"I have come here with the goodwill and love from one and a quarter billion people of India. Nepal India relations are as old as the Himalayas and the Ganga. We have always believed that it is not our work to interfere in what you do but to support you in the path you decide to take."When Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said this while addressing SAARC Summit in Kathmandu last year, we cheered him on. He had won hearts of thousands of Nepalis and left them spellbound. People gathered along roads through which he passed just to look at him. Pashupatinath was decorated like a bride to welcome him. The 45-minutes speech that he delivered had changed Nepali perception on India and Indians. When earthquake ravaged Nepal in April, it was his government that extended every possible support, once again winning hearts of mourning Nepalis.
Yes, the issues of border encroachment and Indian media misreporting were also there but we ignored them because we trusted Modi. We believed he was a man with noble heart. We even compared our leaders with Narendra Modi and wished they emulated him. But since seven-point amendment proposal to the new constitution was made public through The Indian Express and the blockade that followed, our views of him have completely changed.
We don't know which Modi to believe in: the one who came to Nepal last year or the one who has imposed unofficial blockade? Is this being done under his watch? Is it appropriate for one sovereign nation to interfere in internal issues of another sovereign nation? Nepalis are asking.
Mr Modi apparently wants Nepal to grant powers on naturalized citizens to hold top posts like Prime Minister and Chief Minister. But wasn't it your BJP which raised hue and cry over Sonia Gandhi's citizenship status seventeen years ago to stop her from becoming the PM? How can you force citizenship provision on Nepal that you flatly reject in your country?
Your strategy of playing with Madheshis' sentiments may have worked. Madhesh is burning. But you have fallen in people's eyes. Nepal is a sovereign country and India should treat it accordingly. Your design to colonize Nepal will fail. Nepal will never allow an Indian to become its PM or President.
Your amendment proposal (we are told this has come at your behest) shows you are still not a mature leader. It has united Nepalis against India's highhandedness. After all, federalism, inclusion and democracy have been institutionalized after ten years of rigorous debate and discussions and the constitution has been passed by 90 percent members of sovereign Constituent Assembly.
Yes, it's not flawless. But it is open to amendment. The blockade has put Nepal under great hardship at the moment. In the long-run, India too will have to bear the brunt. We cannot do without collaboration and cooperation between two countries. Yes, we are poor but we value independence, territorial integrity and freedom more than anything.
We do not need to act as you, Mr Modi, advice. With such narrow vision, your dream of becoming an Asian leader will never materialize. Thus India should shed its hegemony on Nepal. We don't need slippery sugarcoated words. We don't need a neighbor who attacks us from the back.
Napoleon Bonaparte has rightly said that necessity is the mother of invention. International community won't keep quiet. We will start searching for alternative sources of energy. Our relationship with China will strengthen. Rather than importing apples from India we will build roads to bring apples from Helambu.
We will stand on our own feet rather than depend on India. The millions and billions rupees we spend for importing goods from India will be saved. Industries, trade and business will flourish. Farmers will be motivated. We will use our own manpower. New job opportunities will emerge. Thank you Modi, we could now truly become an independent economy.
Professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University Kamal Mitra Chinoy told NDTV that Nepal's constitution is better than India's as it provides reservation for women, marginalized groups and Madheshis. Make bridges in Gujarat, make women in Delhi feel safer in the streets and feed the inhabitants of Maharastra under poverty line. Nepal will find its ways to survive.
The author is a student of social work
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