India-Nepal Relations: What does it mean for the two countries' majority population to be Hindu?

 India and Nepal are two countries in the world with a majority Hindu population and both countries have not only religious but also cultural similarities. If we look at Hindi and Nepali language, the script is not only Devanagari but also the words are the same. Anyone who knows or reads Hindi can read and understand a little Nepali. It is often said that there is a 'daughter bread' relationship between Nepal and India. Nepal's border with India is connected on three sides and on one side it is connected to Tibet. Despite all these religious and cultural ties, Nepal-India relations are not good today. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid three visits to Nepal during his last tenure. Modi's third visit to Nepal was in May 2018. In the third visit, Modi used the religious route to restore relations with Nepal and during this visit Modi went directly to Jankpur and then to Muktinath, both places which are very important in the Hindu religion. Modi had also visited the Pashupatinath Temple during his last visit to Nepal. It is clear that when Modi visits Nepal's temples, he will have in mind the same religious identity in both countries.

Despite this, relations with Nepal have historically deteriorated in many respects under Modi's rule. why like this? To find out the answer to this question and many other issues, BBC Hindi has spoken to Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Gwali.

What does it mean for the majority population of both the countries to be Hindu? To this question, Pradeep Gewali says, "India and Nepal have equality on many levels. Cultural equality is the most important link in strengthening relations between the two countries. Both countries represent a great civilization and have a rich tradition of knowledge. Ayurveda and yoga are the same for both India and Nepal. The common culture of the two countries strengthens the people-to-people ties, ”he said. Relationships are warm. But we need to understand that culture and religion cannot be combined. There are different aspects of both religion and culture and religion is a matter of personal belief. It's very private. I believe that religion should not be brought into the internal affairs of the country nor in relations with any other country. India did not want Nepal to become a secular state. ”When the monarchy was overthrown in Nepal after a long protest in 2008, democracy was established and the constitution-making process began. In September 2015, Nepal enacted its new constitution and was declared a secular state. This happened at a time when Narendra Modi was considered the poster boy of the Hindutva ideological party in India.

On May 26, 2006, the then BJP president Rajnath Singh had said, "Nepal's original identity belongs to the Hindu nation and this identity should not be erased." The BJP will not be happy that Nepal lost its true identity under the pressure of the Maoists.

During the monarchy, Nepal was known as a Hindu nation. Nepal was the only Hindu country in the world at that time. India's border dispute has so far been with China and Pakistan. There have also been wars between these countries over border disputes. But under Modi, there was also a border dispute with Nepal. On May 8 this year, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the road from Dharchula to Lipu Lekh on the Chinese border. Nepal claims that the road passes through its territory. The area is now under Indian control. Earlier, in November last year, India had updated its political map after the partition of Jammu and Kashmir, which included Lipo Lekh and Kala Pani. Nepal strongly objected and issued a new political map in response.

Nepal showed Lipo Lekh and Kalapani as part of Nepal. In an interview with Rising Nepal, Nepal's Defense Minister Ishwar Pokhrel even said that the Nepal Army was ready to fight if needed. Police are also deployed on the Indo-Tibetan border in Kala Pani. On this whole controversy, Indian Army Chief General Manoj Nirvana had said that Nepal is making a false claim on the back of China. As Pakistan says that relations with India cannot be normalized without resolving the Kashmir issue, does Nepal now feel that relations between Nepal and India will not be right without resolving the Kala Pani and Lipo Lekh dispute? ?

On this, the Foreign Minister of Nepal said, "It is necessary to resolve the border dispute between Nepal and India and until it is resolved, this issue will continue to plague." Without this solution, trust cannot be built in a relationship. The unresolved questions of history that we have inherited must be resolved through dialogue.On June 15, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. Chinese troops are still in the areas of the LAC (Line of Actual Control) that India objected to. But India says the issue will be resolved through dialogue. The two countries have discussed Kashmir with Pakistan. Nepal says India can discuss border dispute with Pakistan and China, so why is it hesitant with Nepal? Is India not taking the border dispute with Nepal seriously? Nepal's Foreign Minister Pradeep Gewali believes that India is ignoring this important issue, while it is not a neglected issue for Nepal.

"Nepal has been trying for a long time to resolve this issue through dialogue. I don't know why India is not sensitive to this issue and is ignoring it," said KP Sharma of Nepal. The Oli government is embroiled in a crisis between India and Nepal. The feud between two senior leaders of the ruling Communist Party of Nepal, Bishop Kamal Dahal Prachanda and Prime Minister Oli, escalated to the point where the prime minister demanded his resignation. It was also said that Oli was taking anti-India measures to cover up his declining popularity. In the midst of these controversies, Prime Minister Oli had alleged that there was a conspiracy to remove him from the post of Prime Minister at the Indian embassies in Delhi and Kathmandu. Was India really involved in the conspiracy to remove Oli from the post of Prime Minister? "I am convinced that Prime Minister Oli was talking about news coverage from India," the Nepalese foreign minister said. The way the news was being covered was very humiliating. How can there be issues like internal affairs of any country or immediate crisis in its government? The way it was being talked about was very questionable, ”he said.“ The media of other countries or the so-called intellectuals there will not decide what Nepal's foreign policy will be and with whom we will have relations. ۔ No second or third country can decide Nepal's foreign policy.

