Vacillation in the MEA in formulating our strategies vis a vis Nepal shall cost us dear -remember the Nerhu-Menon fiasco of 1962.Nepal should not become another Tibet. Witness the pressure from China which ensured the closure of the Dalai Lama's office which has been functioning there for the last several years.
Containing the Chinese menace and warding of Maoist insurgency should be our priorities.
Very timely and appropriate article. We have to support nepal by all means. Military support should be intensified now, to root out the maoists, for our own sake. Thanks.
dear dasgupta its really a eye opener for sleeping people. but unless we ourselves stop sitting at home and fail to believe that anything that happens far at nepal would send tsunami waves all over till kanyakumari, we are just making to wish to meet the devil at door step. but who cares or who wants to listen. we bask in the sunshine of IT developments and a reformer PM and a tyagi congress leader and a secular railway minister. ha ha ha lol
This is true that poor Nepalis are being deprived by the squeeze of Chinese dragon and its Prachand minions as earlier Tibetans were ousted of their culture and deprived o Dalai's benign patriarchy and were forcibly led by comrades from Han mainlands. But can the squabbling Koiralas and Deubas of Nepal or the unreconstructed Monarchist Gyanendra offer any progres or prosperity to long suffering Nepalese society having its own ethnic ,religious and linguistic diversities? Dont know,they are too close to us in location , history and world experience to be allowed to go down the drain like boneless carrion.. we must help to restore order ,at once..D. Goel
i have several times wondered why we lack basic common sense in our approach to international diplomacy. why do we goof-up everywhere it matters & a brash Dictator like Musharraf pulls it off? are we more irritating in the global forum than the Chinese?
i think your article answers it all - we simply lack common sense & agree or not we have not yet got over the hangover of the half-baked Nehruvian Doctrine which was Left-Leaning in the garb of Democracy. Natwar Singh may put up a face of a 'know-all' but there is no doubt that we are shooting down on our foot. mark my words, within the next 2-3 years, kashmir will burn under the focus of the USA under the push of Pakistan & backing of China. very soon, after 'resolving' the Palestine issue & threatening Iran, the new US administration will have no other work but to get after our happiness. With our stupid policies we are only preponing the appointment..
India as an emerging power should learn from OLD MASTERS like USA or UK. USA HAS SUPPORTED ALL TYPES OF REGIMES as long as they acted in their interests the best example being Pakistan. Intenational dealings have to be based on permanent interests.A neighbour's conduct can not be our concern unless it hurts us or violates some basic human dignity.Monarchy as a form of government does not violate basic human dignity, rest does not matter. We should ignore coup and deal at our self interest level.Let Nepalese people decide the type of government they want.We have neither the capability nor the will to enforce our views.
I am completely for the views expressed in this article. Look at the various sections Nepali society in India - they too express somewhat the same feelings. What is most important is to ensure that the naxalites/maoists dont hamper our growth, prosparity and democracy. The attitude we have now will lead to either maoists getting the advatagious position or one/more of other countries vying for a share. Both are not to our benifit. Moreover, the so called democratic government is non-existant in Nepal as elections are long long overdue. Now, at least one single chair - the king's - is responsible for whatever actions follow. We need to make sure that we convince him first, and then assist him to swiftly remove the maoist menance. This way we can ensure 1 more friend for us, and eventually clamp down on the menance in our nation. No advancement is possible when groups like these are nibbling away at our roots, ie democracy. Regards,
I fully agree with Swapan. The first goal should be to eliminate maoists from Nepal and then democracy can be restored back. If Nepal goes into hands of Maoists, the Indian security situations will be worsened as the China will take advantage of Maoist Nepal and together eith Pakistan and Nepal will put India in very awkward situation. India must help Nepal to kill all maoists in Nepal.
Excellent analysis. The congress has surrendered national good to be in power not onlyin Andhra Preadesh but also in many other states. The biggest loss for the democratic and pro-development party in Andhra has dictated the national leadership that India will have to sustain for 5 years. A peep into the state of affairs in Andhra is an indicator for people all over India to open their eyes and put national intrests above caste and religion. While a wily China increases its influence and a nasty Pakistan and Ungrate Bangladesh eat at Indian ethos, the might of India will be lost to silly and frivulous unethical and greedy egos of the Congress(I) polity. Need I add Communists!
