Upshots of prime minister’s frivolous statement on India

The geopolitical genie PM Shah has let loose with his statements on Friday will be hard to put back in the bottle.

Following his assumption of office on March 27, not once had Prime Minister Balendra Shah addressed the federal parliament—not even during the mandatory weekly Q&A sessions. Pressure on him to break the silence and show accountability to the legislature had been steadily building. Yet when Shah did exactly that on Sunday, instead of allying his critics, he let loose a swarm of stinging bees. Addressing two separate questions in parliament, Shah first said that efforts were on with India to resolve the old dispute over the territories of Kalapani, Limpiadhura and Lipulekh. Fair enough. But then he added that not only had India encroached on Nepali territories, Nepal had also encroached on India’s land in many places. He also said that as many of the current boundary disputes with India originate with the Sugauli Treaty signed with British India in 1816, his government was trying to bring in the British in India-Nepal boundary discussions. Both these statements were problematic. According to border experts, as well as senior ex-state officials who have sat down with their Indian counterparts, there is no official record of India ever bringing up the issue of ‘Nepali encroachment’. The prime minister’s statement, therefore, strengthens India’s hand in future boundary talks.