Deputy Director Pandey's Interview to the Times of India

Caught between security issues, poverty, the Maoist uprising, ethnic separatists, and dwindling tourist arrivals, disheartened Nepal badly needs a helping hand. Last week, Maoists assassinated the governor of Pokhra, tourist paradise and gateway to the Annapurna Range. Nishchal Nath Pandey, deputy executive director, Institute of Foreign Affairs, Kathmandu - who was in Delhi recently to participate in a UN conference on peace and conflict - tells Narayani Ganesh that India should help Nepal help itself. [ 12:00:00 AM Tuesday, July 06, 2004 ]

Is it fair to call Nepal a "failed state"? Has multiparty democracy let you down?

Just because we're in trouble and we need assistance, we cannot be called a "failed state". It is a sloppily-used terminology. Nepal is a vibrant democracy. We've had 12 prime ministers in 12 years. The alternative to democracy is only chaos. We need to safeguard multiparty democracy and the constitutional monarchy.

But the 'Maoist' uprising that began in 1996 continues to disrupt normal life in Nepal.

We need to establish peace with the rebels who call themselves Maoist. After all, they are our brothers. We are asking for India's assistance to deal with the Maoist problem. India can help Nepal help itself with maturity, foresight and large-heartedness. A Nepal unable to govern itself will be a headache for India because the Indo-Gangetic plain will become exposed.

Would military intervention provide a solution?

No, it will only lead to more deaths as it happened in Sri Lanka. Since 1996, 10,000 Nepalis have died in Maoist insurgency-related incidents. Why would we want more lives to be lost?

How about UN intervention, then?

No, there is no need for any kind of outside intervention. We can solve our own problems — we are asking for international assistance mainly in development and reconstruction work.

Maybe the monarchy should go for the situation to improve?

There is absolutely no guarantee that if the monarchy is abolished and a parliamentary democracy is established, the Maoist problem will go away. Iran had a modern society under the Shah; Afghanistan plunged into chaos without monarchy and in post-Haille Selassie Ethiopia, there is economic chaos. Monarchy has a stabilising influence on society.

What kind of help do you expect from India?

India has an eight million Nepali diaspora — in the army, as guards, helpers, and through marriage. Our ties go back to the days of Ram and Sita and Gautama Buddha. No other two countries have such deep emotional ties. Nepalis have served India's interests from time immemorial. For the first time in history we're in real trouble and we are seeking India's assistance. So far, India has been providing military hardware and training. We badly need economic assistance.

What is China's take on the Maoist insurgency?

China has said that the Maoists in Nepal are anti-government elements. They also say they are not really Maoists and that Nepal should find its own solution, that any increase in the quality of the conflict should be avoided.

Indo-Nepal ties are ancient; yet, of late, there has been a growing mutual feeling of alienation. Why?

We have been through bad times when anti-India sentiments have been whipped up on the flimsiest of reasons. True, there was an impression that India, for whatever reason, was not vibing well with Nepal and vice versa. But that mindset is changing now. Nepal has 83,000 megawatts of unharnessed hydropower energy. The irony? India's four most power-hungry states — UP, Bihar, Uttaranchal and West Bengal — are just across Nepal's border. Why can't we initiate projects for mutual benefit?

Isn't the issue of hydropower highly politicised?

Well, the Mahakali project agreement was signed in 1996, but there is no detailed draft yet. Both India and Nepal are to be blamed. But two months ago, we have signed the Upper Karnali project. Indian Railways is coming to Nepal and in Birgunj, it is in operation. An Indian consulate has been opened here.

Kathmandu has the largest density of NGOs in the world. Don't they help steer rural development?

They are part of the problem; they have their own agenda. They have become what we call conflict entrepreneurs — the more the conflict, the more they gain. You know, for the first time separatist tendencies have emerged in Nepal — among the Terai people, Mythilis and Kirat tribes. Then we have this Maoist problem. This is our weakest period. These NGOs have been creating an ethnic empowerment sentiment which encourages separatist tendencies.

How is Nepal coping with the Bhutanese refugee problem?

We've had the problem since 1990 and the democracy movement began in Bhutan. Since then, more than one lakh Bhutanese of Nepali origin were sent out of Bhutan. They still live in seven camps in eastern Nepal. India says it is a bilateral issue. But they are close to the chicken-neck that connects the rest of India to the north-east. If these idle minds join hands with the militants in the north-east, there could be a conflagration. So India needs to be proactive by mediating between Nepal and Bhutan who don't have a common border.