Kathmandu gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi a fulsome welcome on Sunday — not just a chance to address its Parliament (also the Constituent Assembly for now), making him only the second statesman after former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl to be accorded that honour, but also being given the same treatment as Nepal’s former royals at Pashupatinath Temple, devout to Hindus everywhere.
There is a good reason for the unusual fuss. Mr Modi took the trouble to become the first Indian leader since 1997 to pay Nepal a bilateral visit as a part of his understanding of neighbourhood outreach. There can be no question that personal endorsement by an Indian PM is seen as being of some substance and significance in the Himalayan republic.
No matter what Nepal does in the future about giving itself a Constitution (its navel-gazing political class has failed the people, and their determinedly democratic push in ejecting a 240-year old monarchy, in not agreeing on a Basic Law although six years of nerve-wracking political gamesmanship have passed), Mr Modi’s message was one of hope and support to the recently established republic.
It is of no little significance that Mr Modi endorsed the idea of Nepal as a federal, democratic republic, allaying anxiety in some quarters that far-right politicians in the Himalayan country aligned to the old order, who are not without influence in India’s Hindutva circles, may succeed in persuading the recently-elected government in India to resile from the ideal of a democratic republic that rests on a federal footing.
Clearly implied in the PM’s speech and his message to the people of the country and its politicians was the assurance that they needn’t entertain any worries about Indian interference in their country’s internal affairs. The bugbear of Big Brother interference has been a not-so-subtle subtext in the declarations of the torpor-tormented Kathmandu Valley elite, and not just the old royalty, for decades, and has cropped up from time to time even after old times changed. Mr Modi indeed was clear that he wanted changes to the treaty of 1950, which governs India-Nepal ties, before his tenure ends. Let us see how soon the Kathmandu mandarins step forward to negotiate the changes they seek to the treaty.
The Prime Minister promised massive Indian support in the field of infrastructure and straightaway offered a line of credit of $1 billion. This is hardly an eye-popping figure. India can do much more if the circumstances are right. But Nepal must give itself a consensus Constitution and a credible and steady government before any decent idea can be taken to its fruition. The story of Nepal has been one of surrendered opportunities on account of its feckless politicians.
