Column

Domestic and wild

By C K Lal

Destiny seems to have thrust naivety upon Gajjubabu Hindibhasi. Every time he opens his mouth, he ends up putting his foot into it. Once again he has goofed up with the Aaj interview and ended up being in the news for al the wrong reasons. Though his observations aren't without some merit, what he seems to have forgotten is that he is no more a mere rabble-rouser. Being the loyal minister of His Majesty has it's limitations, one of them is circumspection. Since I am free from any such obligations, allow me to agree with the views attributed to the Honourable Minister!

It's difficult to deny that India is the fulcrum of Nepalese foreign policy. The more we try to disown this geographic, historic, religious, cultural and economic legacy; the more we get entangled in it's mess. Unfortunately, our insecurity does not allow us to face reality and then make efforts to alter it to our advantage. The blind fury of an elephant caught in the marshy swamp makes it sink deeper and the more Nepal tries to shake off Indian influence, the stronger it gets.

Nepali rulers' distrust dates back to the days of a conquering prince of Himalayan hills who travelled to Kashi to acquire a Gotra and thereby the divine right to rule a kingdom he had built out of almost nothing. Probably the pandasi of the city-eternal didn't accord him the respect that he thought was his due. Or may be the merchants cheated him just as they treat any one from the hills even now. Be as it may, when the prince matured into a Greatly King; he neither forgot nor forgave. he enshrined his way of getting back at his tormentors in a guide for his successors. To this day, this 'enlightened discourse' and the diatribe contained in it against Indians continues to be the anchor-block of our foreign policy.

Indians have their own reasons for not trusting us. The cow-belt elite hasn't forgiven us for our valour in the aid of beleaguered John company fighting off a Sepoy Mutiny. Incidentally, Indians call it their First war of Independence. Barrels of Nepali blood shed for Indian defence in subsequent decades hasn't been able to wash that blot on the psyche of India's post-independence establishment. Slightest show of our individuality alarms them in deciphering a Chinese, an American or, believe-it-or-not, even a Pakistani plot of destabilising their union! If it were not true, one would have had a good laugh at the joke. Unfortunately, this kind of defensive handling caused by mistrust ends up hardening the attitude of insecure Nepali decision makers who are constantly fighting to 'create' a personality free from the shadow of the big Brother. Thus, the vicious circle of doubt, suspicion, mistrust and insecurity breading some more of the same continues unabated. To be sure, Indians have a genuine problem. If they try to be accommodating, the signal is misread as patronising in Kathmandu, probably the reason why they haven't done that very often. Similarly, if they bargain hard, they end up looking belligerent. Now, as any professional diplomat will prefer any day; South Block has learnt to proffer the notoriety of the latter rather than the stigma of the former.

Perhaps thee is one more reason behind the brusque behaviour of Indian establishment towards their immediate neighbours. They have an exaggerated pride in theirs' being what they pompously call 'the most populous democracy in the world; when the members of the Indian Diplomatic Corpse travel to the really important world capitals, their middling status promptly deflates their self-worth Back on home-turf in the sub-continent, they lash out at their immediate neighbours with the ferocity of an enraged defeated boxer hitting out at his punch-bag in the basement. sometimes, the punch-bag rebounds. It's but natural.

It does not help matter any that Indian diplomatic corpse is elitist in spite of being a meritocracy. The anglicised bible-Brahmans of South Block prefer to be pucca brown-sahibs and refuse to accept that any one who does not agree with them in everything is not necessarily an enemy. combining the worst of Indian caste system and English hypocracy, their disdain for their 'up-start' neighbours is perceptible. Their shenanigans in the SAARC capitals reinforces their image of being from the ministry of 'external affairs' rather than the foreign ministry and one does not need to have read the exploits of Tirmizi of Pakistan to take note of that.

Commenting on Indo-Nepalese relations, an Indian leader is reported to have remarked that they couldn't do anything about their size. Now, that's a lie. For a start, they can stop throwing their girth around. Relationship between a cat and a tiger is difficult enough without the wild one roaring too often. Reassuring the weak is the responsibility of the strong. There are no exceptions.

This service is brought to you by The Independent Publication Pvt. Ltd.and Mercantile Communications Pvt. Ltd.