There is cautious optimism after the Indian election results that the semi-comatose <a href="https://www.saarc-sec.org/index.php/media-centre/press-releases" target="_blank">South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC)</a> can be revived. The Kathmandu-headquartered bloc has been in limbo since November 2016, when Pakistan was set to host its 19th Summit, but India pulled out after <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/Militants-attack-Army-headquarters-in-Uri-near-LoC/article55941862.ece">an attack on its military in Kashmir</a> which it blamed on Pakistan. "Bilateral grievances should not stand in the way of advancing the cause of a regional organisation,” says Arjun Bahadur Thapa, who was Secretary General in 2014 when the last SAARC summit was held in Kathmandu. ”India’s foreign policy is not dictated by politicians, but by its powerful bureaucracy. Modi's decreased political clout may dent his confidence on the global stage, but will most likely not impact India’s stance towards Pakistan, or SAARC." In the past 10 years, New Delhi has bypassed SAARC to pivot eastwards through overlapping sub-regional fora like BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal Initiative) and <a href="https://www.bimstec.org">BIMSTEC</a> (the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) that includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.&nbsp; The new SAARC Secretary General Golam Sarwar from Bangladesh has been touring South Asian capitals to try to resuscitate the regional organisation. This week he was in <a href="https://www.saarc-sec.org/index.php/press-release/354-the-foreign-minister-of-sri-lanka-reaffirms-sri-lanka-s-unwavering-commitment-to-saarc">Colombo</a>, after visiting <a href="https://www.saarc-sec.org/index.php/press-release/348-secretary-general-s-engagements-in-new-delhi-and-islamabad">Islamabad and New Delhi</a>. “To interpret the recent elections in India as a defeat of the BJP and the weakening of PM Modi will be a faulty approach to suggest a revival of the SAARC process,” says Nishchal Pandey at the Centre for South Asian Studies in Kathmandu. “India pays the biggest chunk of the annual SAARC budget and it is therefore also in the interest of Indian taxpayers to see that a Summit is held." Indeed, as long as SAARC is held <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/indo-pak-tension-hits-saarc-climate-action">hostage by geopolitics, not much may change</a>. New Delhi prefers bilateral dealings rather than multilateral ones, and India-Pakistan tension as well as turmoil in Afghanistan have kept SAARC in limbo.&nbsp; “Modi 3.0 has great power ambitions for India including redefining India’s identity on the world stage,” Pandey adds. “But this will not be achieved unless long-standing disputes are resolved.”&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240621050636_4679d14e0718498e63bd52bf32dd13f940c83e1aa7dfd42f502259e3ae18e550.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240621050636_4679d14e0718498e63bd52bf32dd13f940c83e1aa7dfd42f502259e3ae18e550" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="SAARC Secretariat NT"> <figcaption>SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu. Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  India’s preference for BIMSTEC serves to strengthen ties with ASEAN, and also offset <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-india-us-nepal-china-quadrangle">China’s growing influence</a> in the region. Other countries like Nepal which are members of both SAARC and BIMSTEC <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/sorry-state">have also been pulled along</a> by New Delhi.&nbsp; “For Nepal, SAARC seems to have taken a back seat to partnerships like BBIN and BIMSTEC as we look towards sub-regional alliances rather than regional ones,” said Nepali Congress leader Minendra Rijal at a geopolitical conference in Kathmandu last week. “But we do not get to hear a lot from the Pakistanis, who have a very different perspective on SAARC.” After being elected for the first time in 2014, Modi invited all SAARC leaders to his inauguration, announcing India's ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy. For his second swearing-in in 2019, he invited only <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bimstec-facelift#">BIMSTEC members</a>, extending India’s regional policy to ‘Neighbourhood First and Act East’. This month, Modi invited neighbouring country leaders, but added Mauritius and Seychelles to the list, indicating another geopolitical priority: the Indian Ocean. “Global challenges demand collective action,” Secretary General Sarwar told a recent Indian Ocean Conference in Perth. “Investing in international partnership, diplomacy, and development initiatives foster peace, stability and shared prosperity.” Pessimists say SAARC is <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/forget-SAARC-go-for-bilateralism-or-sub-regionalism,402">as good as defunct</a>, but optimists still see a role for the group since many of the region’s problems can only be resolved through cross border collaboration in improving connectivity, trade, poverty, and coping with the climate crisis. Other foreign policy experts see <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/hindutva-juggernaut-hits-a-speed-bump">a weaker BJP</a> forcing Modi to mitigate attacks on minorities and the media at home, but may compensate by being more hawkish on Pakistan and in the neighbourhood. As current chair and the site of its headquarters, Nepal should be playing a catalytic role, says Pandey: “It is the obligation of the chair to ensure that the organisation is not dismantled through inaction and indecision. We must be able to impress upon the Indian leadership that it has been a decade since Nepal has been chair and we need to earnestly pass on the baton to the next country.”&nbsp; Bangladesh was a prime mover of SAARC when it was founded in 1985 in Dhaka. Zafar Sobhan, founding editor of the <a href="https://www.dhakatribune.com">Dhaka Tribune </a>brought his family for a holiday to Nepal this week and told us: “The disintegration of SAARC has been a tragedy for all South Asian countries. It would be in everyone's interests to revive it, but with the prevailing political winds in India, I don't see it happening. We are all the poorer for this loss, both literally and figuratively.”&nbsp;