Nepal's foreign minister says China is definitely mentioned when it comes to friendship or bitterness in Nepal-India relations. Nepal is surrounded by India and on one side it meets Tibet. It is clear that Tibet is now under Chinese control. In this sense, Nepal is a landlocked country. In the past, Nepal also faced blockades when relations with India deteriorated. Such blockades create a humanitarian crisis in Nepal as food and essentials are hard to come by.

In such a situation, Nepal does not want to depend on India. For this, it is necessary to facilitate transportation from China as well. Nepal and China have also improved over the years. On the other hand, India-China relations are not good.

In such a situation, India feels that the growing proximity of Nepal and China could be dangerous for it. Nepal is a very small and poor country for China. Despite this, China gives high priority to Nepal in bilateral relations. India feels that this focus is against it. In October last year, when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India, he also visited Nepal. Many people say that Nepal uses China to blackmail India. Some people also say that Nepal is a landlocked country and India takes advantage of it. How much truth is there in both? "The fact is that Nepal is a landlocked country and such countries have to pay the price," says Pradeep Gawali. Transportation in such countries is expensive. In such a situation, the production cost is high. Such countries face difficulties in competing in the global market. That's why transit is our number one priority. It is also the right of a landlocked country, "he said." We do not want to be left behind because of our geographical location. We do not want to depend on a single country. We are in favor of interdependence. That is why we are trying to diversify the transit facility in Nepal. We are using this facility through India. We are now trying to increase transit facilities with China. This is a national need of Nepal, ”the Indian army chief said in an online seminar on May 15. And was at the signal. There are many reasons for this, which suggests that Nepal is objecting to someone else's provocation. It is clear that he was referring to China. ”There was a strong reaction in Nepal to the statement of the Indian Army Chief. Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli slammed India in Parliament, blaming India for the Kovid 19 in Nepal.

Historically, Nepali Gorkhas have been important in the Indian Army. In addition, the Gorkhas played an important role in the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war. In such a situation, Nepal's Defense Minister Ishwar Pokhrel had strongly opposed General Nirvana's statement on May 25, saying, "Nepalese Gurkhas are saddened by the statement of Indian Army Chief General Nirvana."There is an old tradition of sacrificing Gorkhas for India. The Indian Army currently has 40 Gurkha regiments, mainly from the Nepal Army. The inclusion of the Gorkhas in the Indian army is linked to the Sagawali Accord after the Anglo-Nepalese War in 1816. At that time India was a slave of the British and the Gorkhas had strongly challenged the British rule.

Although the Gorkhas were defeated in the Anglo-Nepalese War, they fought bravely. The British felt that the Gorkhas were very brave and fought valiantly till their last breath. After this agreement, the Gorkha Regiment was started in the Indian Army.

"The Gorkha issue is a sensitive issue between the two countries," said Pradeep Gwali. "We are not in a position to elaborate on this issue." The two countries have a common culture and strong roots. There are many complex issues between the two countries that are disputed but efforts are being made to resolve them through dialogue. If there was a change of government in India in 2014 and the BJP government led by Narendra Modi came with a majority, it was hoped that its relations with Nepal would be further strengthened. In his first term, Modi paid three visits to Nepal and sought to strengthen ties. But the unannounced blockade began in 2015, a year after Narendra Modi came to power. Because of this, Nepal faced many difficulties and relations derailed. A catastrophic earthquake struck Nepal in April 2015 and the blockade began a few months later. This has been a difficult time for Nepal. Goback India had started trending on Twitter about helping India during the earthquake. There is a lot of tension on the India-China border. On August 31, the Indian military issued a statement saying that Chinese troops had been pushed back by Indian troops in eastern Ladakh as they tried to change the situation on the border on the night of August 30. In this case, questions arose in Nepal that on the one hand the country's Gorkhas were protecting India's border and on the other hand the government there was developing friendship with China. There was also a complaint about Nepal that it did not issue any harsh statement. "We want every dispute between the two countries to be resolved through dialogue and it is in the interest of peace and stability in the region," he said. Don't want such a confrontation. Nepal wants its two neighbors, China and India, to live together, and that is in Nepal's interest. ” ۔ Those who closely observe and understand Nepal-India relations believe that India and most Indians do not see Nepal as an independent country. Anand Roop Verma, who has written many books on Nepal's politics, also believes that there is very little information about Nepal in Indian politics. "Nepal seeks to advance relations with all its neighbors on the basis of global equality," he said. It is possible that in many respects one country is inferior to the other. " You have the same right to work and to be protected. Respect for sovereignty and the relationship of equality are paramount in Nepal's foreign policy.