Devil's Advocate: Prachanda on Indo-Nepal relations

LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR? The 1950 Indo-Nepal treaty is not beneficial for Nepal, says Prachanda.

        

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Keywords: Democracy, Maoists

Karan Thapar: So you are saying to the Indian people and government that I don’t want to renegotiate the relationship to destroy it.

Prachanda: Yes, and we want to strengthen relations by re-negotiating.

Karan Thapar: And you are saying that India should be looking to renegotiate also to look at advantages for itself.

Prachanda: Yes.

Karan Thapar: You are happy with that?

Karan Thapar: The fact that nearly 30,000 Nepali Gorkha soldiers are employed by the Indian Army. The Army has seven Gorkha regiments comprising 43 battalions. This is seen in India as an unbreakable link that binds Nepal with India. You want to stop this, why?

Prachanda: Yes, we want to discuss this issue. We don’t want to stop it right now. We want to review the whole history of the development and the implication on both countries. What kind of relation is created through this institution is what we want to review. We want to review and discuss it.

Karan Thapar: You said a very important thing. At this stage you don’t want to stop the Gorkha recruitment by the Indian Army. You want to review it and discuss it. At the moment you are not seeking to stop recruitment?

Prachanda: Yes.

Karan Thapar: Why do you want to review it? What is there to discuss?

Prachanda: I think this will be debated in our constituent Assembly. It is an important topic. Now we are about to draft a new constitution and that will guide us for Nepal’s vital interest.

Karan Thapar: In your eyes, do you see Nepali Gorkhas who get employed by Indian Army or the British army as mercenaries. Is that why you don’t like it because it is mercenary behaviour?

Prachanda: These are historical questions. We will have to review it in that perspective.

Karan Thapar: Today, tens of thousands of jobs are guaranteed by Indian Army and another 5,000 by the British army and other than that there are almost lakh of people who get pensions. You want to eradicate poverty and unemployment. Then why touch this. This is a source of employment. Why affect it?

Prachanda: Here in Nepal there was feudal autocracy as a political system. Now that we are changing that into a democratic system, and we are looking at rapid economic development so that our youth don’t have to look for employment in other countries. We want to change the political and economic scenario.