Nepal’s Constitutional Crisis Involves Its Giant Neighbors
Nepal is hit by constitution crisis—India is viewed as interfering and China expands its influence
Nepal is undergoing a transition, putting forth a constitution after a decade of conflict, political upheavals, and protests along with a devastating earthquake from which it has yet to recover. But the constitution, described as discriminating against ethnic groups that account for almost half the population, could pose more challenges. The country of 28 million people is nestled between two great rivals. India is viewed as too involved in Nepal’s domestic politics, while China is exploiting Nepalese insecurities to serve its own interests, explains Harsh V. Pant, a professor of international relations. China has overtaken India as Nepal’s biggest foreign investor, and in 2014 the country ranked among the world’s top 35 foreign aid recipients. Pant concludes that marginalization, resentment, and interference from larger neighbors could contribute to more destabilization and conflict.
Copies of the Nepal's newly adopted constitution lie bundled together for distribution to lawmakers at the constituent assembly hall in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Sept. 20, 2015. AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha
LONDON—Nepal has been in turmoil in recent weeks because of the promulgation of a constitution that, according to its critics, discriminates against the Madhesis and the Tharus, who account for 70 percent of the population living in the Terai region bordering India, as well as against the country’s indigenous groups, the Janjatis. These groups, making up nearly half of Nepal’s population, were marginal to the larger constitution-making process, controlled by upper caste elite. The marginalized protest that their political power is reduced with the redrawing of political subdivisions, and the Indian sympathy they enjoy makes their protest part of a greater geopolitical struggle with China, Nepal’s other giant neighbor.
After taking charge last week, the new prime minister of Nepal, Khadga Prasad Oli, had said that normalizing relations with India is a top priority. Yet India is also viewed as a problem, too involved in Nepal’s domestic politics, and China is exploiting Nepalese insecurities vis-à-vis India to serve its own interests. Ongoing disagreements over the constitution will not only mar relations with India, driving the government closer to China, but also challenge Nepal’s transition to a healthy democracy. What could have been a defining moment for Nepal is mired in internal conflict and regional posturing.
Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist–Leninist) leader Khadga Prasad Oli at a press conference in Kathmandu, Nepal, on Oct. 1, 2015. Oli became Nepal's prime minister under a power-sharing deal between the country's two ruling parties, and said India "should not delay in welcoming our new constitution." AP Photo/Niranjan Shrestha
