India And Nepal Must Settle Boundary Disputes Through Dialogue
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-01-18 05:24:16
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
Relation between India and Nepal have soured in recent times mainly due to the fact that Nepal had issued a new map of the country which included certain areas that fall in India. Nepal claimed that those areas belonged to it. Hence, the Nepalese foreign minister Pradeep Gyawaliâs visit to India assumed importance, especially after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli clearly said recently that Nepal was willing to solve the boundary dispute through dialogue. Gyawali is visiting India and is having wide ranging discussions with the Indian foreign minister on this and other issues.
It needs to be stressed that this outreach to India comes immediately after the recent split in the ruling Nepalese Communist party when a section of the party revolted against the Prime Minister. China tired to directly interfere in the mess by sending a team of senior officials of the Chinese Communist party to try and set things right. But the Chinese team returned empty handed. It seems that Oli is now trying to mend fences with India as he stands on weak ground.
Whatever be the reason for Nepal's change of stand, India needs to grab the opportunity with both hands. The Indian side has reportedly told the Nepalese that for any fruitful dialogue on the issue, it will first have to do away with the disputed map it has released. The Nepalese foreign minister, on the other hand, has said that both sides have agreed upon a mechanism to solve the border issue.
Resolving the border issue will take time and several meetings. For any fruitful dialogue, there has to be mutual trust. The Nepalese side has shown flexibility in agreeing that they are willing to talk. India must take this forward and resolve the issue sooner rather than later by keeping the dialogue going at the highest level. With India already having committed to supply Covid vaccines to Nepal, the goodwill generated through this humanitarian gesture should be used to settle all pending issues. India needs to have Nepal in its corner and must not allow China to spoil the good relations it traditionally enjoyed with its land-locked and strategically important neighbor.
