By Jaibans Singh, Tehelka.com
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| Jaibans Singh |
LAST WEEK, newly
appointed Army Chief General Bikram Singh was conferred upon the rank of
Honorary General of the Nepal Army by their President Ram Baran Yadav. Singh
was presented with a sword, a certificate and the insignia of the Nepal Army
during a function at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in Kathmandu. General Singh visited
Kathmandu to receive the honour on an invite from the Chief of the Nepal Army,
General Chhatra Man Singh Gurung.
Nepal and Indian armies have a
tradition of conferring the ranks of honorary general to each other’s chiefs.
But what’s significant here is the timing of the honour and the invite, which
came within a month of General Singh having taken office and its acceptance in
such a short period.
General Singh’s Nepal visit could
well be a part of a larger diplomatic engagement that India is following with
its key neighbour. This aspect was emphasised by the Army chief himself. “This
signifies that Nepal is very special to all of us,” he told the Nepalese media
while responding to a query on this being his first foreign trip after taking
over. The visit has also been described as one of high importance for India
owing to its relationship with Nepal and the close traditional links between
the armies of the two countries.
Nepal is a land-locked country
situated between India in the east, west and south and China in the north. The
country’s strategic importance is derived from its status as a buffer between
the two Asian super powers. Earlier, China elicited very little interest in
Nepal, but since the annexation of Tibet it has focused its eyes and energies
on the country. It aims at placing itself in a dominant strategic position in
the eventuality of a confrontation with India. China has already built a 770-km
railway line connecting Lhasa, the Tibetan capital, with the border town of
Khasa in Nepal. Nepal has requested the link to be extended to Kathmandu. When
China completes the ambitious project, it would significantly improve its
strategic access to India’s borders.
For a long period of time in the
post-independence era, India showed a proclivity to play the role of a big
brother, which was resented by Nepal; this, in addition to the political
upheaval that Nepal has been going through since the 1990s, caused considerable
friction in the traditional good relations between the two countries. The fact
that the deposed Nepal King Gyanendra and the Maoists under Prachanda harboured
distinct anti-India feelings did not help matters. India’s opposition to the
Maoists joining the Nepal army also caused bad blood.
The multi-party democracy that
replaced the monarchy has not been able to find its roots. The Maoists are
finding it difficult to resolve the inherent contradiction between their
ideology and the basic requirements of democratic governance. As a result,
Nepal has not been able to draft its constitution and has seen frequent changes
in prime ministers. This situation suits China, which is trying to ingress the
country, but is detrimental to India whose traditionally strong relationship is
witnessing a down turn due to the instability. It is for this reason that, of
late, Nepal is being viewed as the soft belly of India’s strategic security.
India has been making some very
serious attempts to give more aid and assistance to Nepal in view of its own
security interests. A significant leverage has come by with Baburam Bhattarai
becoming the Prime Minister of that country. Bhattarai has studied in India (in
Delhi and Chandigarh) and has a pro-India approach. India went a step further
by appointing Jayant Prasad as the country’s Ambassador to Nepal. His
predecessor had not exactly endeared himself to the Nepal government with his
rude and overbearing approach. In 2010, India extended to Nepal a line of
credit worth $250 million and 80,000 tonnes of food grain. India also agreed to
set up a credit line to ensure uninterrupted supplies of petroleum products and
other commodities.
FOR INDIA, this
is a critical period with Nepal government in the process of deciding upon
allowing Nepalese Gorkha’s to serve in the Indian Army as hitherto fore. The
Maoists have raised an objection to this precedent, despite the fact that the
22,000 Nepal Gorkha’s serving in the Indian army and the ex-serviceman
collectively generate an annual revenue of $200 million, which is a great boost
to the economy apart from maintaining good relations between the two countries.
The army chief’s Nepal visit
gains importance when seen in the context of the improving relations with the
neighbouring country. General Singh held extensive talks, not only with his
counterpart, but also with Prime Minister Bhattarai and Defence Minister Bijay
Kumar Gachhadar. The idea was to work out mutually beneficial defence
cooperation. The agenda was to enhance cooperation in training and courses, UN
peacekeeping, disaster management, sports, adventure activities and defence
industry. Very high in priority was resumption of arms supplies, which has
remained suspended since the royal takeover in 2005. Other issues of importance
that may have come up for discussion are the supporting vectors of crossborder
terrorism such as flow of fake Indian currency notes through Nepal, Extradition
Treaty and the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty. Nepal has given a firm
commitment that it will not allow its soil to be used against India’s security
interests.
“Yes, given the policies of both
the governments we are moving ahead and it is making progress,” said General
Bikram Singh, post his meeting with the Nepalese premier, indicating the
positive outcome of the visit.
Relations between India and Nepal
have always remained complex; they have their fair share of ups and downs, this
being the ‘up’ period. Traditional linkages of the two armies have been
important tools towards cementing this friendship. The army chief’s Nepal visit
is bound to further the effort to engage the neighbour positively; it will help
build trust and mutual confidence. It is also heartening to see the army being
incorporated in diplomacy.
Jaibans Singh is the editor
of www.defenceinfo.com
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