With the elections in Nepal and the abolition of the monarchy by the new Constituent Assembly there, the stage is set for an overhaul in the relationship between India and Nepal.  Both the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), which won the largest number of seats in the elections, as well as the government of India have declared that they are keen to put India-Nepal relations on a different footing.

It is no secret that the relations between India and Nepal have been marked by much tension and mutual animosity.  In Nepal, a wide section of people as well as political opinion have repeatedly voiced their resentment over India's domineering attitude and policy towards Nepal and its interference in its internal affairs.  In crucial areas of their political, military and economic affairs, they feel that India has infringed on Nepal's sovereignty. In the numerous treaties and agreements that have been concluded between Nepal and India, they say that they have got a raw deal. 

It is important that the people of India try and understand the reasons for the long-standing resentment in Nepal over the nature of their relationship with India.  The ruling circles in India make out that they have bent over backwards to be accommodating towards Nepal but that this 'generosity' has not been reciprocated.  Facts show, however, that India-Nepal relations have been driven in the main by the self-serving agenda of the Indian ruling class, which has considered Nepal as its 'backyard', with de facto limited sovereignty.

The “special relationship”

The Indo-Nepal “Treaty of Peace and Friendship” of 1950 set the stage for what the Indian side has touted as a “special relationship” between India and Nepal. Much of this Treaty as well as the Trade and Commerce Treaty that was also signed that year, is phrased in terms of reciprocity – i.e. as if it applies equally to India and Nepal.

For instance, Article 7 of the Treaty says that “The Governments of India and Nepal agree to grant, on a reciprocal basis, to the nationals of one country in the territories of the other the same privileges in the matter of residence, ownership of property, participation in trade and commerce, movement and other privileges of a similar nature.” 

In words, this looks like Indians and Nepalis are being treated on an equal footing in each others' countries. In practice, given the economic conditions of both countries, what this has meant is that the powerful and wealthy Indian ruling class has got a cheap and unending source of cheap labour from Nepal while at the same time getting unrestricted access to Nepal's market and natural resources.

The real nature of the “special relationship” comes through even more clearly in the political and military aspects. According to the terms of this relationship, as laid down in the Treaty and a special “Letter” that accompanied it, Nepal had no right to purchase arms or ammunition except from India or with India's approval. When in 1988, the government of Nepal sought to reduce its dependence on India and purchased some military equipment from China, the Rajiv Gandhi government responded at once with a blockade that virtually strangulated the Nepal economy.

The attitude of the Indian state towards Nepal comes out most clearly in a speech made by Jawaharlal Nehru to the Indian Parliament in December 1950.  In that speech, Nehru said that “so far as the Himalayas are concerned, they lie on the other side of Nepal, mostly, not on this side. Therefore, the principal barrier to India lies on the other side of Nepal and we are not going to tolerate any person coming over that barrier. Therefore, much as we appreciate the independence of Nepal, we cannot risk our own security by anything going wrong in Nepal which permits either that barrier to be crossed or otherwise weaken our frontiers.”

What this clearly reveals is that as far as the Indian state is concerned, Nepal is just a buffer between India and the power on “the other side of the barrier” – that is, China – and hence its sovereignty ends where India's strategic interests are concerned.  The implementation of this policy could be seen when an Indian Military Mission was sent to Nepal in 1952, after the Chinese army consolidated its hold over Tibet – an action that was greatly resented in Nepal.

The “special relationship” between India and Nepal is in fact a continuation of the one-sided relationship between the British colonial rulers of India and Nepal in the nineteenth century.  The British colonialists too, in words, recognised the independence of Nepal, but in practice imposed unjust terms and conditions on Nepal through a series of treaties and agreements.  The same policy is in effect being continued today by the Indian ruling class.

Trade and transit

Nepal is a small, poor and landlocked country.  India is practically the only outlet for goods and services going in and out of Nepal.  The Indian state has not hesitated to use this vulnerability of Nepal to ensure that Nepal falls in line with its dictate. 

