Government, political parties should stay focused

Fortunes of a nation rise and fall. Regimes come and go. But no regime should undermine core national interests of a country for short-term gains, no regime should sell a country down the river for the sake of prolonging its stay in power. Unfortunately, this is what has happened if we look at the history of Nepal, whether it's the case of the 1950's Peace and Friendship Treaty, the Koshi Treaty, the Gandak Agreement and the Mahakali Treaty, among others. The country is at this pass because of the myopic vision of different political forces that have ruled this country. 

They say: A stitch in time saves nine. If prevailing political forces of the yore had been proactive enough (of course, they raised this issue, but not so relentlessly), the disputes over Kalapani-Lipulek-Limpiadhura region would not have taken this proportion and its resolution would have been far easier. 

But it's a welcome development that different political forces have come together in claiming that the region in question is ours by presenting historical proofs like the Treaty of Sugauli itself, receipts of land tax paid by local people to Nepal government authorities there and the census conducted by the then government about six decades ago. 

Another welcome development is that the doctor on hunger strike for medical reforms has put his strike on hold in a bid to not weaken the campaign for reassertion of Nepal's sovereignty in the region in question and other parts of the country (Yours truly has written in this space that Nepal has territorial disputes with the southern neighbour in 21 of the 26 districts bordering it). 

Having said this, there's a need for the forces spearheading this campaign to be ever watchful and make sure that this is a homegrown campaign fueled by territorial aggression and not by some extraneous factor/actor, as our southern neighbour would like the international community to believe.  

A point to note is that the main opposition Nepali Congress has drawn attention towards border disputes with our northern neighbour, China. Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradip Gyawali has made it clear, through a television interview, that there is some issue with the Chinese side regarding the height of Sagarmatha, the world's tallest peak, and some confusion with them about a chunk of land in Dolakha. 

Yours truly feels that the ruling party and all other parties should continue to stand together for Nepal, her core national interests, her territorial integrity and should not keep mum whenever there's foreign aggression, whether it's in the said region, in Susta, Maheshpur, Paratal, Pashupatinagar and in nthe High Himalayas. It should not remain a mute spectator when the southern neighbour builds water regulatory structures abutting the Nepal border inundating huge swathes of our territories, in blatant violation of international practices and the principle of good neighbourliness or if the northern neighbour goes encroaching upon our territories. For now, the wise step, yours truly thinks, would be to channelise our energies for the resolution of the dispute over the Kalapani-Lipulek-Limpiadhura region -- it should be noted that Nepal has been consistent on its stand that the region belongs to Nepal, whereas India considers it a disputed territory -- and other regions bordering the southern neighbour, and make sure that the dispute is not brushed under the carpet through the use of tried and tested and failed methods. 

As per media reports, the scale of the dispute with the northern neighbour is not that huge. Nonetheless, there should be no compromise on our territorial integrity and a due process should be started to resolve any territorial dispute with the northern neighbour, keeping in mind that the issue may become more serious otherwise.