Shristi Karki

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Retrofitting SAARC

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ecf9c7e80680e04fcd6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"/><figcaption>Pic: BIKRAM RAI</figcaption></figure>When Nepal’s politicians were asked to list their assets, many disclosed property, bank balances and jewelry. Among his possessions, Nepal’s well-read Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali declared that he owned 2,500 books. The soft-spoken Gyawali now has the responsibility of steering the country’s foreign policy at a time of heightened geopolitical polarisation in the region. Sound bites from an interview this week:<ul><li>Nepal used to be a back-bencher in international fora. Now we are being seen and heard. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/to-davos-with-hammer-and-sickle/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Prime Minister’s participation at Davos</a> and hosting the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bimstec-facelift/">BIMSTEC Summit</a> in Kathmandu has raised Nepal’s international profile.</li> <li>It could be that some cannot digest Nepal’s higher international engagement and are uneasy about it. But there is no question of Nepal ever joining any strategic alliance.</li> <li>We look at our own national interest, and we also try to make sure that our decisions and involvement do not hurt the interests of our neighbours, development partners or other friendly countries.</li> <li>Our long-term foreign policy goals have not changed, but we are trying to adapt to new geopolitical realities by analysing them and formulating new policies of engagement.</li> <li>We want to benefit from the economic growth and development of our two neighbours.</li> <li>We are conveying to China and India that a prosperous and stable Nepal is also in their interest.</li> <li>We are telling our development partners that Nepal is a safe country for foreign investment, from where it is easy to export to other countries.</li> <li>We are very sensitive to the fact that 4 million of our young men and women are working abroad and through diplomacy we want to ensure their security, rights and respect.</li> <li>In the 1990s and 2000s many Latin American countries went nearly bankrupt and had to be bailed out. It was not called a ‘debt trap’, none of them had loans from China.</li> <li>If it is in the national interest, we can take not just aid, but also loans. But if it is against our interest, we will not even take assistance.</li> <li>The suspicions about the Indo-Pacific is a storm in a tea cup. Our Chinese friends are not really worried, they are sure that Nepal will not allow anti-Chinese activities.</li> <li>We do not lean more or less on any one side. We don’t try to compare the relationship we have with our two neighbours.</li></ul>"Nepal has spread its wings"Full Interview with Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep GyawaliNepali Times: There have been transformative changes in international diplomacy and geopolitics. But Nepal seems to be stuck.Pradeep Gyawali: Every country has a set of long-term goals, and some flexible policies that change with the times. Nation states have permanent values like sovereignty, territorial integrity, dignity and independence. These beliefs do not change with changes in governments, they do not even change with a change in governance systems. Our adherence to the concept of panchashila, or the United Nations declaration does not change. That is why we also look into our fixed goals and immediate policies based on changes in international and regional relations. We have adapted to new realities from the standpoint of our national interest.Will this be enough for Nepal to reach its goal of being a middle-income country in the next ten years?We have to keep in mind global changes, and specifically the geopolitical, economic, demographic changes in Asia. We have to adapt to the fact that our two neighbours are moving forward rapidly. For this, we do not play favourites, or let our relations with one country be at the expense of another. We want to benefit from the economic growth and development of our two neighbours. We are conveying to China and India that a prosperous and stable Nepal is also in their interest. We are telling our development partners that Nepal is a safe country for foreign investment, from where it is easy to export to other countries. We are very sensitive to the fact that 4 million of our young men and women are working abroad and through diplomacy, we want to ensure their security, rights and dignity. And we will extend our involvement and cooperation with multilateral agencies.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131140/636a4ed29c7e80680e04fcd7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1161">The Indian media and intelligentsia are accusing Nepal of tilting towards China.Both our neighbours are equally important for us. We are not tilting more or less in any direction. We don’t compare our relationship with either of them.  Neither of our neighbours should forget that Nepal has neighbours on both sides, and ask us to deal only with one of them.There is lot of talk about Nepal falling into the Chinese debt trap.I keep reminding people that in the 1990s and 2000s many Latin American countries nearly went bankrupt and had to be bailed out. It was not called a ‘debt trap’, none of them had loans from China. Greece still has not been able to come out of its economic crisis, and I don’t think they are in trouble because they had Chinese investments. These accusations are not based on an objective economic analysis, but a negative attitude towards the rise of China and its political system. Besides, Nepal has the ability to decide what is in its national interest and what is not.  If it is in the national interest we can take not just aid, but also loans. But if it is not in our interest, we will not even take assistance.And China seems to be suspicious of Nepal’s involvement in the Indo-Pacific Alliance. Can a Nepal that is already a member of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/chinese-ambassador-addresses-bri-conference/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BRI</a> risk being involved in the Indo-Pacific?The suspicions about the Indo-Pacific is a storm in a tea cup. Our Chinese friends are not really worried, they are sure that Nepal will not allow anti-Chinese activities. The first official visit by a Nepali foreign minister to Washington recently, and the first American visit at the level of the foreign minister to Nepal have added a new milestone to Nepal-US relations. The Japanese foreign minister visited Nepal after many years, we have also deepened our relations with India, the EU and other development partners.  Nepal has increased its involvement in the international arena. The Prime Minister’s recent Europe visit has sent the message that Nepal is no longer what it used to be in South Asia, it has spread its wings. It could be that some cannot digest Nepal’s higher international engagement and are uneasy about it. There is no question of Nepal ever joining any strategic alliance. We look at our own national interest, and we also try to make sure that our decisions and involvement does not hurt the interests of our neighbours, development partners or other friendly countries.What are the main achievements during your tenure?During the conflict, Nepal’s economic development suffered a setback, it affected our foreign policy and we became an arena for proxies. Now, with the end of the political transition and political stability, we are fixing our mistakes and moving ahead.  Nepal used to be a back-bencher in the international fora. Now, we are being seen and heard. The Prime Minister’s participation at Davos, his one-on-one meeting with G-20 leaders sent the message that Nepal should now be heard on the world stage. Recently, the head of the IFC said that Nepal was a ‘rising star’, so that must carry some weight.We have also restored our relations with our neighbours, after overcoming difficult times. Others have now realised that they must take Nepal along. Despite obstacles, we hosted the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/connecting-Bangladesh-China-India-Nepal,2966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BIMSTEC Summit</a> and the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/labour-pain/">Colombo Process Ministerial Conference</a> in Kathmandu. I would consider the past year quite successful.Interview by Hari Prakash Chand and Binu PokhrelRead Also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-has-more-self-respect/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“Nepal has more self-respect”</a>, Nepali Times<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/yam-between-3-boulders/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">YAM BETWEEN 3 BOULDERS</a>, Editorial<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-now-has-to-balance-not-just-india-and-china-but-also-the-west/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal now has to balance not just India and China, but also the West</a>, Bhairaja Pandey<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/eminently-beneficial-for-india-and-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eminently beneficial for India and Nepal</a>, Ajit Baral

"Nepal is now seen and heard"

