The relationship between India and Nepal has soured over the years. With Nepal moving closer to China, the relation between the two neighbours nosedived. This has deeply worried the Indian security agencies. Therefore, in this context, the ongoing visit of Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda to India – his first since assuming office in December last year – marks the resilience of the relationship between the two countries and underscores the importance given by both sides to adding further momentum to bilateral partnership. There are signs of a diplomatic shift in Kathmandu, which was earlier seen as being favourable to China.
The withdrawal of the pro-Chinese CPN-UML from the current ruling coalition after the November 2022 general elections was a major setback for Beijing. The recent amendments to Nepal’s citizenship law, granting instant citizenship along with guaranteed political rights to foreign women married to Nepalis, are bound to upset China, which has been warning that the law may give descendants of Tibetan refugees’ citizenship and property rights. Though Prachanda, who heads the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre), was earlier perceived as being pro-China, he is now widely expected to assure India that he is amenable to aligning with it to contain the influence of China. He has been on record, saying that he wants to do something significant in the bilateral relationship with India. Clearly, he now wants to be seen as a friend to India, shedding the image of a revolutionary who used to dub both the United States and India as imperialist forces. Hope the relationship between two age-old neighbours will significantly improve post his visit.