Bullying Nepal

Bullying Nepal

Siddhi B. Ranjitkar

On May 9, 2020, the Indian defense minister opening the border road passing through the Nepalese territory in Lipulekh sent waves to the Nepalis that had been in the stay-at-home environment to be safe from the deadly coronavirus stirring them up to come out to the streets even disregarding the possibility of the virus infections and protest against the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory, and kept the Nepalese foreign minister at bay. However, Prime Minister KP Oli surprised to know the events through the media reports even though he had been the prime minister twice and the foreign minister once but even after apparently knowing that Indians had encroached on the Nepalese territory he had to call his Indian counterpart to talk about the border issue, yet.

While his Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali was speaking at the House of Representatives to tell the lawmakers that the government knew that Indians had been building the border roads, Prime Minister Oli was surprised to know only after reading the news in a newspaper that India had built a border road passing through the Nepalese territory in Lipulekh. Anyway that was how the Oli administration worked recently not even informing the prime minister it had contracted out the purchase of medical supplies worth billions of rupees for preventing and treating coronavirus at the prices as much as four times higher than the prevailing market price. As soon as the prime minister came to know it, he obviously scrapped the contract because he had the zero tolerance of corruption.

It was not the first time Nepalis came out to the streets and marched on the streets to protest against India whenever something happened in Lipulekh. In November last year, too thousands of Nepalis marched on the streets of Kathmandu when India published its Kashmir map showing Lipulekh in its territory. Radio talks, and TV talks were held with the politicians, political leaders, and political experts to discuss the issue. The concerned minister of the Oli administration answered some questions, and said some plans to regain the territory lost to India. However, after some time everybody went to sleep quiet night as if nothing had happened. They forgot Lipulekh, and the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory, and the business was as usual.

This time too, the protest against the Indian encroachment on the Nepalese territory, the folks had launched might have the same fate of the last November protest but the Oli administration had taken some measures concerning the border issue with India at least. The foreign minister summoned the Indian ambassador to Nepal in Kathmandu, and told him apparently India had illegally stepped on the Nepalese territory. His Excellency the Indian ambassador had a ready-made answer that India had done nothing wrong but did everything in its own territory. The foreign ministry also wrote a letter to the Indian government stating to have a diplomatic dialogue with India concerning the border road and India making it pass through the Nepalese territory. India was ready to talk to the Nepalese diplomats but after the coronavirus would be gone. So, wait for the time to disappear the virus so that it would not infect the diplomats of both the countries.

Most probably, one of the greatest achievements for the folks interested in safeguarding the border with India had been the Oil administration posted the armed police force to the Darchula district to keep a close watch on the border between Nepal and India. The police post remained in the middle of the human settlement more than 10 kilometers from the border. The distance was not much as the police could walk to the border within one-and-a-half hours if needed be. The Nepali army helicopter took the police force to the area, and the Oli administration needed to shuttle the army helicopter to take the supplies for the police. Even the police post 10 km beyond the said border between Nepal and India provoked the Indians to send at least four helicopters flying over even the Nepalese territory obviously to see what the Nepalis had been doing.

Some lawmakers speaking at the House session demanded to post the battalion of the Nepali army to Lipulekh. They might be correct to say so and they needed to tell the government to take the army stationed in Kathmandu, and Bhaktapur to Lipulekh to defend the Nepalese territory from the encroachers. Probably, they did not think about how Indians would react to the presence of the Nepalese army on the border. Even the police post beyond 10 km from the border invited at least four Indian army helicopters flying in the Nepalese sky.

The then Shah rulers had kept the Nepali army in Bhaktapur and Kathmandu to suppress the locals from doing anything that did not suit the rulers. Now, nobody needed to worry about the locals uprising against any rulers and capturing their sovereignty. So, the Oli administration needed to shift the army from Kathmandu and Bhaktapur to Lipulekh and wherever the northern and southern neighbors had been encroaching on the Nepalese territory rather than keeping them in Kathmandu and Bhaktapur nourishing them in the capital city. Their duty is to defend the Nepalese border not to remain idle in the capital. The defense minister of the Oli administration needed to understand it.

Speaking to the anchor of the news-plus program of the Thaha FM Radio on May 15, 2020, Minister for Law of the Karnali province said that the chief district officer (CDO) had been reporting on India building the border road encroaching on the Nepalese territory in Lipulekh but the provincial government could not do much because the issue of the international border is the business of the federal government. Then, the question of the anchor why the provincial government did not inform the prime minister on this matter, the provincial minister said that the CDO must have been periodically reporting on the matter to the federal minister and the cabinet, too. It was sufficient hint at the prime minister had been informed on the border road India had built since a few years ago.

Lawmakers and the public had been demanding the Oli administration to publish the map of Nepal showing the Lipulekh in it since India made public the Kashmir map showing the Lipulekh area in the Indian Territory in November last year but the Oli administration had not done, yet. Currently also, the lawmakers and the Nepalis have been asking the Oli administration to publish a Nepalese map showing the Lipulekh area in it. The Oli administration had not shown any interest in doing so, yet. The Oli administration did not make it clear to the public what prevented it from publishing a map of Nepal with Lipulekh in it?

The Karnali provincial minister for law speaking to the anchor of the news-plus program of the Thaha FM Radio on May 15, 2020 said that the Article five of the treaty signed in May 1816 between the then Nepal government and the British India government stated that the international border between Nepal and India is the Kaligandaki River from its source to the downstream until it crosses the southern Nepal border to enter India. So, the Oli administration needed to have diplomatic talks with India to end the Indian encroachment on the Lipulekh area. Then the border area road India built on the Nepalese territory could be a bridge between China and India.

May 15, 2020