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107161116/6369215c9c7e80680e03a0c9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1046"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>Imagine a large warehouse at Biratnagar airport that flies out on cargo planes tons of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/chiampagne/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">high value tea</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/the-kingdom-of-cardamom" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cardamom</a>, nettle fibre products, rice, lentils and expensive aromatic oils and herbs to Bhutan, Bangladesh, Burma and Thailand. Imagine a train station at Mechi Nagar bringing tourists on their way to Tibet and Kathmandu on holiday.The <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bimstec-facelift/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BIMSTEC Summit</a> last week in Kathmandu got a lot of flak. People complained that it was inappopriate to talk about regional connectivity when Kathmandu’s own roads were in ruins. Yet, the sub-regional grouping’s emphasis on connecting South Asia with Southeast Asia has a lot of potential.The distance between member countries is only in the mind. And even within Nepal it will be Province 1 that can be the gateway to future trade and multi- dimensional cooperation in roads and energy.What dampens this enthusiasm is the language of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/sorry-state/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BIMSTEC</a> bureaucrats that are not really actionable but just meant to keep politicians talking, the administration and security agencies baffled, the expensive venues occupied, and in the end nothing tangible ever comes out for the people who were stuck in long traffic jams and had to endure humiliation in the name of VIP security. The document is written by people who have no intention of doing anything, and is signed by Heads of Government whose political lifespan is so ephemeral that they just want to maintain the status quo.This lethal combination keeps our part of the world from growing economically. Let us take the three points in the Kathmandu declaration that talk about establishing the BIMSTEC development fund, the point about continuing to talk about creating a BIMSTEC free trade zone, and ending poverty by 2030.Could not the language in the resolution read: ‘We will create a BIMSTEC free trade zone across the member countries within one year, increasing the volume of trade by X% per year and; Y% of this will go to set up a development fund contributing to ending poverty.’ As the Beatles song goes, ‘You may think I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one…’In the true spirit of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Analysis/how-decentralised-is-federalism,776" target="_blank" rel="noopener">devolution and federalism</a>, Province 1 could start working with Bhutan, Bangladesh, the states of Sikkim, West Bengal and Bihar of India to create a free trade zone in food, tourism and energy, without waiting for the central governments. The Chief Minister of Province 1, which is closest to the Bay of Bengal, could take the lead on behalf of Nepal and maybe even host the next <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/connecting-Bangladesh-China-India-Nepal,2966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BIMSTEC</a> meeting there in three years to report back.In a part of the world where a country’s currency used by more than a billion people can be banned a few minutes before midnight, do not tell us we cannot start trading, allocating a percent of the revenue to a development fund and end poverty.Such actionable declarations could also make them much shorter. Could someone also tell us how much the Kathmandu meeting cost? <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/hugging-hogs/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How much did the fencing around Tin Kune cost?</a> The people of BIMSTEC countries are not impressed by the number of expensive cars that are needed to take politicians from the airport to their hotels and their grand banquets.Why do they need helicopters in the sky to escort motorcades, when the guest could have been in the helicopter. Why do our politicians need a car and security to travel from their suites to meeting venues only 50m away?Nepal desperately needs access to the larger market that BIMSTEC has to offer. Aid will dry up sooner or later, free trade is more tangible and sustainable. It can raise productivity, quality and competitiveness will be the big variables. Industry, businesses and farmers will all have to roll up their sleeves. There could be real opportunity here.Anil Chitrakar is President of Siddharthinc

Anil Chitrakar

Actionable Summits

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/636904a49c7e80680e037d34jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/><figcaption>Photo: MONIKA DEUPALA</figcaption></figure>That the fourth <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/connecting-Bangladesh-China-India-Nepal,2966">BIMSTEC</a> summit would be declared a “success” was a foregone conclusion because there wasn’t really much expected of the sub-regional economic grouping.The two-day conference concludes on Friday with the signing of a charter on regional cooperation by the leaders of India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal and Thailand in Kathmandu. This is the first time after 2015 that Nepal is hosting such a high level summit, and the NCP government sees it as a feather in its cap, pulling all stops to spruce up the capital.“It is an honour for Nepal to host the Summit, and BIMSTEC has great potential, we just need to cooperate on poverty alleviation through closer economic cooperation and connectivity,” Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali said.But will Nepal really benefit? The proof of the pudding will be in whether BIMSTEC can go where SAARC has not because of the India-Pakistan rivalry. It also links South Asia to Southeast Asia, and it is now up to member countries to look beyond bilateralism.“We are going step by step, but have made good progress on cooperation, including the energy grid,” BIMSTEC Secretary General Shahidul Islam told Nepali Times. This could be important for Nepal, with its hydropower potential.However, only a day before the Summit, China’s Three Gorges indicated it may pull out of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2012/04/02/green-light-to-west-seti/">the long-delayed 750MW West Seti project</a> designed to export surplus power to India.SAARC countries, five of whom are BIMSTEC members, already have a framework agreement on energy cooperation, signed at the Kathmandu Summit in 2014 that should have allowed power trading if there was political will.But India issued its<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/12/09/indian-power/"> energy trade guidelines</a> in 2016, declaring that it will import hydropower from Nepal and Bangladesh only if it is produced by companies that are at least 51% Indian owned. That effectively killed Nepal’s chance of getting the Chinese involved.Ex-Energy Secretary Dwarika Nath Dhungel says: “Regional energy agreements mean nothing unless India revises its cross-border energy trade policy.”In August, Kathmandu and Dhaka signed an MoU to export electricity to Bangladesh. Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina made that request during a visit to New Delhi in April 2017, but there was no mention of it in the joint communique. Nepal has never bothered to raise it with India.Nepal aims to generate 15,000MW more electricity in the next 10 years, and could export the surplus to Bangladesh and beyond to Burma and Thailand.There are also fears BIMSTEC may jeopardise Nepal’s relations with China. India has persuaded BIMSTEC members to conduct a  joint military exercise shortly after the summit. Foreign Minister Gyawali clarified Nepal will not join any military alliance, but China and Pakistan are unlikely to be convinced.

