Next Door Nepal: Virtues of soft power 

Next Door Nepal: Virtues of soft power 

Context

Beijing finds a binding thread in Buddhism as India pursues hard diplomacy

What is soft diplomacy?

Typically, it’s a term that refers to attempts to engage directly with the public in round-about ways

Author’s contention: A weakening soft diplomacy

In first few paragraphs, author has tried to bring about the fact that religious and cultural underpinnings of our relationship with Nepal has weakened over time. While China, on the other hand, seems to have picked up a thread that India abandoned when it began to pursue a radical path in Nepal from 2006. India’s preference for radical political agendas have undermined, and even demolished, the institutions that facilitated cultural linkages between the two countries. This has contributed to the distrust between Kathmandu and New Delhi

Dictating Nepal’s political discourse

India, with the support of the European Union, literally dictated Nepal’s political course from 2006

• Blocking efforts of indigenous populace: Together, they blocked the efforts of a large but disorganised section of the Nepali populace that wanted contentious issues like the shift from a monarchy to a republic and the adoption of secularism as state credo instead of continuing as a Hindu state to be settled through debate, and if necessary a referendum
• Miscalculations by India: While aligning with the Maoists who were waging war against the state, dispensing with the monarchy, and asking its long-term ally, the Nepali Congress to support the Maoists, India miscalculated the impact these shifts will have, not only on Nepal’s politics, but also in the society

Efforts by China

Author states that China’s keen interest to develop Lumbini and build a railway line to Sigatse in Tibet via Kerung is an attempt on the part of Beijing to leverage soft power in bilateral relations, for it recognises that Buddhism can be a binding thread between the two countries

Unclear India

India, on the other hand, is unclear about how to repair the damage diplomacy has done to its soft power and the resultant confusion in the bilateral relations

• Anti-India sentiment: The current anti-India sentiment in Nepal, which will also reflect in the mandate, is to a large part due to the 2015 economic blockade the present Indian government imposed on Nepal, which had yet to recover from a devastating earthquake

What lies ahead?

• Review of the decision to dump monarchy: A section of the party wants the leadership to review its decision to dump the monarchy. This section argues that the monarchy managed to keep the communists under “check”, the authority of the state intact and state organs non-partisan and maintain social and inter-faith amity
• The NC’s goal, when it was founded seven decades ago, was to consolidate democracy and protect Nepal’s independence. Its leaders supported a constitutional monarchy. Though the NC lacks the organisational strength and a charismatic leadership, it may have to confront the government if the communists pursue their past practice of capturing state organs including the judiciary