Prime Minister Narendra Modi appears to have matched the high expectations in Nepal that he would inaugurate a fresh start in bilateral relations. If Nepal’s elites were chafing under Delhi’s prolonged political neglect, its youthful population had never seen a charismatic Indian leader. By all accounts, many across the border were enthused by the PM’s promise of befriending neighbours. Modi did not disappoint. With a speech to Kathmandu’s parliament and constituent assembly, widely described in Nepal as “magical”, and by wading into welcoming crowds in Kathmandu, Modi may have taken away much of the recently accumulated poison in an old relationship.
In the constituent assembly, Modi sought to dispel fears in Nepal that the BJP government might back the restoration of a Hindu monarchy ousted in a bloody democratic struggle in the middle of the last decade. In unambiguously endorsing the idea of an “inclusive, federal, democratic republic”, Modi insisted that it was not India’s business to build the domestic consensus in favour of a new political order. He reminded the legislators of the significance of their work in drafting a constitution. Comparing the writing of the constitution to the compilation of the Upanishads and praising Nepal’s leaders for choosing the path of peace rather than war, India’s PM highlighted the bright future that awaits a Nepal at peace with itself.
