DESPARDES — Nepal has declared Indian Army Chief Manoj Mukund Naravane’s statement over Kalapani dispute an insult to its people.
Nepali Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ishwor Pokhrel said Indian Army chief’s comments on the Kalapani dispute have hurt the sentiments of Nepali Gurkhas.
Last week, pointing towards China, Indian Army Chief General said that Nepal’s objections to a new road being built in Uttarakhand is “at the behest of someone else”.
The road traverses territory historically claimed by Nepal. Hence, in a bid to assert its claim over the territory, the government of Nepal unveiled a new political map of the country which includes the regions of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura as part of its sovereign territory. Nepal has rejected India’s claim over these territories.
Indian army chief’s remarks alleging that the Nepali government had protested the inauguration of the link road at the behest of China came at a time when all sections of Nepalese society – including all political parties in the opposition – have objected to the construction of the road.
Soldiers from Nepal’s Armed Police Force have been patrolling the disputed area along the India-Nepal border, independent reports say.
A defense analyst in Pakistan when asked to comment on the developing situation, tells DesPardes:
- India has fallen prey to 56-inch boast of PM Modi and false sense of superiority which their media and Bollywood have fed the people.
- Indian masses and intelligentsia became arrogant. The incident of 27 Feb 2019, took out air out from Indian Air Force’s balloon. Coronavirus has exposed the fragility of the Indian state as manifested by migrant workers plight, and now China has given them another reality check (he was referring to the skirmish in Ladakh).
- The rot is deep and minds of Indian Hindus have been fed with so much of Hindu superiority that they are unlikely to mend their ways and hence will keep faltering.
- This, coupled with free lunch that they are likely to get from US to bring them on board on anti-China camp, could keep India on a belligerent and self-destruct path.
- This is likely to result in a very unstable South Asia, with much increased security stress for Pakistan.
“Interesting times”, the analyst has said on more than one occasion.
