The Nepali Prime Minister K. P Oli beat the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his pet game of nationalism by getting a new map approved by the Nepali Parliament which includes about 400 square kilometers of Indian territories Lipulekh Pass and Kalapani. Nepal bases its claim to the additional territory now included in its transgressing official map earlier drawn by the East India Company on the Anglo-Nepal Treaty of Sugauli of 1816. It determined the Kali River as the western boundary between British India and Nepal. The Kali River originates from a natural spring at Kalapani, where it is joined by a rivulet flowing down from Lipulekh Pass. A muted response from India dismissed the new Nepali map as ‘untenable.’
The foreign policy of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi touched its lowest nadir in its second avatar on Saturday with the approval of the new map in the Nepali Parliament. India is missing its last national leader and Iron Lady Indira Gandhi, who split Pakistan into two and ensured that the interests of India were protected for all times to come. Indira Gandhi was a stateswoman. She was eclipsed by Emergency for a short period during her illustrious career. But Narendra Modi is the leader of Babu Bajrangi, Maya Kodnani, Jayant Sinha, Pragya Thakur, Anurag Thakur, Parvesh Varma, Kapil Mishra, and others. Naturally, Modi cannot aspire to be a statesman.
From dealing with a foolish neighbour which pushes terrorists into our country, the Dragon licking away about 60 sq. km of our territory in Ladakh, to the likes of Malaysia and Turkey, even if we do not mention the ‘termites’, the Modi government has fumbled and crumbled in its foreign policy. Now, we have more enemies than friends in Asia. The 56-inch chest seems to have contracted to 5.6 millimeters! No wonder there is a frantic search for tailors to stitch new Jodhpuris for size 5.6 mm before the next tour to hail for the victory of ‘Doland’ Trump by raising the slogan ‘Ab ki Baar, Trump Sarkar!’ However, the tailors who stitch clothes for Lilliputs have expressed concerns about the fielding of two candidates in Rajasthan Rajya Sabha polls when the BJP does not have the numbers to get both the candidates elected.
Former foreign secretary Shyam Saran puts it aptly in the Indian Express: ‘Most importantly, the Narendra Modi government needs to shed its fond expectation that Nepal’s affinity with India because of its Hindu heritage is sufficient to consolidate political relations with that country. Neither is that shared heritage sufficient to prevent Nepal’s penchant to wave the China card in India’s face whenever it seeks to advance its interests. And putting all eggs in the Oli basket, and in the bargain alienating other important political constituencies over the recent past, has proved to be costly.’
Thus, it can be argued that Modi’s penchant for ‘Hindu heritage’ within and without the borders is damaging India’s interests globally. Narendra Modi may be very busy now trying to identify which trees to be hit in Nepal for the Operation ‘Nalakot’ so that this victory be hailed in Rs 2/- per tweet! It remains to be seen whether Biharis will be overwhelmed by Nalakot as Bihar shares its border with Nepal. The hungry, tired, and bereaved migrants are already waiting for their turn to send the BJP propped up Nitish Kumar government in Bihar to the political ‘Kalapani’. Everything is possible under Modi – ‘Modi hai to sab Mumkin hai’!
