India - Nepal

• Intro- India and Nepal are joined by the umbilical cord of religion,culture,economy and shared strategic interests. It has been called as roti beti ka rishta by former EAM Sushma Swaraj.
• This puts Nepal at the top of the pyramid in India’s neighbourhood first policy

• context:
• India Nepal treaty of peace and friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of the special relations that exist between India and Nepal.
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• cooperation:
• 8 million Nepali citizens work in India.
• Surya Kiran military exercise; Indian army provides training to Nepal army, helps in modernization by supplying equipments
• India was the first to rush to Nepal's assistance in the wake of 2015 earth quake with NDRF teams and essential supplies. Also India announced $1B of reconstruction package
• Twin cities : Ramayana circuit( Janakpur to Ayodhya), lumbini Bodhgaya , Pashupatinath and Varanasi
• annual summits through Joint commission mechanism
• PM Modi proposed HIT(highway,IT,trade) formula for Nepal's development
• Integrated check posts at Birgunj and Biratnagar make for seamless movement of goods and people. Two more ICPs are being constructed.
• India is the largest trading partner of Nepal with bilateral trade of $8 billion in 20 18-19.
• Indian firms account for more than 30% of Nepal's FDI
• Eminent Persons Group(EPG) mandated in 2015 to assess the state of bilateral relations and come up with major recommendations . No action taken till now.
• Nepal-India oversight mechanism set up in 2016 to oversee implementation of bilateral projects
• Motihari-Amlekhgunj pipeline
• Integrated check post at Biratnagar
• 900MW Arun III Hydropower project
• HICDP
• pancheshwar multipurpose dam proposed
• India has opened third port of Vizag allowing Nepal’s transit for third country trade.
• US infra support of $500 M to Nepal under the Millennium challenge cooperation would further help to reduce Chinese influence in Nepal, thus providing a collateral benefit to India.

• Issues-

• Nepal is a part of BRI.
• Prithvi Narayan shah king of Nepal- Nepal is a yam between two boulders.
• until recently, the Chinese interests in Nepal were limited to their concerns about Tibet. But owing to the estranged relationship between India and Nepal in recent times, Chinese attitude and intensity has undergone a significant change in Nepal 
• China is largest source of FDI in Nepal
• Transhimalayan connectivity network between Nepal and china to make Nepal a land linked country rather than land locked country,includes railway from Lhasa and Tibet.
• China has undertaken 15 projects, including four hydro-power plants and country’s second international airport at Pokhara.
• China is paying for salaries to nepali teachers for teaching Chinese language.
• China has also opened 100 Confucius centres in Nepal
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• Being anti-India is equated with being nationalistic in Nepal. Political parties in Nepal further whip nationalist sentiment against India for electoral gains
• India’s aid is seen as a favour for Nepali support and not as a contribution towards Nepal’s socio economic development

• views of scholars:

Kanak Mani dixit-India must make efforts to show that India is not a big brother rather India is big and India is a brother.	Rather than landlocked Nepal has been India locked. Says India Nepal relations have been managed as family affairs. More professionalism needed in handling.	rather than Nepal to adopt India first approach India should adopt a Nepal first approach.

• way forward:
• Use functionalism and sociological liberalism in India neighborhood relations .
• Review 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Govern­ment of India and the Government of Nepal
• The cultural ties between people of Nepal and India are too strong to be broken by china’s economic dominance. India must invest significantly in further strengthening the P2P ties
• Implementation of recommendations of Eminent Persons Group formed in 2016
• Addressing the border issues through foreign secretaries level mechanism

• https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/the-challenges-facing-india-nepal-ties-69458/

• Conclusion-
• geography will not change, the border will remain open as millions of livelihoods on both sides depend on it, and China is going to be a big global player with  interests in the neighbourhood. Therefore, the India­Nepal relationship has to be re-calibrated to suit the needs of the south Asian order.