After the euphoric win in the general election, Prachanda demanded to annul the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty between India and Nepal while addressing a press conference on Thursday after a meeting with the donor communities coordinated by the UN agencies in Nepal.
Prachanda said that his demand was a reflection of his party’s ideologies which earlier has decided to scrap the treaty and review various such treaties with India in present context. The Maoist found treaties discriminatory and in1996 in their 40 point memorandum to the government asked for the annulment of many such treaty including 58 year old 1950’s peace treaty and Mahakali Treaty (sharing of Sharda and Mahakali river water for irrigation and hydro power generation).
Prachanda said, “Our past policy towards the 1950 treaty remains unchanged, we want to scrap that treaty and replace it with a new one in the changed context.”
“We also want to review all other treaties signed between Nepal and India,” he added.
The termination clause in the treaty allows the country to terminate the treaty at any time if it feels so.
However Prachanda insisted on having positive and constructive relationship with India and to open a new chapter.
The 1950’s treaty defined the security relation as well as the bilateral trades between the two countries. It has the provision that neither of the government will stand any threat of security by any other foreign country and it made both the country duty bound to inform each other under such circumstances.
The same treaty also accorded Nepal with preferential economic treatment and offered Nepalese in India the same economic and educational opportunities as Indian citizens.
But in 1960’s Nepal insisted to have both the trade and transit treaty separated which was agreed upon India in late 70’s but again in 1988 when the treaty was to be renewed various differences led to a single trade and transit treaty.
The differences become obvious after ten years of its renewal in 1989 followed by economic blockade by India as India was miffed by Nepal’s acquisition of Chinese weapon as the treaty barred Nepal to do so which kept Nepal under India’s security zone.
The relation was reestablished in 1990 and in 1991 new agreement was signed to give Nepal additional benefits. Again in 1995 the then Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikary ask to review the 1950 treaty and solicited for greater economic independence for Nepal and more space for Nepal to improve on its relation with China.
Though India and Nepal share similar culture, tradition and origin and even being one of the most close neighbours where the border remain perforated, the two countries could not build a relationship of trust and understanding.
It is time to watch how the new democratically elected party revives and weaves the relationship with India.
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