Bimstec facelift

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/6369048b9c7e80680e037d2bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1167"/><figcaption>Diwakar Chettri</figcaption></figure>Now that the leaders of the awkwardly acronymed BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) are in the process of departing from Kathmandu after their fourth Summit, it might be the time for a post-mortem.The greatest achievement for Nepal from the Summit, as far as ordinary citizens of some parts of the capital are concerned, is that at least some of the muddy roads got paved, and the ugly dumping sites got fenced off.By the weekend, Kathmandu will be limping back to the old normal: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18124#.W4fFP84zbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traffic jams,</a> decrepit roads, crumbling sidewalks, a grubby jungle of brick and concrete. And people will once more go about their daily lives, resigned to the fact that through feudalism, absolute monarchy, dictatorship or democracy, nothing will really change in this country.No matter how many potholes were hurriedly patched, colourful gates erected, or flags allowed to hang limply above the motorcades, there was no hiding from visitors the rot within. The Thai leader reportedly refused to join the retreat in Gokarna despite the PMO’s prodding because of the poor condition of the road.What a sorry state Nepal has become with its decomposing democracy, eroding rule of law, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/state-of-impunity,2976" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impunity</a>, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/gigantism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cheap populism</a>, a pandemic of corruption and dilapidated infrastructure. All the more glaring because we have a powerful ruling party with full mandate to fix it all if it wanted to.It might be best to call a moratorium on any future summits or high-level international conferences in Kathmandu until we get our own house in order by cleaning up the city and the politics. No matter how good our hospitality or how far-reaching BIMSTEC resolutions, the state of Nepal will influence the way the Nepali state is treated by our neighbours and the international community.BIMSTEC was set up 20 years ago as an alternative to SAARC, which got ensnared in India-Pakistan acrimony.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/Boycotting-SAARC-is-not-the-answer,794" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SAARC minus 'X'</a>, Pradumna Rana<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Analysis/pride-and-prejudice-at-SAARC,394" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pride and prejudice at SAARC</a>, Kanak DixitThe new sub-regional body tried to ‘look east’ with a focus on trade and connectivity by dropping Pakistan and adding Thailand and Burma, and picking up Bhutan and Nepal along the way. Getting South Asia’s plodding elephants to hobnob with Southeast Asia's sprinting tigers, however, has not been as easy as first envisaged. Even so, linking the northeastern quadrant of South Asia through connectivity, energy grids and trade could be beneficial for all members.Geopolitics, and the deepening polarisation between China and the US-India axis could put a spanner in the works. Beijing’s Belt Road Initiative competes with its emphasis on connectivity. BIMSTEC was India's way of sidelining Pakistan, and the military exercises of its member states in Pune next week is meaningful.There are other sub-regional initiatives besides the Dhaka-headquartered BIMSTEC. One of them is BCIM that evolved out of the Kunming Initiative and brings China’s Yunnan in an economic sphere with Bangladesh, India and Burma.Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/connecting-Bangladesh-China-India-Nepal,2966" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BIMSTEC, BCIM, BBIN</a>, - &amp; 'BCIN', Kanak Dixit<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/by-the-way/reimagining-south-asia,396" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Re-imagining South Asia</a>, Anurag AcharyaWhen politics got in the way, countries in the sub-region tried to find a concrete do-able alternative and set up the BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) motor vehicle agreement. But even for something as simple as this, it looks like India’s suspicions about vehicles from Bangladesh and Nepal having unhindered passage through its territory, and Bhutan’s reservations about being swamped by Indian trucks has blocked progress.Despite all the effort being put into cross-border regionalism, however, it is in bilateral economic links that there has been most progress. Even on something as logical as a China-Nepal-India trans-Himalayan railroad, the agreements so far are separately between India and Nepal, and Nepal and China.President Xi Jiping has said he wants a quadrilateral deal with India, Nepal and Bangladesh on connectivity, but New Delhi is not ready to play ball. The energy grid agreed to in Kathmandu will be a test to see if BIMSTEC is really different from SAARC.Despite Nepal’s poor image, being a member of any regional or sub-regional grouping, however moribund, is an advantage. There is strength in numbers where there are two hefty neighbours right next door.Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/Different-regionalisms-SAARC,987" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Different regionalisms</a>, Kanak Mani Dixit<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/saarc-timeline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SAARC timeline</a>, Ayesha Shakya<h2>10 years ago this week</h2>The page 1 story in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/415" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali Times #415</a> (29 August–4 September, 2018) showed how little things have changed in the geopolitics of the region in the past decade. As Kathmandu hosts the BIMSTEC Summit this week, it is a good time to re-read Mallika Aryal’s <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15161#.W4zX3s4zaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dispatch from New Delhi ten years ago</a>:By ignoring Indian concerns and accepting Beijing’s invitation to the Olympics closing ceremony last week, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal set alarm bells ringing here. Indian politicians and foreign policy bureaucrats tried to play down Dahal’s ‘China card’, but the military-intelligence establishment, the opposition BJP and some hawkish commentators have voiced concerns about China’s growing influence in India’s neighborhood.‘Prachanda’s Beijing sojourn merely confirms the subcontinent’s shifting balance of power in China’s favour,’ wrote the Indian Express in an editorial on Tuesday, a view echoed by other influential commentators here. ‘Prachanda’s departure from Nepal’s natural logic for a strong relationship with India can only be understood in the context of Beijing’s new powerplay in South Asia.’<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/6369048e9c7e80680e037d2cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="509" height="813">

Sorry state

<figure><img width="1667" height="2500" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/636904619c7e80680e037d1ejpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: Sagar Chhetri/photo.circle</figcaption></figure>As Kathmandu welcomes several heads of states and governments for the fourth summit of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/Different-regionalisms-SAARC,987" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation</a> (BIMSTEC) on Thursday and Friday, the city's walls and streets have been lit up with projected images and slogans calling for the release of noted Bangaldeshi photographer Shahidul Alam. The aim is to draw the attention of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina who arrives on Wednesday to attend the Summit.Alam is a <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/best-years-of-their-lives-migrant-workers,3722" target="_blank" rel="noopener">world-renowned Bangladeshi photographer, writer and activist</a> who was <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/08/06/bangladeshi-photographer-shahidul-alam-arrested-over-provocative-comments/?noredirect=on&amp;utm_term=.c2f07f839123" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrested from his home in Dhaka on 5 August following an interview on Aljazeera</a> in which he was critical of the Bangladeshi government's crackdown on student protests. Alam has been charged under Section 57 of draconian Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Act for 'spreading propaganda and false information against the government'.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-death-of-democracy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The death of democracy</a>, Aditya AdhikariShahidul Alam was produced before the magistrate on 5 August, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEeyhQNU8fg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he could not walk unaided, and was barefoot</a>. He stated before the magistrate that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/08/world/asia/bangladesh-photographer-shahidul-alam.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he had been tortured in police custody</a>, that he had been blindfolded, his hands had been handcuffed behind his back, verbally abused; at the place where he had been interrogated, a heavy weight had been placed over his head and he had been asked whether he could feel its weight, he had been punched on the face, his clothes had become bloodied, it had been washed and dried and ironed before he had been produced in court, he had been accused of being a Mossad agent, had been threatened that Rahnuma Ahmed would be abducted, and that "pins" would be used the next time. Witnesses say he showed clear signs of physical abuse. However, the magistrate did not record his statement and did not arrange for his medical examination, although this is required under Bangladesh law.There have been <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/08/the-guardian-view-on-shahidul-alam-bangladesh-should-let-him-go" target="_blank" rel="noopener">appeals for his release from around the world by journalists</a>, academics, human rights actors and organisations such as Amnesty International, Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ) and the Pulitzer Center among hundreds of others. Most recently, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen issued a statement, saying: 'Freedom of expression, including through photojournalism, is extremely important for democracy.  We have good reason to admire the work that Shahidul Alam has been doing with great skill and courage for many years. His work should receive praise and appreciation, rather than being ground for harsh treatment.' Alam's has been assaulted in custody, denied proper medical treatment, and denied proper access to his lawyer and family. Bangladeshi PM Hasina is attending BIMSTEC alongside Indian PM Narendra Modi, and heads of states of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal will be in Kathmandu till Friday.These images are from projections on walls and buildings of Kathmandu to coincide with the BIMSTEC Summit this week. <img width="2500" height="1667" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/636904659c7e80680e037d1fjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/636904689c7e80680e037d20jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="2500" height="1667" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/6369046c9c7e80680e037d21jpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221107141112/6369046f9c7e80680e037d22jpeg.jpg" alt="">

