Indo-Nepal relations: Auspicious beginnings

Pranab Dhal SamantaThe LoP's future is always bright", is what External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj told Nepal's Leader of Opposition and Maoist leader Prachanda while exhorting him to stay committed to the constitution-making process, which has resumed afresh under a new Constituent Assembly.Swaraj recalled that these were the very words Ranil Wickremesinghe had uttered when he met her as Sri Lanka's LoP while she was the information and broadcasting minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. Soon, she narrated, Wickremesinghe won the next elections and went on to become Sri Lanka's prime minister. She told Prachanda about Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay, who too met her as LoP and now has the top job. Swaraj, insiders say, then gave her own example and added in jest that even if Prachanda doesn't become a Prime Minister again, like the others, he could hope to be a foreign minister, like her.While these may have sounded like lessons in democratic polity to a Maoist leader who is still to come to terms with his party's electoral loss, the fact is there was no one better than Swaraj to point out the brighter side of being in the Opposition. The underlying purpose was to encourage Prachanda to play a positive role in influencing the Constituent Assembly and the Nepalese Parliament since he has to bring on board other Maoist factions.This is not the first time that a government in Delhi is pushing Nepal on a positive political agenda. Yet, the flavour is different. That is because after some three decades, India has a majority government. For years, an entire political dynamic was built around coalitions and dealing with coalitions, it was about cultivating different "lines" in New Delhi to get your point across and then, of course, lobbying various power centres, including intelligence agencies, to push any agenda through. Narendra Modi with Nepal prime minister Sushil Koirala in New Delhi.In the end, an array of competing forces mushroomed from within Nepal, each developing its own connects within an Indian system that was equally obliging and many a time the chief prompter. It was a political economy that fed on instability which, it was assumed, would be the way of life in India and Nepal. The sheer sight of a stable government in New Delhi is altering the discourse. Suddenly, the political executive in India is in control and any message that a cabinet minister brings carries weight, particularly if it's a lesson in democratic polity. That's why what Prime Minister Narendra Modi tells Nepal's Constituent Assembly, during his visit next week, will be critical in shaping the political priorities of the relationship from now on. India is keen to carry this newfound political heft into the economic sphere, particularly on the sensitive issue of exploiting water resources.Despite the large potential for hydel power, not a single project of consequence has taken off in all these years. The ambitious Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project is one such joint effort that was conceived through the Mahakali Agreement in 1996. But both sides have failed to agree on the terms of reference to set up a Pancheshwar Development Authority. Only when this is established can a project report be prepared.The delay was largely due to a lack of political will which, for the first time, appears surmountable because of a strong government in Delhi and could well be on Modi's to-do list during his visit. As a result, insiders say, Nepal too may be inclined to move forward on the project. After all, Kathmandu ends up importing expensive petroleum products from India to meet its energy requirements while water is a ready resource for it to harness.On a broader level, there is a political urge in the government, the BJP and the RSS to not lose time in forging a bond with Nepal at the highest levels. It is one relationship that has been part of the BJP's basic political vision and, on that score, Swaraj has done deft political groundwork for the PM's trip. She did not hesitate to go beyond MEA briefs and bring religion into the mix. Tapping into the Hindu sentiments of Nepalese politicians, she asked leader after leader: which Indian PM had ever thought of planning a visit to Nepal on a Monday in the month of Shravan, which is considered auspicious and the best day to visit the Pasupati Temple? So, arrangements are being done for Modi to visit the shrine on Monday.Follow the writer on Twitter @pranabsamantaPublished By: AtMigration Published On: Aug 1, 2014 00:16 IST--- ENDS ---

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Indo-Nepal relations: Auspicious beginnings

Narendra Modi's Kathmandu visit can change the dynamics of India-Nepal relationship, says Pranab Dhal Samanta.

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