| As in, who's going to give the orders ... |
Nepalese Prime Minister Prachanda visits India apparently determined to change the terms of engagement with his country's giant neighbour. The visit is being watched with great interest as India prepares to work with a Nepal that looks like being governed very differently from the past.
For years Nepalese leaders have expressed a desire to review a peace treaty which has defined relations between the two countries since 1950. Prachanda, under pressure from Maoist comrades not to be pro-India, has gone further. He is being urged to stand up to India and has said he will bring the draft of a new agreement to Delhi.
It was an abortive attempt by the Communist Party of Nepal to seize power with China's backing in 1952, that led India to step up military and intelligence co-operation. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru stressed Nepal's importance for a newly independent India in 1959 when he said "we cannot allow anything to go wrong in Nepal or permit that barrier to be crossed or weakened because that would be a risk to our [India's] security". |