The left-wing coalition formed by the two Communist factions in Nepal this month comes as the end-result of a stunning upset in the country’s parliamentary elections, in which the incumbent Nepali Congress party was cast out of power.
The coalition, formed between the Unified Marxist–Leninist and Maoist Centre factions of the Communist Party of Nepal, took two-thirds of the vote and is set to be at the helm of the landlocked Himalayan nation for the next five years.
Headlines such as “Nepal turning red” and “Nepal a vessel state of China” were soon plastered across the front pages of newspapers in India, as New Delhi began brooding over the prospect of losing its “buffer” zone on its old foe in Beijing.
It’s believed that Khadga Prasad Oli, whose premiership was cut short by cracks within a previous leftist alliance, will head the new government in a dramatic comeback. Never liked by New Delhi, Oli’s brief tenure between 2015 and 2016 was beset by conflicts with New Delhi. In particular, the latter’s curtailing of petroleum and gas supplies, in a punitive blockade, resulted in a cascading humanitarian crisis.
Now analysts fear that Kathmandu, under the resurgent Oli, may add more fuel to New Delhi’s feuds with Beijing, at a time when the Chinese army’s purported militarization of the Doklam Plateau in the summer still rankles with Indians.
Chinese party mouthpieces including The People’s Daily and its sister paper The Global Times have been quick to insist that Beijing does not intend to turn Nepal into a pawn, and urged New Delhi not to view its regional relationships through a hidebound, zero-sum prism.
It would, the papers said, be wise for India to make conciliatory overtures toward Nepal, given the hefty backlash that met New Delhi’s attempts to oust the unpliable Oli in 2015.
“Any sharp-elbow tactics from India will only boomerang and push Nepal further closer to China… And it’s wishful thinking to make Nepal another ‘sentry’ country to fend off China, when our nation’s economic and political clout is more intimately felt in Nepal than ever,” noted a Global Times editorial.
With India-Nepal relations in turmoil, Beijing has revved up a slew of reconstruction projects announced in the wake of the 2015 Nepali quakes.
A new campus for the Nepali National Armed Police Academy was commissioned in July, and a modern airport is being built in the nation’s second largest city, Pokhara, aimed at spurring connectivity and trade, not to mention tourism in the scenic nation. The road connecting Pokhara and Katmandu was also built with Chinese capital.
We are neither pro indian neither pro chinese. Ofcourse we hate the way india interfere our interests but overall we want to keep friendly relationship with both countries. Such interpretations in media must be stopped that we r either with china or with india. We are with both countries- we will support or object depending on their behaviour.
Nepal wants economic development and as sovereign country does not like
interference from other countries in its internal matter. Nepalese people are
independent to select any party through the election and like to see stability and economic growth of its people. So it is unnecessary and useless to see comments like Nepal is shifting towards China in the Indian newspapers.Nepal wants rail, road and air connectivity with both India and China for its economic development.
Falcon Dave, test Nepal and India have open borders and close economIc and social ties and these will continue even if Nepal enhances its connectivity with China. It will boost investment and tourism and bring greater prosperity to Nepal. However, this is not aimed against India. It is in Nepal’s interest to maintain best of relations with both Asian giants and enhance economic parternership with them; if possible extend them to trilateral cooperation. Falcon Dave, please note that millions of Indians work in Nepal and according to latest data they transmitted $3.5 billions in remittances compared to $1.0 billion in transmitted by Nepali workers in India. Nepal has the largest number of overseas Indians in the world, according to Indian census data.
It is rather unfortunate that India has always dealt with its neighbours with the mindset rooted in the Monroe doctrine of the hoary past. It has been more so when it comes to landlocked Nepal against whom India has been in the habit of imposing blockades at frequent intervals even as in regular dealings too the "big brother" has been habitually punishing. India had always tried to keep Nepal as much away from China through hegemonic measures that have only forced Nepal to go looking for respite in help from China. In other words, it has been India that has brought Nepal so close to China over the years. The recent trade, transit and connectivity agreements with China came at the wake of India’s 2015 blockade of earthquake devastated Nepal. Overall, India must realize that its near-abroad foreign policy in general has been historically so faulty as to send all its neighbours too to China’s embrace. But it is never too late for India to take measures such as some far reaching reforms in its foreign policy apparatus to convince her neighbours that this time around, India means well for them. In the case of Nepal’s getting closer to China, India should realize that Nepal is a sovereign country and that it is within her sovereign right to diversify her means of access and communication to the wider world. In the Nepal-India relation this must now be taken as the "New Normal". This must never be mistaken as being anti-India unless one chooses to remain stubbornly rooted to the Monroe doctrine.
Indian diplomats and irresponsible beaurocrats are responsible for Nepal being pushed towards North. Economic blockade of 72/73 by India in the name of some petty madhesi parties of Nepal was a blunder. Further, there is a clear comparison of the projects run by India and China in terms of quality anx timeliness. In short, Indian thinking that Nepalese can be bullied is the reason why they turn against. Even people of southern belt where people are culturally close to India, are not happy with Indian attitude nor with the pace of development and poverty reduction in India.
Dude, its figurative…Napal and India have a 5,000 year history of brotherly relations. There are some 5 million Nepali citizen work in India without visa, as we have soft border. Oli or No Oli, those facts can not be altered. It was Obvious that Oli was upto mischief in his first tenure, he will only cause more harm to Nepal if he tries to rack up frivilous issues with India.
Nepal:
Asians belong with Asians.
https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/unexpectedly-there-is-a-copy-of-china-liberation-army-and-six-star-red-flag.347735/
South Asians are just that. South Asians.
Apples and oranges..
.
Fuk the india modi
Exactly! Nepal is its own sorvereign state! It is NOT something for India to "lose".
Nepal in this day and age cannot afford to pick and choose between its two neighbors. The age-old Nepal-India ties are incomparable to the newfangled but booming Nepal-China relations. The understanding in Nepal is that both India and China will be needed if there is to be lasting peace andstability in Nepal. So Kathmandu will do the balancing act. One reason these elections were projected as a geopolitical contest between India and China is that this story-line sells abroad. Otherwise, who would be interested in elections in a smallish and seemingly insignificant country like Nepal?PM Oli is a wily old fox. Having secured a resounding election victory and a mandate to rule for the next five years, no one should be surprised if as prime minister he makes a concerted effort to improve frayed relations with India, even at the cost of China. He knows that in the long run,geography invariably wins, and thus keeping India happy will be the key for a long and happy stay at the top.
The relations between India and Nepal are quite special and unique. No country in the world has such relations. Both the countries are closely intertwined. They share common languages; culture, customs, history, family to family relations and the economy of both the countries are inter-connected.
Although Nepal is getting closer to China for its economic development, Nepal still maintains very cordial ties with India on all aspects, be they political, economic, social or others.
Actually according to annual Pew Research surveys, the Chinese people actually give high marks (consistently >80%) to their government.
Because the communishts in China are also capitalist communists. Duh!
Well done Nepal. You certainly produced Gurkhas. Nothing can beat your patriotism. Others in the sub-continent should follow your footsteps. Stay blessed.
You are a confused kid. It is USA that is the hegemon not China.
Shen Shen would like Chinese Communist Party to talk as if they own this country or that. Chinese Communists want to talk as if they own Chinese peoples’ hearts and minds, but Chinese history talks in a hushed and sombre.
Bring them in
The important point to note is that the communists in Nepal are actually capitalist communists. So how is it possible for them to drift towards China?
Westerners and Indians like to talk that they have lost this country or that as if they actually own those countries.