilitating Nepal’s export of electricity to Bangladesh through its transmission lines, are indeed positive factors. Nepal, on its part, too, acted maturely and has agreed to deal with the teething issues diplomatically.
Why Nepal Matters
Amidst India’s meteoric rise in the last few years, its emergence as the fifth largest economy globally, at a time when the entire world is going through a tumultuous phase, its presidency of G20 and how G-7 countries are now courting India, the fact that despite its significant rise in the global arena, that India has not in any way belittling the importance of having good relationships with countries like Nepal, with whom India shares deep-rooted cultural, civilizational, religious and geographical bonds, has to be appreciated and respected.
For India, its growth story cannot be a story of an oasis. It has to ensure that countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal become eventual partners in the growth story. Besides, it is imperative for India to make sure that the climate of investments and economic boom is no way hampered by nefarious elements, be it home-grown or those who take advantage of porous cross-border routes. It is from this perspective as well the Indo-Nepal relationship has profound importance, as India needs Nepal as a key partner in the fight against terrorism, narcotics and the menace of counterfeit currency.
As things stand, it is hoped that irrespective of Nepal’s internal political turmoil and saga of revolving political realignments, Indo-Nepal relation has reached a level of maturity where both sides now know how to meander through difficult terrains and create a path for greater mutual good and betterment of people from both sides, who in many ways share deep-rooted bonds of cross-border marriages and social ties. In most cases, people from Nepal residing in India are almost treated like fellow Indians. Such is the deep-rooted trust between the people of two nations. It is expected that when the Ram Temple will be inaugurated in Ayodhya next year, this aspect will help in cementing the civilizational ties in a more profound manner, apart from shared economic future.
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