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Press Release
Keynote Address by His Excellency Mr. Shri Shyam Saran, Special Envoy of
Prime Minister of India on Nepal’s Political Transformation and Future
of India-Nepal Relations Mr. Chairman, distinguished guests from both India and Nepal, friends, ladies and gentlemen. It is honour for me to be invited to give the keynote address at this political segment of the Indo-Nepal Seminar. It is appropriate that Patna is the venue for this seminar, since the region of Bihar has long-standing historical, cultural, religious, ethnic and kinship ties with Nepal. Even in contemporary times, several leaders of Nepal’s democratic movement made Bihar their home and several generations of Nepali friends have graduated from Bihar’s educational institutions. Thus, there is an easy familiarity which the people of Bihar enjoy with the people of Nepal and being from Bihar myself, I was deeply conscious of this valuable asset when I served as India’s Ambassador to Nepal a few years back. It is against this backdrop that we gather here today to look at the dramatic political events that have recently taken place in Nepal and consider how we can take forward the already close and friendly relations between our two countries in the context of Nepal’s political transformation. Let me begin by saying that the people of Nepal deserve to be congratulated for having carried out a remarkably successful electoral exercise to re-establish democracy in their country. The political parties, irrespective of gains and losses they registered in the recent elections, also deserve to be commended. Against all odds and I must say, against the cynical expectations of most observers, they maintained the Seven-Party alliance as a united political and democratic force. They also worked together to keep the peace process on track – this is no mean achievement. This record encourages us to believe that in confronting the many ensuing challenges of political reform and restructuring, economic reconstructions and economic reform and in consolidating a truly inclusive and responsive democracy, Nepal’s newly elected political leadership will not be found wanting. India is proud to have been a modest part of this historic transformation in a friendly neighbouring country and stands ready to assist in whatever manner it is called upon to assist the continuing process of political and economic transformation in Nepal. Several people in India have asked whether the government was not caught by surprise by the election results and whether these do not constitute a setback for India’s Nepal policy. I am surprised by these comments, not because we were not surprised at the results but because people seem to think that our surprise was an unpleasant one. There seems to be an assumption that the Indian Government had a preferred electoral outcome and put its bets, much like a punter, on different horses. Let me make it clear. Throughout the peace process in Nepal, India has not played favourites with this or that political party. Our stand has been that it is for the people of Nepal to deliver, through free and fair elections, their verdict on who should govern them and in what manner. Our approach has been to engage with all key political actors in Nepal, with whom we have managed to establish, in my opinion, a relationship of trust and confidence. We are, therefore, comfortable with whatever, political permutation or combination which emerges from the exercise of democratic rights by the people of Nepal. This approach gives us the confidence that we can do business with the new political dispensation in Nepal. It is my view that Nepal is in the midst of a major political transformation because of certain underlying factors. The country is witnessing a generational transition. If India has more that 50% of its population under 25, Nepal has an even higher percentage. This new, vibrant and young Nepal has a mindset very different from those representing an earlier generation. Their outlook is different, their aspirations are different. They are also exposed to what is happening in the world around them. After all, many of them have migrated in search of jobs and livelihood to neighbouring India and to many other countries beyond. They come back to Nepal with a very different perspective. No political structure will be enduring unless it is in tune with this generational change.
The new Nepal is also a
very diverse Nepal. Even the more limited democracy of the 90s opening
the space for the reassertion of ethnic identities and cultural
particularities and a growing demand for a more inclusive and
egalitarian political structure. These trends became much stronger as
part of the Jan Andolan, in particular, with respect to the Madhesi and
other ethnic groups in the Terai. The Nepal of the future will be a more
diverse, more complex but also a more culturally enriching and enriched
society. A plural democracy like India has learnt to celebrate its
diversity and counts this as one of the pillars of its democracy. It is
my hope that Nepal will do so, too, because only a more inclusive, a
more accommodative approach is required for a stable and enduring
democracy.
I hope
that finally Nepal and its people will look upon India as an opportunity
– you are not India-locked as you think. You are India-open – open to an
India that is economically dynamic, a vast and growing market and a
source of skills and technology that is not always so easy to access.
Yet, you have an open border with India. You have free access to our
market. Please make use of it, and we could establish a very mutually
rewarding economic partnership between our two countries. |
