Oli has had the opportunity to convey Nepal's disappointment to both the leaders over their unilateral decision to conduct trade through Nepali territory without even informing Nepal
All the world's eyes are focussed on the summit conference of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which is underway in Tianjin, China at the present. This Eurasian political, economic, and international security organisation was established in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Later, in 2017, India and Pakistan joined this bonhomie. Iran and Belarus also followed suit in 2023. Nepal has joined the SCO as a dialogue partner, and now it has requested for membership of this prestigious organisation during the conference.
This conference bounced into the limelight following the tariff tantrums of U.S. President Donald Trump, which have brought India, China, and Russia near to one another as never before. SCO boasts of 42 per cent of the world population, 24 per cent of the world's area, and 23 per cent of the world GDP, and, above all, the participation of three superpowers China, India, and Russia.
Prime Minister K. P. Oli has visited China at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping. His itinerary is packed with programmes like addressing the SCO plus summit, holding bilateral meetings with several world leaders, and participating in the commemorative events in Beijing being held to mark the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the People's War of Resistance. But the most crucial is the meeting with the Chinese President and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi along the conference's sidelines. Oli has had the opportunity to convey Nepal's disappointment to both the leaders over their unilateral decision to conduct trade through Nepali territory without even informing Nepal. Prime Minister Oli had given assurances to the parliamentarians after they unanimously requested that the Kalapani issue be raised during meetings with the leaders of India and China.
According to the Nepali Embassy in Beijing, Oli had expressed his displeasure to the Chinese President about this issue, to which the latter that he had no dissenting view on the Nepali stance. He also suggested Nepal and India resolve this problem.
PM Oli must have raised this problem during his meeting with the Indian Premier Modi as well. Modi shared a smiling photo of the meeting on social media platform X along with the mention of the deep and very special relation between India and Nepal. The Indian Premier also appears not to have expressed dissent as his Chinese counterpart even though both the prime ministers have not disclosed anything about the discussion on the boundary problem.
Prime Minister Oli should emulate his fruitful initiative that he undertook with both the Indian and Chinese leaders during his Indian visit to Bodhgaya. It may be remembered that Siddhartha born in Kapilvastu in Nepal became the Buddha after receiving enlightenment in Bodhgaya. Buddha had visited his native place Kapilvastu on three occasions. First, he met his father Suddhodhan in Kudan, which has ancient brick ruins resembling stupas and chaityas as well as a pond constructed to welcome the Buddha. Second, he visited Kapilvastu when his father Suddhodhan was on his death bed.
Third, the Buddha is said to have come to his native place to prevent the war between the Shakyas of Kapilvastu and Koliyas of Devdaha. It was about to erupt over the sharing of water of the bordering River Rohini. It is an interesting coincidence that Nepali and the Indian Premiers are meeting in Bodhgaya at a time when Nepal and India have differences over the origin of the Mahakali River.
How was Buddha able to create peace? He is said to have come from Jetavana Monastery in Sravasti where he lived for most of the time. After the fighting parties saw Lord Buddha sitting cross-legged in the air, both of them were frightened. Upon seeing this, the Shakyas decided that they should not do something that spills blood in front of the Buddha, their own kin. They offered the Koliyas to kill them instead. The Koliyas also decided to abandon the warrish attitude. At the end, many of them entered into Buddhahood after listening to Buddha's preachings.
Oli and Modi should similarly set aside their biases and surrender to the Buddha like the Shakyas and the Koliyas. Both the prime ministers should listen to each other and present their claims and arguments.
The Nepali side has been maintaining that the area to the west of Limpiyadhura belongs to it on the basis of several maps that were published by British India after the Sughauli treaty was concluded on March 4, 1816. The Indian side has been saying time and again that trade has been going on in this area since 1954.
Several ideas have been put forward to resolve this crisis. For example, it can be given on lease as was Hong Kong for 99 years in 1899 by China. Britain subsequently returned it to China in 1998. This idea was mooted by Sujata Koirala, a Nepali Congress leader. Some kind of exchange-based ideas also have been put forward. Nepal could be given access to the sea from Phulbari area in exchange of the Kalapani area. These proposals may be indigestible to some, but the problems can be resolved by making a list of such likely solutions and adopting one of them.
But for this, Nepal and India should open a dialogue which is conspicuous by its absence since this dispute came into the open. China also has suggested for an Indo- Nepal consensus on this thorny issue. Unfortunately, India has not agreed to sit for talks despite being pursued by Nepal on a number of occasions.
The invitation of the Nepali premier to Bodhgaya augurs well for the resolution of the border problem between India and Nepal forever. It might as well be that the Almighty has directed India to host the Nepali Premier in Bodhgaya for this to happen.