#FreeShahidulAlam

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6_B5u5U7W4The jumble of wires above Kathmandu’s streets may be an eyesore for residents, but they have become the city's latest tourist attraction. Instead of temple landmarks, visitors seem more intrigued by monkeys clambering on overhead wires above Kathmandu’s intersections.However, the tangle of transmission lines, phone wires, fibreoptic and TV cables that wrap the city in giant black spider webs have become dangerous because they are too heavy for the flimsy poles.Several maintenance crew members have been electrocuted in the past two years, and there have been a rash of fires that could easily have gone out of control. The wires are so knotted up that repair teams often give up trying fix problems.But just like potholes, polluted air and crumbling sidewalks, residents of the capital have given up expecting the elected city government to solve the problem.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-they-kept-nepal-in-the-dark-ages/">How they kept Nepal in the dark ages</a>, Ramesh Kumar<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903959c7e80680e037ccfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="750"/>Till now. This week, the government suddenly realised just how scruffy the city looked, and the Municpality sprang into action to streamline the wires and pave roads that have turned into muddy rivers this monsoon.The reason for repairs on a war-footing is not public pressure, but the need to spruce up the streets ahead of the <a href="https://bimstec.org/">Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC)</a> Summit later this month when the leaders of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand will descend on Kathmandu.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/636903979c7e80680e037cd0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The stretch of roads from the airport to <a href="http://soalteehotel.com/">Soaltee Hote</a>l, and to the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/HyattRegencyKathmandu/">Hyatt Regency</a> are getting facelifts, and unruly overhead wires are being tamed. Because the leaders of Buddhist countries like Burma, Sri Lanka and Thailand may also decide to visit Baudhha, the electricity poles along the road to the temple are also being cleaned up.“What to do, we have to impress the important guests,” said one supervisor, as his team tied wires into neat bundles atop a ladder at Chabahil intersection this week.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/6369039a9c7e80680e037cd1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="960">The poles are mostly owned by the <a href="http://www.nea.org.np/">Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA)</a> which has a nominal charge for vendors who want to rent it. However, there is no regulation and no monitoring of who is actually hanging wires along the pylons.“There is no oversight, that is why it looks like a jungle out there,” says Dileep Agrawal of the internet service provider, Worldlink. “But can easily be solved with better regulation and restriction on the number wires.”Last week, in a belated attempt to control the situation, the NEA announced a hefty tenfold increase in fees for those who want to rent poles to pull wires. Currently, ISPs pay Rs205 per year per pole. The new tariffs will calculate rental depending on per km distance, and the width of the wire used.Even though they lobbied for regulation, the association of internet service providers (ISPs) and cable operators say the price increase is too much. ISPs that pay Rs2.5 million will be paying Rs25 million with the new tariffs.The problem has been complicated because the NEA’s poles are under the jurisdiction of the Energy Ministry, whereas the ISPs and cable operators come under the Communication Ministry. ISPs recently agreed with Communication Minister Mahesh Banskota to absorb the government’s recent internet tax hike in return for a promise not to increase other fees.Said one cable operator: “We were taken aback by the huge increase, it will not solve the problem. Given the corruption, it will not reduce the number of wires, and the cost increase will not mean NEA will upgrade maintenance of its poles.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/6369039c9c7e80680e037cd2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="627">For its part, NEA blames private internet and cable companies for putting up wires haphazardly without permits, and has forced them to help with cleaning up the mess before BIMSTEC.The NEA is negotiating with the Asian Development Bank to take wires underground, but costs are prohibitive. Even NEA's own engineer Laxmikeshar Aganja says underground wiring is not suitable for a city in which there are so many private buildings.“It is very costly to take cables underground, it takes a long time, and can be dangerous with all the haphazard digging that goes on here,” Aganja said.Cities in Japan and Korea, where power utilities have to service private urban households have overhead wires, but they are strictly regulated. If it is any consolation to Kathmandu residents, overhead wires in parts of Bangkok and Dhaka are even more unsightly.Raising the price of pole rentals alone will not be the answer. ISPs and cable operators will simply pass the cost on to clients with a 10% increase in subscription rates.Says Dileep Agrawal: “The wires are not a problem. They are a problem only if no one wants to do anything about it.”Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/kathmandu-bhaktapur-trolley-bus/">Kathmandu-Bhaktapur Trolley Bus</a>, Peter Francon-Smith<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110714118/6369039f9c7e80680e037cd3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="667">

Monika Deupala

Bijuli ko tar, tar, tar ...

