Shyam Saran writes: Between India and Nepal, barriers come down

In the game of musical chairs, which is the defining hallmark of Nepali politics, Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda”, the Maoist leader, is in his fourth innings as prime minister since 2008. His recent visit to India from May 31 to June 3 was also his fourth as PM and arguably his most successful. Part of the reason may lie in the evolution of Prachanda himself from a revolutionary leader to a seasoned politician, more nuanced and supple in his approach. What he said about the change in his outlook in 2016 was much more in evidence during his current visit to India.

Referring to the strained relations with India during his first term as PM in 2008-9, he had said in 2016: “At that point, the impact of the revolution and war was very strong on my mind. I needed more time to understand the nuances of politics. After the ups and downs of the past decade, I think I will be able to strengthen relations between our two countries with more maturity.”
The personal transformation was also evident in his donning of the traditional Nepali national dress, daura suruwal, for formal occasions on the visit. Earlier he would only wear western dress to emphasise the revolutionary break with feudal tradition. Another first was his visit to the Mahakaleshwar temple in Ujjain to offer prayers. This would have laid to rest any residual misgivings in the BJP government about having to deal with an unreformed, and possibly dangerous, communist.

Prachanda was justifiably satisfied with the results of his visit. He dispensed with the raising of contentious issues which would detract attention from the opportunities for substantive progress. The revision of the India-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1950 was not raised, perhaps for the first time in recent years. The report of the Eminent Persons’ Group, available since 2018, which has recommendations the Indian government is not enthusiastic about, such as turning the existing open border into a regulated one, was not pursued though pressed on by other Nepali politicians in advance of the visit. The inconvenient issue of the recruitment of Nepali Gurkha soldiers by the Indian Army, in the wake of the Agnipath scheme adopted by India, was apparently not part of the talks. The Nepali demand is that the Gurkha recruits from Nepal be exempted from the four-year tenure laid down under the scheme.