Forum Will Nepal soon merge with the Mainland
The developments in the last one month should be carefully studied against the background of US President Trump's plan to liberate Tibet, Hong Kong and Taipei. China knows very well that Trump will have his way at the United Nations since China has been illegally occupying Tibet since 1951 with the full blessings of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who simply accepted the sovereignty of China over Tibet during the visit of the Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai to India in 1954 besides signing the Panch Sheel for peaceful cooperation between India and China.
Dalai Lama who has been living in exile in India since then has been meeting all the leaders in the West. Corona Virus has presented an opportunity to President Trump to free Tibet from the clutches of China and restore the status quo to facilitate Dalai Lama to return to Tibet. Therefore China is now wooing Nepal. Nepal's silence over China's claim the entire area of Mount Everest shows that the Communist Government has accepted the claim of China over the entire region of Mount Everest. While India cannot interfere in bilateral relations between China and Nepal , what India should worry about the new map of Nepal by amending the Nepalese Constitution in a hurry for including areas which lie in Uttarakhand, namely, Kalapani in Pithoragarh district, Lipulekh pass and Limpiyadhura. The hurry with which the Constitution has been amended in a week without any consultations with India makes one suspect the unseen hand of China behind this development. . There is no room for diplomatic talks as the constitutional amendment is just not acceptable to India. In the most likely event of Nepal merging with China , China will say these areas were made part of Nepal through a constitutional amendment t. India should immediately take steps to protect all the three areas from any kind of trespass or encroachment,
Dr. Sitharam Guumurthi IAS TN 72) Retired