Energy is a critical ingredient for prosperity, and can be a catalyst for deeper regional integration. Energy security is a critical issue for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/Cycling-Kathmandu-Lhasa,396">South Asia</a>, which is home to nearly one-fourth of the world’s population and where economies are growing by an average of nearly 7% each year.But South Asia’s GDP per capita is less than one-third of the global average, and per capita energy consumption is far below the rest of the world, hinting at unmet need in spite of increasing economic growth, industrialisation, an increasing population, and accelerating urbanisation. All of these changes increase the <a href="http://article/nation/nepal-india-thermal-power,3570" data-wplink-url-error="true">demand for electricity</a>.There have been several positive developments in energy cooperation: the 2014 SAARC Framework Agreement on Energy Cooperation and the Power Trade Agreement between India and Nepal. Bilateral frameworks between India and Bangladesh, as well as India and Bhutan, have also been strengthened. Currently, around 2,300MW of power are traded in this BBIN sub-region.These demonstrate win-win benefits for all South Asian countries. For example, Bhutan’s surplus hydropower exports to India account for 25% of its GDP. Bangladesh began importing 500MW of power from India in 2013, helping it reduce load-shedding by 70% and generate annual savings of around $500 million. India also gains by earning revenue from electricity exports.A 2015 World Bank study found that regional electricity cooperation in South Asia could lead to savings of $19 billion per year over the next 25 years. A 2017 study by the USAID-funded South Asia Regional Initiative for Energy Integration (SARI/EI) showed that accelerated power trade between India and Nepal could increase Nepal’s GDP by over $120 billion in the next 30 years.Energy cooperation is therefore not just about increasing integration but also an essential building block for regional prosperity. The US government actively supports regional energy integration in South Asia. We are committed to fostering connections from Central Asia to Southeast Asia, and everywhere in between – through increased physical infrastructure, coordinated regulatory and trade institutions, and human and digital connectivity.<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/Chief-of-Indian-Army-Staff-General-Dalbir-Singh-in-Kathmandu,987">Regional integration</a> is not just good for South Asia, it is good for the world, including the United States. A more stable, prosperous, and integrated South Asia is more likely when countries of the region are linked through trade agreements and have greater physical infrastructure connections. Our activities include technical training on power contracts, procurement, regulation, and electricity system modeling as well as physical infrastructure – such as the planned 300 km of electricity transmission lines in MCC’s Nepal Compact.International experience has shown that most cross-border power trade begins with bilateral interactions which provide a foundation for multilateral arrangements and transactions. South Asia is moving along this path, and the next step is to coordinate regional energy regulations and policies by:Building strong and effective regulatory regimesDesigning competitive market pricing mechanismsDeveloping solid contracts and agreementsSetting up dispute resolution mechanisms, andSupporting a technical regional coordination agency to facilitate regional planning and development.The United States looks forward to working with both the public and private sector, as well as multilateral organiations, to em-power South Asia. Pun intended.Alaina B. Teplitz is the United States Ambassador to Nepal. This Guest Editorial is adapted from her speech to the 6th SAARC Business Leaders Conclave in Kathmandu on 17 March.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/shared-futures/">Shared futures</a>, EditorialDifferent regionalisms,  Kanak Mani Dixit<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/photo-exhibition,402">Forget SAARC</a> ,  Pradumna B Rana<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/Cycling-Kathmandu-Lhasa,396">Reimagining South Asia</a>,  Anurag Acharya

Em-powering South Asia

Mention the acronym <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/Chief-of-Indian-Army-Staff-General-Dalbir-Singh-in-Kathmandu,987">SAARC</a> and eyes glaze over, people stop reading editorials like these and they turn the page – as some of you probably already have. The South <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/photo-exhibition,402">Asian Association for Regional Cooperation</a> has been a regional talk shop ever since it was set up more than 40 years ago, unable to fulfill many of the promises it made about co-prosperity, cooperation, poverty alleviation, energy self-sufficiency, and environmental protection.Unlike ASEAN or the EU, SAARC is hobbled by its asymmetry. One member state has 1,000 times more people than the two smallest countries in the grouping. That gravitational pull, and India’s aversion to multilateralism in dealing with neighbours (combined with a chronic lack of political will among those neighbours to make SAARC work) has hobbled the organisation. There is cynicism about SAARC, even officials from member states publicly poke fun at it. But, like the United Nations, SAARC can only be as effective as its members want it to be.Sub-regional groupings like <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/connecting-Bangladesh-China-India-Nepal,2966">BIMSTEC</a> (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar Economic Cooperation) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative are somewhat more tangible. There are also Track 2 think-tanks and private sector initiatives to get the SAARC juggernaut to roll.The 6th SAARC Business Conclave this week in Kathmandu was one such exercise where, besides the usual lament about unfulfilled aspirations, there was networking and useful sharing of ideas. As in all such SAARC-related events, the elephant in the room was India, and the need to balance its size with its status as an equal member state.However, the dragon in the room was China. How can these economic behemoths be hitched to pull in the same direction, and take South Asia along? So far, Beijing's foray into trade, investment and connectivity in South Asia have been bilateral, but its Belt Road Initiative hopes to go regional with the possible extension of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Tibet-train-Nepal,3102">Qinghai-Tibet railway through the Himalayan Range</a>, and across Nepal to India.SAARC has been held hostage by politics, specifically the strained relations between its two biggest members, for far too long. Trade, investment in energy, river sharing and better connectivity within South Asia could help bind the countries more closely, and build on existing bilateral agreements, as US Ambassador Alaina B. Teplitz argues in this week’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/em-powering-south-asia/">Guest Editorial</a>.It is incongruous that intra-SAARC trade constitutes only 5% of the international trade of countries in the region. Of all international investment in the region only 7% is between SAARC members. It is absurd that in this day and age the world’s most deprived region should not be working together to raise the living standard of its people.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/em-powering-south-asia/">Em-powering South Asia,</a> Alaina B. Teplitz<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/Chief-of-Indian-Army-Staff-General-Dalbir-Singh-in-Kathmandu,987">Different regionalisms</a>,  Kanak Mani Dixit<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/photo-exhibition,402">Forget SAARC</a> ,  Pradumna B Rana<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/image/Cycling-Kathmandu-Lhasa,396">Reimagining South Asia</a> ,  Anurag Acharya

