Traditional or Modern Diplomatic Approaches Vis-Á-Vis Indo-Nepal Relations

Abstract

Nature and destiny have put India and Nepal so close to each other that it is difficult to find a parallel example of two independent and sovereign countries which have so much multidimensional and involved relationship in common. In geographical terms, Nepal is a northward extension on the Indo Gangetic plain. The two countries share a common environment and landscape. Nepal situated on the southern - slopes of the Himalayas separates Tibetan region of China from the Indian sub-continent. It shares its border with India on three sides. Hence it has strategic importance and occupies a significant position in relation to India’s security and defence system in the north. At the same time, Nepal is a landlocked country which has posed serious limitations to its efforts economic, mobilization and development. India alone provides sea route to Nepal. It has enhanced Nepal’s economic dependence on its neighbour to a very considerable extent. In fact, Nepal’s economy is inextricably attached to the Indian economy. India and its relation with Nepal goes a long way and it is filled with cooperation and mutual understanding. Both countries have established many feats by following diplomacy and many approaches to it. Treaties like Peace & Friendship Treaty, 1950; financial aid to Nepal after 2015 earthquake, Nepal citizens serving in the Indian army, free movement of citizens across borders and many more such unique aspects that are not present anywhere else between two countries. But as always, thorns are always present in a relationship. India and Nepal have some border issues that has stretched for quite a long time without any resolve. India's latest diplomatic row with Nepal erupted on May 8 when New Delhi announced the inauguration of a Himalayan road link that passes through the disputed area of Kalapani. According to experts, with India engaged in the Galway Valley against China, the cartographic war between India and Nepal can further deteriorate the security of its borders in the North. In the backdrop of a de facto border dispute between India and China-the Line of Actual Control (LAC), a frontier that remains unmarked, there is a further barrier to that. However, the ruling Communist Party government in Nepal has approached China in recent years for investment and better connectivity, which worries India. Amid the tensions, the second in six months over Kalapani and the most intense bilateral dispute since the unofficial blockade in 2015, observers at each side have begun calling on Kalapani to pursue a diplomatic solution. A diplomatic solution is the way out and forward is believed by both sides, analysts, think tanks as well as political leaders and hence this paper studies the different approaches to diplomacy and applies them in the context of Indo-Nepal bilateral relations, thus making an argument and logically reasoning out the best diplomatic ways and approaches to take in the future.