Editorial: Repairing the relationship

Nepalese PM wants to be seen as a friend to India, shedding the image of a revolutionary who used to dub both US and India as imperialist forces

Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda’s ongoing visit to India, his first since assuming office in December last year, marks the resilience of the relationship between the two countries, in the face of a few irritants of the past, and underscores the importance given by both sides to adding further momentum to bilateral partnership. There are signs of a diplomatic shift in Kathmandu which was earlier seen as being favourable to China. The withdrawal of the pro-Chinese CPN-UML from the current ruling coalition after the November 2022 general elections was a major setback for Beijing. The recent amendments to Nepal’s citizenship law, granting instant citizenship along with guaranteed political rights to foreign women married to Nepalis, are bound to upset China, which has been warning that the law may give descendants of Tibetan refugees citizenship and property rights. Though Prachanda, who heads the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), was earlier perceived as being pro-China, he is now widely expected to assure India that he is amenable to aligning with it to contain the influence of China. He has been on record, saying he wanted to do something significant in the bilateral relationship with India. Clearly, he now wants to be seen as a friend to India, shedding the image of a revolutionary who used to dub both the United States and India as imperialist forces. Like his ally and predecessor Sher Bahadur Deuba, Prachanda is going slow on projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) that Nepal had agreed to six years ago.

The Prachanda government has put on hold the purchase of military equipment from China and also pledged to speed up the investigation of missing persons and Maoist excesses during the Civil War. Political stability has eluded Nepal, with no government or any prime minister completing the full term. The Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) has slipped to the number three position after the Nepali Congress (NC) and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist). Facing political instability and economic crisis, Prachanda appears keen to be seen as respecting the sentiments of Nepali Hindus by including Indore and Ujjain — cities with important Shiva temples — in his current itinerary. Also, there has been progress on resolving the points of friction around hydropower projects that India is executing in Nepal. Prachanda is aware of the continuing role that India’s goodwill plays in Nepali politics. Last December, he made an attempt, apparently after being nudged by China, to align with another communist party, the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) but ultimately found the alliance with the pro-India Nepali Congress more comfortable. During the ongoing visit, more than half a dozen agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries. It is also expected to generate substantial progress in energy, connectivity, trade, and development cooperation initiatives.

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