India and Nepal, two neighboring countries known as longtime friends. Although the difference in size and population is huge, both are Hindu-majority countries. Culture and many other similarities. But last year, a sharp diplomatic standoff erupted between the two countries. At the confluence of India's Uttarakhand, China's Tibet and Nepal, there is an area called Kalapani in the Himalayan Lipulekh Pass - which India claims to be part of, even though it is under Indian control. Nepal protested against showing Kalapani in India in a new map released by India after the administrative restructuring of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. In May 2020, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a long mountain road connecting Lipulekh. Busy.
Against this a storm blew up in the Parliament of Nepal. As one MP puts it, most Nepalis will roar against India's 'grandfathering'. The Foreign Ministry then strongly condemned. Police were deployed near the area and the Indian ambassador to Kathmandu was summoned.
India's Chief of Army Staff Manoj Naravan then commented that the Nepalese government had objected to the link road "on someone else's instructions". Needless to say, he is referring to China. Many again think that these are not actually anti-India, but a reflection of Nepal's internal politics. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli came to power by capitalizing on his anti-India campaign. Moreover, the Communist Party is also fighting a fierce power struggle with Prachanda. He is choosing the path of nationalist politics. So naturally he speaks loudly.
But a few days later, the Nepalese government decided to include Kalapani and Lipulekh on its map. The crisis is intensifying. No Nepalese MP voted against the new map. Even the MPs known as pro-India! Many said that when Rajnath Singh inaugurated the road, he could not have imagined that it would create such a big crisis with Nepal. The response from tiny neighbor Nepal created surprise and concern not only in Rajnath, but in all sections of India.
But they did not make such a decision in a hurry. They have been talking to India about the disputed area since the 1990s. They also wanted to discuss this during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nepal in 2014. But India has bypassed it every time.
However, at that time the image of anti-India sentiment was clear among the common people even outside the Nepali Parliament. Nepal's 'Hot Pichho Hoto' caused a stir on social media. Finding out the reason, many analysts said that in recent years, India has been blocking imports of various essential commodities, including fuel oil, at the Nepal border. That is why anti-India sentiment is strong among Nepalis. They feel that they now have the capability to oppose India with the support of China.
But surprisingly, India did not do much to resolve the crisis that arose then. But after the Chinese foreign minister's virtual meeting with the ministers of Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan in July, the South Bloc also became embroiled in controversy with the Indian media. Indian political analysts say in unison that whatever China does in South Asia, India is the goal. The way they are building relations with India's neighbors is also aimed at gradually cornering India in the region.
Later in August, Nepal's foreign minister, Pradeep Kumar Gawali, said in a meeting that the tripartite agreement with Britain and India in 1947 on the deployment of Gurkha troops from Nepal had become "unnecessary". He was responding to a question from ordinary Nepalis on various platforms on whether it was morally right for Nepalis to take part in India's war as mercenaries in a war against China at a time when political and economic ties were close.
After that, when the whole world was busy with the corona vaccine, everything seemed to be quiet. Suddenly, in December, for the first time, China and Nepal agreed to jointly announce that the height of the world's highest mountain, Everest, had risen. Until then, everything was going well. There are rumors that Nepal has become pro-China.
But at the very end of the year, at the request of Prime Minister Oli, President Vidya Devi Bhandari declared the parliament dissolved. The president also proposed new elections on April 30 and May 10.
KP Sharma Oli became the Prime Minister in 2018 after forming an alliance with the support of Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda. But the coalition is making various policy decisions and important appointments without even informing its own party, the leaders said, urging Oli to resign. There are also rumors that he decided to dissolve the parliament after receiving news of a no-confidence vote in parliament. But Oli said the decision was made to bring the country out of a "dysfunctional state". It did not save. Seven ministers resigned in protest of Oli's decision. Several petitions were also filed in the court challenging Oli's decision to dissolve the parliament. It was decided to remove Oli from the post of co-chairman of the ruling coalition NCP.
At such a tense time, External Affairs Minister Pradeep Kumar Gawali has confirmed that he will visit New Delhi this month. Though it was said that Nepal would lead the delegation in the sixth meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission, the meeting with the Indian leadership on 'other issues' is believed to be the main reason.
Meanwhile, the monarchists are increasing the pressure in the current political crisis, they have taken to the streets. A procession was held in Kathmandu on Friday demanding restoration of the status of constitutional monarchy in Nepal. Although the constitution adopted in 2015 declared Nepal as a secular state, the monarchists have demanded its repeal. They demanded that Nepal be declared a Hindu state, with a monarchy as a neutral force.
