Nepal

I have to write about something which I guess very few people I know who might read this will be interested in. Nepal is India's neighbour and the only Hindu country in the world. Because of our preoccupation with Pakistan and nepal's smaller size, there is very less mention about it in the media.

Ofcourse, ordinary indians know a lot about nepal because of its historical, religious connections. Nepal is right now going through a very critical moment in it's life. A tripartite struggle between feudal monarchy, radical communism and democratic forces is taking place. It is difficult to judge who will emerge as the winner but definitely monarchy is in the weakest position at the moment.

On paper, it is the communists who are strongest. They control more than half of the countryside and they are committed to their cause. And since they are at a stage where they have the promise of a future dominance they are all united. In contrast the democratic forces are much weaker and they will need assistance from outside especially from India and US.

India is playing a cautious game. It seems that it doesnt think that getting rid of the monarchy in one blow(which is what many of the democratic mob wants) will be a stabilizing thing. For whatever the fault of the monarchy, it is a tried and tested things. Both Maoists and the radical democrats are new things and though Maoists are the enemy and the democrats the friend but sometimes its good to be a bit wary of a new friend.

What India wants is that over the long term, the democrats take over Nepal and the monarchy become gradually irrelevant. But the presence of monarchy is important if for nothing else than to deter the Maoists from thinking that there is no one in charge of Kathmandu.