NEW DELHI?Madhav Nepal came, he saw, and he left without as much as creating a ripple in the Indian capital.
If anything, the core message that Mr Nepal should be taking home is that this is a new India. The Indian PMO may be keeping an eye on Nepal because of security interests, but it spends far more time and energy looking out to the west finding ways to carve a space in the world.
The Indian media's interest in Nepal is narrowed to the interest of certain key senior journalists who wield influence in their newsrooms to push a story or interview. The business community may attend the fancy CII lunches but they are increasingly disinterested and frustrated with the political and economic drift in Nepal. And anyway, Kathmandu barely figures on the radar of the big business houses influencing foreign policy.
So who is Nepal, and subsequently Mr Nepal, left with in Delhi? Only a few politicians who have little presence or say in Indian politics anymore (A B Bardhan, D P Tripathi, P A Sangma, Sharad Yadav), and the Nepal desk officers of South Block. The prospect of Nepal and India's Nepal policy becoming a larger issue of public debate in India is growing increasingly dim.
Except for a few dips and cops, no one is interested in Nepal here. But those very few men and women decisively affect our politics.
Madhav Nepal thanked India for its support for the peace and democratic process. He hoped this support will continue. Translation: thank you for helping me get this job, please support this government, look I came here first and not China. I will retain the balanced policy you want at present of keeping the Maoists engaged, but out of the power alignment.
The most significant meeting of the trip was between MKN and Manmohan Singh accompanied by Pranab Mukherjee that lasted an hour and in which Singh firmly backed Mr Nepal. The prime minister always saw this as a trust-building exercise and is convinced that objective has been accomplished.
The Indian side expressed its firm support to the government. The idea was to reassure Madhav Nepal that they were with him, he should be bold and assert himself. More importantly, Delhi was warning the other Nepali politicians, Girija Koirala, Puspha Kamal Dahal, Jhlanath Khanal, and Upendra Yadav, not to destabilise the present arrangement. This was also a thank you trip for Madhav Nepal's role during the Katawal crisis.
But a certain Ms Koirala complicated the plot and threatened to convert it into more of a farewell trip for Mr Nepal. Even during her preparatory visit, Sujata queered the pitch for the PM's visit by blabbering in front of the media after each meeting, playing up the discussions, and talking about Indian promises. With the latest tantrum, she undermined her own government.
No one in Delhi is fond of Sujata and she wasn't missed here this week. But they understood that the signal was from Dad, and they don't like the rumours that he is cosying up to the Maoists. India and the Maoists have themselves started talking at fairly senior levels, but at the moment officials here insist that they support the Nepal government and any talk of an alternative is counter-productive.
"Don't make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Back this arrangement. Does Nepal want to just keep changing governments all the time?" asked one official.
There is a growing recognition in Delhi that the constitution may not be written on time. Note that even when all Nepali actors were claiming elections can't happen, India insisted it would and used its leverage to push everyone towards the polls. This time, India seems pretty much reconciled to the fact that the process cannot meet its timeline. What that means is that they may not be using their leverage, beyond the usual rhetoric, to push it either.
Mr Nepal made an appearance and felt good about it. India was warm and hospitable. Beyond that, this trip has done little to resolve either the India-party-Maoist impasse or bring about any substantial change in India-Nepal relations.
READ ALSO:
A pragmatic vassal - FROM ISSUE #465 (21 AUG 2009 - 27 AUG 2009)