Shared futures

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

India and Pakistan are twins separated at birth. Tensions between them have been at a hair trigger ever since independence and has erupted into full scale conflict at least four times in the past 80 years.
The 22 April terrorist attack in Kashmir that killed 25 Indian tourists and a Nepali citizen, threatens to escalate tension between the two nuclear-armed nations. India has squarely blamed Pakistan for the attacks, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given his military “operational freedom” to respond. Pakistan has said it has credible intelligence of an Indian military strike and its officials have promised a “full spectrum” response — a code for a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/thinking-the-thinkable">nuclear retaliation</a>.
For Nepal, the killing of its national in the Pahalgam attack comes as another stark reminder that in conflicts from Afghanistan to Iraq, from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-to-agree-an-armistice-in-ukraine">Ukraine</a> to Israel, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/10-nepalis-from-one-town-fighting-in-ukraine">Nepalis are getting caught in the crossfire</a>. The last time full-scale fighting broke out between <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/peacemongers-at-india-pakistan-border">India and Pakistan</a> on Kargil in 1999, at least 22<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/india-s-trial-by-fire-for-soldiers-from-nepal?%27%5C%22="> Nepalis fighting for the Indian Army</a> were killed in action.
Three of Nepal’s immediate neighbours (China, India, Pakistan) have nuclear weapons, and they do not have good relations. With China supplying weapons, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/war-and-warming">missile technology</a> and other support to Pakistan, this triangular friction could set off a regional conflagration.&nbsp;
<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-022-00573-0" target="_blank">Research at Rutgers University</a> has calculated that even a week-long tactical nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan would throw up so much smoke and debris into the atmosphere that it would block out the sun for years, and lead to a collapse of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grow-nourish-sustain-together-world-food-day">global food system</a>. This does not take into account the radioactive fallout that prevailing winds would blow up to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lives-on-the-line-in-the-himalaya">the Himalaya</a>, contaminating glaciers that are the sources of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/saving-what-is-left-of-himalayan-rivers">Asia’s main rivers</a>.
The impact of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>on High Asia was already ringing alarm bells about its <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/himalayan-icecap-melting-faster-than-thought">shrinking ice cap</a> reducing the dry season flow of water downstream. Water was going to be the next strategic commodity, geopolitical experts warned, and the next wars in Asia would be over water.
That water war is already happening. India retaliated to the Kashmir attack by suspending the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/24/world/asia/india-pakistan-indus-waters-treaty.html" target="_blank">Indus Waters Treaty</a> of 1960 mediated by the World Bank that has withstood at least three wars between India and Pakistan. The treaty gives India control over the three eastern tributaries of the Indus (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beas_River" target="_blank">Beas</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_River" target="_blank">Ravi</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutlej" target="_blank">Sutlej</a>), while Pakistan got water from the Indus and two of its western tributaries (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indus_River" target="_blank">Indus</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chenab_River" target="_blank">Chenab</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhelum_River" target="_blank">Jhelum</a>.
Pakistan was assured of 70% of the annual flow, and India could use a reasonable amount of water for<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=15231"> irrigation and hydropower</a>. &nbsp;Within days of its threat, India stopped water flowing down to Pakistan from the Chenab river and is reportedly preparing to do the same on the Jhelum.
The sabre-rattling has reached a crescendo. Besides threats and counter-threats there are also symbolic drills, with the Indian Air Force practicing landing on an expressway in Uttar Pradesh by its Rafale, Su-30 and Jaguar fighter jets to demonstrate ‘operational readiness’. In response Pakistan test-fired its Abdali ballistic missile that can carry a nuclear warhead and has a range of 450km.&nbsp;
The danger is that with ultra-nationalist rhetoric and the beating the war drums by both sides, India’s government and Pakistan’s military may have to ‘do something’ to appease domestic public opinion. But any tactical strike, an artillery exchange, or territorial incursion could quickly escalate out of control.
Expecting an Indian retaliation for the Pahalgam killings, Pakistan is using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/interfaith-collaboration-for-nuclear-disarmament"> nuclear deterrence </a>and warning of “catastrophic consequences”. The two neighbours came close to a nuclear exchange in 2019 after an attack on the Indian military in Kashmir, and prompt international intervention led by the United States cooled tensions.&nbsp;
This time, the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">Trump administration</a> is too distracted and not as engaged. Pakistan has denied it was responsible for the terrorist attack and called on Washington to stop a possible Indian retaliation. India and Pakistan have stopped overflights by each other’s airlines, and some international carriers have even stopped flying over Pakistan fearing an air war.
Washington, Beijing, the UN and the EU have all urged restraint. Iran, which has good relations with both India and Pakistan has sent its foreign minister to urge both countries not to go into a tit-for-tat war. Iran has its own nuclear flashpoint to worry about with tensions in Israel, &nbsp;Yemen and Syria.
India and Pakistan both share similar problems of joblessness, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/why-nepal-s-poverty-rate-is-stuck">poverty </a>and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/climate-change-new-threat-to-nepal-s-rhinos">environmental threats</a>. Neither side needs the threat of a senseless war, and we in the neighbourhood do not need it either.&nbsp;
Kunda Dixit
This Editorial is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.

Nukes in the neighbourhood

Most Nepalis thought they had seen the last of it after <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the 25 April 7.8 magnitude </a>earthquake ten years ago. But the Himalaya had more surprises in store. On 12 May, another 7.3 magnitude tremor that some said was an aftershock, but was strong enough to itself be a major earthquake, struck Dolakha.&nbsp; Not many people had heard of Singati till then — a cluster of houses by the Tama Kosi River along a narrow gorge that is the roadhead to Rolwaling Valley.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250508110520_57b6e316656851f71eca56ca6f98d9bbcc820c1a00d62af3c990725b4361244d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250508110520_016534fb2b6a79957402281cda768efb83a146786377e39e11df3e251d37159e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  It was here that dozens were killed on 25 April in the first earthquake. Hundreds of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati-rising-from-rubble-rebuilding,3703">Singati survivors</a> had lined up for food and relief supplies in the morning of 12 May when the second earthquake triggered a rock slide that buried a nearby camp. At least 50 people were killed. &nbsp; Three hours later, a US Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter landed in a nearby cornfield to pick up the wounded, and flew off. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control in Kathmandu and its wreckage was located high on Kalinchok four days later. Six American servicemen, two Nepal Army soldiers, and five wounded civilians from Singati were killed. Today, Singati bears little physical scar of the multiple tragedies that struck the town ten years ago. Most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bungamati-builds-back">houses have been rebuilt</a> as urban-style concrete structures, and Singati has become an economic hub on the road leading up to several hydropower plants and a<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/off-the-beaten-trek-in-nepal"> popular trekking destination</a>.&nbsp; The town looks less like a village and more like a suburb of the Dolakha district headquarter of Charikot, 47km away.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250508110520_196f341d1df1403ba133e5dfeb837eec20d7cbcb4c8c56b17cc5598810de5df2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250508110524_ae66c4a92430f67db51b5e11e017059eedfbac4cb18c8e073f2a50cca1fe904e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> </figure>  “The demand for construction material, cement, iron rods and bricks peaked after the earthquakes,” says Suresh Khadka, who owns a hardware business here and now supplies material to the 456MW Upper Tama Kosi hydropower project that is undergoing repairs after it was damaged by a landslide last year. The demand for cement boomed since most residents believe, not necessarily correctly, that <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">cement houses are safer</a>. Although Khadka did well selling construction material after the earthquake, he worries that most new structures do not follow seismic-resistant building codes.&nbsp; The construction boom financed by bank loans has in turn forced many from Singati to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas for work</a> so they can service their debt.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250508110524_50caa4530bd5ff9120cf7ab70a62173846d337ef448ff8bac339f3faa375a9e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Suresh Khadka</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250508110520_ef8b7d3993fc3b5df852bbf952feb3fbabc96d6883b0d5eb74ee5c60f4123b83" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Phu Doma Sherpa (right)</figcaption> </figure>  “My family had no choice but to borrow money to rebuild our home since the government compensation was not enough, and ten years later we are still paying off the loan,” says Phu Doma Sherpa, 60. Because of the shortage of qualified masons and proper seismic engineering, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/structural-problems">many of the buildings are of questionable building standards </a>and the traditional architecture has been abandoned, admits Kul Bahadur Budathoki, deputy chair of the municipality. “But these buildings were more expensive than what the government grants could cover, many people here are heavily in debt and the men have <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/every-day-is-closer-to-pay-day">migrated to the Gulf to pay their loans</a>,” Budathoki says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20250508110520_32f89e97b7e757fc9286c0bbb671f48ea8d4468e9634fa646d7247c650ad8480" data-rendition-name="original" width="1501" height="1079" loading="lazy" alt="Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village NT"> <figcaption>Kul Bahadur Budathoki</figcaption> </figure>  Singati is in a multi-hazard zone. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Singati,3091">12 May 2015 earthquake </a>could have led to the collapse of Nepal’s largest glacial lake, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/stairway-to-heaven">Tso Rolpa</a>, upstream. Due to global warming, the glacier has turned into an expanding lake 3.5km long, and its collapse would have unleashed a catastrophic Himalayan tsunami down the Tama Kosi Valley, with Singati directly in its path. Singati has literally risen from the ashes of 2015, with its residents beginning to recover from the trauma and financial toll. But it is not out of danger as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/climate-breakdown-linked-to-thame-flood">climate breakdown </a>magnifies the risk from future earthquakes.

