News, Views From Nepal

Yuba Nath Lamsal Amidst much mistrust and hullabaloo on a host of issues between Nepal and India, Indian minister for external affairs Susma Swaraj concluded a three-day official visit to Nepal with a cautious note of optimism. Prior to departure to New Delhi, Swaraj billed her three-day visit as ‘more successful than she had expected’.   However, it has been taken in Nepal with both optimism and skepticism.   Optimism in the sense, India has at least in principle agreed to review the 1950 treaty, which most Nepalis call an unequal one. Second, no official signing took place on any issue including the proposed power trade agreement (PTA) that India had sent to Nepal almost four months ago, to which cross section of people in Nepal had serious reservation and objection. It gives an impression on the surface that India’s attitude to Nepal seems to have changed with Modi coming to power. At the same time, there is widespread skepticism in Nepal as to India’s attitud...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Many tend to believe that Nepal is on the spotlight of the international community and more particularly of our immediate neighbors. It is not merely its abundant natural resources including rich hydro power potential from its perennial rivers but Nepal’s strategic location and position that have attracted attention of the world. Nepal is situated in world’s highest point between Asia’s two giants—China and India, which are vying for becoming global powers. These two countries are both competing and cooperating in various spheres. They are cooperating with one another in areas where their interests converge and competing when their interest clash. Given this cooperation and competition between China and India, Nepal’s geostrategic position and advantage can be its assets and it can be utilized for Nepal’s well-being. It largely depends upon how we demonstrate our ability, skill and acumen. But the same strategic advantage can become strategic vulnerability,...

Yuba Nath Lamsal The ninth national congress of the CPN-UML is finally over amidst much hullabaloo. The most important part of this congress was the election for the central leadership. In the race for the principal leadership of the party or party chairperson KP Sharma Oli emerged as the winner defeating his rival Madhav Kumar Nepal. Apart from Oli’s personal win as chairperson, his team has also won a comfortable majority in the central committee. This gives free hand to KP Oli to steer the party for another five years without any hurdle. The national congress is the forum to exercise thorough and meticulous debate and discussion on policies, programmes and future course of the party. However, this part saw the least attention and exercise in the CPN-UML conclave. The leadership issue took the central stage and consumed more energy and time in the entire eight days of the national congress. The political report that was presented by outgoing party chief Jhalanath Khanal...

Yuba Nath Lamsal A key political and strategic issue in the contemporary politics of Nepal since this Himalayan Republic entered into a new political and peaceful  phase after the signing of the peace accord between the government and the insurgent Maoists in 2006 has been the state restructuring or federalism. The gravity and complication of the state restructuring issue was earlier not comprehended initially by the political actors of the time except the Maoists as it was entirely a new concept in the political lexicon of Nepal. When the issue formally came to the fore for discussion and decision in the Constituent Assembly and outside, then only the political parties and other stakeholders realized its complications and intricacies. This is fundamentally the sole factor that failed the first Constituent Assembly and ultimately led to its shameful demise. Political forces and parties saw their victory in the demise of the first Constituent Assembly without accomplishing...

Yuba Nath Lamsal Lately, it seems that some communist leaders are slowly reckoning with the fact that they are on the wrong side of history. And if recent developments are any indication, they are on the path of correcting their past missteps and irrationality. Perhaps forced by circumstances, the five Maoist communist parties have at least agreed to forge a united front for a working unity on some common agendas and issues. Four of these five parties are the ones which were once together in a single party when the Maoists had launched an armed insurgency. Now again these parties are in the process of a broader left unity. When they were united in the past, their combined strength was so strong that no other party in the country could ever match their might. The UCPN-Maoist had won 121 seats out of 240 under the first-past-the post system of the election held in 2008.   But the UCPN-Maoist won only 26 out of 240 in the election held in November last year. The UCPN-Maoist cla...