On/Off the Record
By P.R. Pradhan
This scribe didn’t notice any remarks from the leaders of any of the political parties, except UML MP Bhim Rawal, on the construction of embankment on the Mahakali River encroaching the riverbank, which belongs to Nepal, by pushing the river flow further towards the Nepali side. Local newspapers had published the report with the photograph of the embankment under construction across the Mahakali River.
India is one-sidedly constructing a five km long nine-meter high and seven-meter wide embankment on the border river by encroaching the Nepali soil after the river changed the course and entered towards the Nepal side following floods seven years ago. The Nepal government has remained a silent spectator, whereas, the locals in the Darchula district protested and pelted stones to the Indian side against the construction of the embankment one-sidedly.
The Indian construction site is closed to the Darchula headquarters. The locals had informed about the illegal Indian construction to the local administration. The local administration has already informed the Home Ministry about the construction but neither the Home Ministry nor the Foreign Ministry has spoken about the incident.
Another incident is that an Indian helicopter belonging to the Kailash Helicopters Service, India with call sign 9 NAJJ entered into the Nepali territory and landed in Bajhang without notice to the Nepal government.
When Mohan Raj Joshi, Ward Chair of Ward No 9, Thalara Rural Municipality questioned the people in the helicopter, they had replied that they had arrived there to study the river flow. The locals had informed the Police but the Indian helicopter had already flown away before the Police reached the venue.
Five Indians including the helicopter pilot were in the helicopter. The District Administration Office Bhajang is unaware of the helicopter.
Meanwhile, according to yet another report, the Indian side is constructing a dam and highway in Maharajgunj district in Uttar Pradesh which will stop the natural flow of the river near the no man’s land on the Indian side, inundating Nepali fertile land in Susta, Pratappur, Sarwal and Palhin area. According to international law, the country in the lower belt cannot stop the natural flow of the river and without consent from Nepal, India cannot construct a dam or road unilaterally.
These are the recent example of Indian bullying in Nepal but none of the leaders from any of the political parties, nor the government authorities have spoken a single word on these acts of bullying. In the meantime, Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has extended thanks to the Indian government for rescuing some Nepalis from Ukraine after the Russian military invasion there.
Neither Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba nor his Home Minister Balkrishna Khand nor his Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka has the guts to protest against the Indian bullying, surprisingly, those communist leaders Madhav Nepal, Pushpakamal Dahal and Chitra Bahadur KC have remained silent on such a serious issue of encroachment of the Nepali territory and violation of the international laws. Accordingly, K.P. Sharma Oli, UML chairman has also remained silent on the Indian encroachment.
It seems they all have already surrendered to India and allowed India to demonstrate its supremacy without any obstacle.
It seems they all are on a mission of pleasing the Indians. Notably, the new map released by the Oli led government, which has incorporated the Kalapani-Limpiyuadhara-Lipuleks territory of Nepal, has also been disappeared as we are seeing the old map of Nepal in the background of the government functions. We can assume, all these political leaders have already been sold out to the Indians. As the local election date is nearing, all the leaders are in a race for pleasing India. We understand the double standard of the Nepali political leaders. We also understand that they are less bothered about national sovereignty and independence, rather, they are concerned about their personal interests and then the interests of the political parties they are representing.
Due to the slavery mentality of the Nepali leaders of the day, the Indians are feeling much more comfortable in demonstrating hegemony in Nepal. India cannot challenge Pakistan and even Bangladesh but our leaders are eager to serve the Indian interests openheartedly. Therefore, the Indians are bullying us. The Indian intention is clear in Nepal. The Indians are investing a huge amount of money in the Nepali leaders, why, we must have understood! If there is an external threat to Nepal, that will be from India, the Nepalis should be aware of it.
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