Get to the table
READ BEFORE YOU PROCEED: D2G wears no responsibility of the views published here by the respective Author. This Editorial is used here for Study Purpose. Students are advised to learn the word-meaning, The Art of Writing Skills and understand the crux of this Editorial.
Meanings are given in BOLD
Nepal should have paused to reflect on the wisdom ( the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise ) of rushing ( produce and distribute something very quickly ) to its parliament for a constitutional amendment to revise the new map of the country, which now officially includes the areas of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, territory that is part of the Uttarakhand state’s Pithoragarh district. The constitutional stamp ( reveal or mark out as having a particular quality or ability ) on Nepal’s claim will make it doubly difficult to resolve the issue when the two sides sit down to talk about it, as they must and surely will.
Nepal and India are bound in manifold ( many and various ) ways, and Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli should have exercised circumspection ( the quality of being wary and unwilling to take risks; prudence ) rather than plunge ( jump or dive quickly and energetically ) into this brinkmanship ( the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics), but it seems he let narrow political interests take the upper hand.
His term in office was on the rocks a month ago, and he was able to retrieve ( get or bring (something) back from somewhere ) it just in time through the activism ( the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to bring about political or social change ) of Beijing’s envoy ( a messenger or representative, especially one on a diplomatic mission ) to Kathmandu, who patched ( Strengthen) up differences between him and his rivals in the Nepal Communist Party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” and Madhav Kumar Nepal.
Yet this careless attitude towards what is unarguably Nepal’s most important and vital relationship in South Asia is perplexing ( completely baffling; very puzzling ). With no other country does Nepal have the kind of ties that it has with India, not even with China. Leveraging ( use borrowed capital for (an investment), expecting the profits made to be greater than the interest payable ) ties with one side to extract benefits from another is legitimate ( conforming to the law or to rules ) diplomacy, but also a fine art. It is useful only as long as the balance can be maintained.
For India, the task is now cut out. Delhi was unwise to have kept Nepal hanging after it complained about the November 2019 map that was published mainly to show the new arrangements in Jammu & Kashmir. The Oli government reiterated ( say something again or a number of times, typically for emphasis or clarity ) its concerns last month when India inaugurated the road to Lipulekh pass on the border with China. There is an element of disingenuity ( dishonest ) in Nepal raising this post-facto objection to a road that was years in the making, in plain sight.
But Delhi must look beyond this and act to bring down tensions. When Prime Minister Narendra Modi first came to power, his “neighbourhood first” policy signalled that his government was preparing a substantive ( having a firm basis in reality and so important, meaningful, or considerable ) new outreach in South Asia that would address other countries’ economic, political and other concerns vis a vis their bigger neighbour.
Sadly, the initial promise of that policy fizzled ( end or fail in a weak or disappointing way ) out quickly, and relations with Nepal were an early casualty, over a blockade ( seal off (a place) to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving ) of that country that could not have lasted all the months that it did without the tacit ( understood or implied without being stated ) approval of Delhi.
The ministry of external affairs must now dial into the large reserves of goodwill ( friendly, helpful, or cooperative feelings or attitude ) that it continues to have in Kathmandu, to schedule an early high-level meeting of both sides, instead of putting it off for “after COVID”.
After all, India has been engaged with China through both diplomatic and military channels over the LAC standoff ( a deadlock between two equally matched opponents in a dispute or conflict ) in Ladakh. Nothing should come in the way of similarly urgent engagement with Kathmandu. It may need Prime Minister Modi to signal that such engagement has political backing at the highest level.
