Greater Noida (Defence Desk), December 13: Nepal is one of India’s neighbours that is highly dependent on India yet remains to be a vulnerable patch in India’s security set up. Nepal, being a landlocked country, is heavily dependent on its neighbours for connectivity and trade.
Also, a major chunk of the Indo-Nepal border remains open. And over the years, several reports indicate that terrorist groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Indian Mujahideen, and various insurgent factions are exploiting this open border with Nepal to advance their agenda. Additionally, the open border is misused for smuggling subsidised consumer goods.
But despite all this, India has always been a support to Nepal given their instability and frequently changing governments.
This is the reason why the Nepalese Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel has paid a visit to Delhi and has been welcomed at South Block. Sigdel is expected to hold talks with Indian Army Chief during his visit, which aims to enhance bilateral military cooperation and explore new avenues for defence collaboration.
It is pertinent that this visit comes soon after Indian Army chief Gen Upendra Dwivedi visited Nepal.
Not only this visit, experts believe, will be aimed at enhancing bilateral military cooperation between India and Nepal but also explore new avenues for defence collaboration.
During the same time, the Nepali Chief Of Army Staff will also visit Indian Defence Industries and witness Static Equipment Display at Pune. He is also expected to engage with representatives of the Indian Defence Industry.
But at this juncture it is also important to note that bilateral relations between India and Nepal have not always been marked by consistent cooperation.
Changes in Nepal’s political regimes have often led to changed relations with India. Moreover, China’s interference with Nepal’s defence and political developments has also resulted in widening the tiff between India and Nepal. If we talk of China and Nepal, since 2008, both countries have signed several intelligence-sharing agreements, primarily aimed at curbing pro-Tibet protests in Nepal led by exiled Tibetans.
This, India considers not a move that it would appreciate.
But regardless of these, India and Nepal have a long history of defence cooperation.
India has been at the forefront of providing Nepali Army with equipment and training to help them modernize and innovate in defence sector. Not only the Indian Army recruits soldiers from Nepal’s hill districts to form the Gorkha battalions, in fact around 32,000 Gorkha soldiers from Nepal currently serve in the Indian Army.
Other than these India and Nepal have a tradition of awarding the honorary rank of General to each other’s Army Chiefs along with their Army Chiefs regularly visiting each other’s country for investiture ceremonies.
India also has time and again provided assistance to Nepal during disasters and the two countries regularly conduct joint military exercises to achieve shared security objectives.
One of the Indio-Nepal joint military exercises, Surya Kiran, is an annual event that aims to enhance the interoperability and defense cooperation between the two countries.
Then there are other exercises focusing on a variety of areas including jungle warfare, counter-terrorism operations in mountainous terrain, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, drone employment and counter-drone measures, medical training, aviation aspects and environment conservation.
But why has India been a caretaker for Nepal?
Nepal is important to India for a number of reasons. Not just that the two countries have open borders, same villages extending across borders, people with families living at both side close to borders but also share culture and religion. India and Nepal share a number of common culture, language, and religion, and both countries revere the same gods and incarnations.
India also is Nepal’s largest trading partner, the top source of tourists, and the largest source of foreign investment. India also provides transit for most of Nepal’s third-country trade. This clearly is indicative of the fact that regardless of its government’s political inclination, India has been a great support for Nepal’s economy.
Speaking geographically and diplomatically, a friendly Nepal can act as a buffer between India and China.
In fact, historical ties between India and Nepal have a long cultural connection. Be it the 2015 earthquake or any other moment of disaster, India has been a first responder in Nepal, providing aid and reconstruction assistance.
However, despite such support, as political volatility in Nepal has significantly destabilised the country, India- Nepal relations are believed to have solid foundations.
But if Nepal continues to have inclination towards China, India too will have to resort to stricted stances. The current visit of Nepalese Army Chief General Ashok Raj Sigdel, however, narrates a different story. And India, as one of the closest neighbours to Nepal and its old ally, not only has welcomed Sigdel but also looks forward to deepening its defence cooperation with Nepal.