Climate magnifies earthquake risk in Nepal village

The streets of Patan are alive this month with lavender jacaranda trees under rain-washed skies as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-red-god-rises-again-in-patan">the chariot of Rato Matsyendranath</a> is pulled across town. This is the festival of the rain god, and inevitably the heavens opened up and pre-monsoon showers pelted the chariot as it started being pulled in Pulchok last week. Thousands of devotees, onlookers and the chariot procession organisers thronged the streets on the first day last week. The rhythmic cymbals and drums exuded a vibrant energy as the enormous four wheels turned and the chariot lurched.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025051007050_81df97744db16f732a419dc1f1579d235ce3df37642b078f50b83bd4bd026688" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  The<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Red-rain-god,3141"> red rain god</a> has Hindu and Buddhist antecedents, alternatively called Bungadya and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-gravity-defying-chariot-festival"> Karunamaya</a> — reflecting Kathmandu Valley’s syncretic mixture of the two religions.&nbsp; “Bungadya is a profoundly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/12-full-opinion/marketing-the-intangible">intangible form of heritage</a>,” explains heritage expert Monalisa Maharjan. “It embodies traditional knowledge,<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/reviving-nepal-s-craft"> artisanal skills passed down through generations</a>. Local communities and specific families have specified roles in being custodians of the heritage, ensuring their survival over the centuries.” There are many legends and stories about this annual tradition. Lichhavi king Narendra Dev is supposed to have brought Rato Matsyendranath from Assam to Kathmandu Valley to convince Guru Gorakhnath to lift a spell that created a two-year drought in Kathmandu.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250510050520_347a9a398f8a9abc4a7fb4e2774fde8264cccbdce8bdab23851ab3f0e73c3e8a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1503" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Matsyendranath was Gorakhnath’s mentor, and upon seeing him, the serpents were released, unleashing the rains. The chariot festival honours the return of this life-giving rain. The deity is seen as an icon for thriving agriculture, t<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/before-the-next-monsoon">he arrival of monsoon</a> showers, and the welfare of the community. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-reign-of-the-god-of-rain">The reign of the god of rain</a>, Vidhu Prakash Kayastha Till this day, the Rato Matsyendranath festival is no ordinary celebration. Patan does not sleep for a month as the chariot is pulled through various neighbourhoods. It unfolds at a state level with the president (formerly the king) attending the climax of the Bhoto Jatra in Jawalakhel later this month.&nbsp; The intergenerational transmission of tradition is unique in the world, and the reason the festival is one of the most vibrant cultural expressions that thrives despite inroads of modernity. The other unique aspect is that it is a transnational festival, binding Patan with Guwahati in the Indian state of Assam.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025051005058_8bc685ada13045d863b28e3eed91c931da2b510714586af6fd7eb5d1e298a24a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1503" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  “Unlike Nepal, where the deity commands grandeur and devotion, many in Assam are unaware of Rato Matsyendranath,” says Khagen Sharma of Gauhati University, which convened <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-assam-connection-revived">a symposium in February in Guwahati on the rain god</a>. Attending was a delegation led by Lalitpur Mayor Chiribabu Maharjan, organisers of the festival, and builders of the chariot. After the symposium, a committee was formed to explore and revive the tradition in Assam as well. Although the team had planned to visit Nepal this month, logistical challenges delayed the trip. Still, there are plans to build a Guru Matsyendranath statue in Assam to reestablish regular worship practices in the Guwahati shrine.&nbsp; The vines used to build the chariot in Patan are sourced from the jungles of Assam. But Sharma notes that in recent years unclear regulations have blocked the official import of the vines, although they are still brought to Nepal informally. The <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/makers-of-machhindranath,2204">chariot making</a> has also had a taste of modernisation in recent times. In the past, even a single nail or piece of steel was avoided. But over time, the wooden structure, particularly the shaft between the wheels, has been replaced with bronze. When that too proved unstable, metal clamps were introduced, which have become a pragmatic compromise.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250510050524_b2a819a5791612f14c81d30fc393dbd3f99f0c64b90a9110e8b0855d944bfa93" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="998" loading="lazy" alt="Divine chariot"> </figure>  Another welcome change is the focus on safety. Builders climbing the chariot’s tower now wear harnesses and there are efforts in crowd control. The most visible change in recent years has been the involvement of Patan’s enthusiastic youth in the festival — the tradition is now passing to a new generation. Says Matsyendranath expert Vidhu Kayastha: “There is more energy, the young people in red t-shirts this year were very organised, these modern touches aren’t diluting our culture, they’re keeping it alive in new forms.” He adds, “We are <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/searching-for-a-homeland-away-from-home">reconnecting with our roots</a>, we have more resources, more awareness than ever before. We must not be swept away by western values that may not serve us, and in some ways, cause more harm than good. We must revive our own culture.”&nbsp;