TRN Jan.4, 2008
Disregarding agreements reached with the government of Nepal, the Indian authorities have been encroaching boarders in many places. Despite frequent request, India has not stopped encroaching on the Nepali lands along 1,600-kilometers of open boarder areas. Encroaching Nepalese territory, particularly in Susta of Nawalparashi, is going on. Even the Minister for Health and Population Giriraj Mani Pokhrel after observation of Susta area had accepted that the Indian Political parties, especially the Bharataya Janata Party, and the Indian security force has been inciting the locals across the boarder for encroaching Nepali land and Nepal government had been turning its deaf ears. Expert on boarder issues, Buddhi Narayan Shrestha, blames that the Indians uses both force and tactics to grab the Nepalese territory. Some times they lure the Nepalese in the boarder areas, including Susta, to come over to their side saying they would get all facilities and at other times they simply use force. Expert claimed India has encroached upon Nepal's land in 54 different places including the recent encroachment of 14,000 hectares of land in the susta area with the help of the Indian boarder security force.
However, India denies Susta encroachment charge challenging to show proof; a parliamentary panel led by lawmaker Kunta Sharma had recently directed the government to take diplomatic measures to make Indian security personnel vacate Susta area of Nepal that they have encroaching since 1984. According to the field survey report, of the total 21,000 hectares of land of Susta Village Development Committee (VDC) India has already encroached 14,000 of hectares. The panel report categorically stated that the encroachment has taken place at the behest of the Indian Security force and more land is facing the risk of being encroached. Lawmakers also have urged the government to take seriously the issues pertaining to territorial integrity and national sovereignty.
Youth wings affiliated with the seven ruling parties have strongly raised the encroachment issue that has mounted pressure on the government to take the issue seriously. They not only submitted memorandum protesting the Indian encroachment to foreign minister Sahana Pradhan and the Indian Embassy but also has been planning to begin move against such encroachment from January 9 forming a joint boarder observation team. The seven-youth organization submitted a memorandum to the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu demanding immediate return of the encroached land by the Indians in Susta area. Previously, two month long Mechi-Mahakali March had been commenced by the Maoist youth wing Young Communist League (YCL). YCL boarder observation team had begun its observation tour from Ilam to Tanakpur and they planned to present a report on the encroachment and submit a memorandum to the government after boarder observation regarding mounting pressure to take effective initiative to stop encroachment. In a protest rally against encroachment in Pashupati Nagar, Ilam YCL Chief Ganesh Man puna claimed they found 40 square meters of Nepalese area being encroached by Indian side at Fatak area of Ilam along with another 10 ropanis of land at Hile alone. Local people also say the government had ignored the issue despite their repeated attempts to draw its attention. They say the district administration it has no information regarding the encroachment.
Such moves have been mounted pressure on the government to look into and initiate steps to stop the encroachment of Nepali land at the Nepal-India boarder. These moves probably for the first time have impelled the government and the parliament to show serious concern on the issue of boarder encroachment by the southern neighbor. Minister for Home Affairs Krishna Prasad Sitaula has said the government would settle the Susta issue through diplomatic channel after Parliamentary committee instruction of taking immediate step to get back the encroached land through diplomatic channel and to remove the Indian security forces and encroachers from the bordering area.
Evidences show whenever Nepal falls on the political crisis, encroachment and other bargaining regarding natural resources from the Indian side increases. India should not take the current political crisis in Nepal as an opportunity to make encroachment on Nepali territory. India should understand that such attitude would alone instigate the feeling against India. It would be forcefully rejected by any genuine nationalist citizens of Nepal whether they live in hill or terai are. Encouragement of encroaching Nepali territory by its people of southern neighbor with support of boarder security force would also be counterproductive for the peace and progress in the whole South Asia. For that reason Indian Central government should take urgent measures to abide by its own maps prepared before its independence. Both the government now needs to set up a permanent high-level mechanism to resolve boarder disputes and to repair and re-install 8,000 boarder pillars. It is time we sought an amicable solution of the boarder dispute and it should be a top priority agenda in Nepal-India relations. For this, Indian bureaucracy and political leadership should realize the Nepalese integrity and act amicably without showing any attitude of hostility towards its northern neighbor. However, India insists on keeping 1968 AD as the cut off date for maintaining the borderline, experts say the settlement of boarder disputes between Nepal and India should be on the basis of the British map that was prepared prior to the independence of India in 1947. The current positions of rivers could not be the acceptable way of reading maps. Even the successive governments ever since Sugauli Treaty have never been able to protest any encroachment, However, people hope the present government established on the people's movement would be sensitive on the issues of nationality. Bearing in mind that the problem lays on unequal treaties between two countries, Nepal should take initiative to scrap all the unequal treaties made with India and have to review treaties to foster good neighboring relation based on equality and the true spirit of Panchasheel. Obviously, regarding all issues not only boarder but also the use of natural resources, the friendly relation between Nepal and India should be grounded on equality. India should know that Nepalese do not harbor any enmity against Indian people other than they only want to solve the boarder and other crucial issues in friendly and equitable terms.
(Vijaya Chalise is Editor-in-Chief of the Gorakhapatra Daily)
No comments:
Post a Comment