Until the early 1970s, virtually the entire share of Nepal's imports and exports were cornered by India.  From that period, however, the government of Nepal embarked on a policy of trade diversification. This led to a steep drop in India's share of Nepal's imports and exports.  The Indian response to this was to pressurise Nepal on its most vulnerable point – its need for transit rights through India.  While Nepal wanted to delink the issues of trade and transit, India insisted on having one trade and transit agreement.  The issue continued to fester for two decades until the late 1990s.

The China factor

Historically, Nepal always enjoyed close relations with both India and China.  It was the British colonial government of India that had sought to pull Nepal away from China under its own domination. After 1947, for all its talk of “Hindi-Cheeni bhai-bhai”, the Indian government continued to be deeply suspicious of China and regarded it as the main danger on the northern front. There is no doubt that the goal of curtailing Chinese influence in the Himalayan region has been a key factor in the fashioning of the India-Nepal relationship by the Indian side. 

After the 1962 war with China, the Indian government became even more paranoid on this score. Any attempt by Nepal to restore the balance in its foreign relations in its own interests, by seeking to forge better relations with China or other countries in the South Asian region, was viewed by the Indian state as intolerable, in the typical arrogant manner of all imperialist powers. So much so that Nepal's proposal to declare itself a “Zone of Peace” in 1975 was viewed by the Indian state as a grave provocation. 

Interference in Nepal's internal affairs

Along with Japan and Thailand, Nepal was the only country in Asia that, through its fierce resistance, did not become a colony of any imperialist power. The people of Nepal are proud of this history. Therefore, it is intolerable to them when the Indian state uses its clout to interfere in its internal affairs.

The Indian state has always considered it its 'right' to intervene in the internal politics of Nepal to ensure that a 'friendly' (i.e. compliant) party is in power there.  In the early years, it backed the monarchy against the powerful Ranas.  In return, it was able to impose its agenda of a “special relationship”. Then, when in the time of King Mahendra the government of Nepal began to build closer ties with China and Pakistan, the Indian state backed opposition forces.  More recently, after it had repaired its relations with the monarchy, the Indian government followed its 'twin pillar' policy, where it interfered actively to try and get the monarchy and the established political parties to work together against the insurgency led by the CPN (Maoist). This policy ran into a dead end when the Nepali people's jan andolan of 2006 changed the face of Nepal's politics.

Although the Indian government has now declared that it is willing to work with the new political arrangement in Nepal, the people of Nepal can forget its history of interference only at their own peril.  The Indian ruling class will continue to intrigue to back those forces in Nepal that will be most accommodating towards it.

Development and river water issues

Article 6 of the Indo-Nepal Treaty of 1950 promised that the nationals of both countries would enjoy in the other country “national treatment with regard to participation in industrial and economic development of such territory and to the grant of concessions and contracts, relating to such development.”  In other words, Nepal could put up no barriers to the unrestrained exploitation of its market and resources by the much more powerful Indian bourgeoisie.

Nepal and India share a huge number of rivers, and agreements on the use of these waters are naturally a major issue in India-Nepal relations.  India has a great need for the hydropower that Nepal can provide, and both the Indian state and big Indian firms like GMR have been pushing for joint hydropower projects.  However, the strong opinion voiced in Nepal is that by and large Nepal has got a raw deal in these agreements. 

Need to respect Nepal's sovereignty and equality not just in words but in deeds

The record of the relations between India and Nepal clearly shows that the attempts by the Indian state and big bourgeoisie to impose their own agenda on Nepal, using their much greater economic and military strength, is the main reason for the problems in this relationship. Sometimes the Indian side has dangled a carrot in the form of trade concessions or transit rights and at other times it has wielded a stick.  But at all times it has ruthlessly pursued its own agenda, and has never actually conceded the complete sovereignty and equality of Nepal, taking cover under the plea of India's “national interests”. 

The interests of the majority of India's workers, peasants and other working people are not the same as those of the Indian ruling class and the state. The interests of the Indian people are not served by alienating the people of Nepal and maintaining a perpetual source of tension in the neighbourhood, as has been the case so far. The Indian people want to have relations of cooperation and friendship with our neighbour Nepal and its people, based on truly mutual benefit and scrupulous respect for each other's sovereignty.