New Delhi
18 August 2005
India is moving towards establishing a "more
regulated border regime" with Nepal in a bid to stem the influx of
Nepalese entering India after King Gyanendra seized power on February
1.
A pilot project will be started at the Nepalganj-Rupahdiya border
checkpost to "record" the number of people crossing over into India.
According to a conservative estimate, more than a million Nepalese have
fled Nepal in the past six months alone.
The government hopes a regulated border will also serve to act as a
"pressure point" to bring about a discernible flexibility in the King's
stance by plugging the "safety valve" in the form of the India-Nepal
Treaty, which allows for unrestricted movement of Nepalese into India.
The proposed pilot project will be in addition to a series of measures
suggested to contain the large-scale migration of people from Nepal into
India. Those measures include intensified border patrolling and issue of
identity cards.
The government believes there is enough justification for putting more
pressure on the Palace because "it has shown no signs of undertaking
course correction" despite growing disenchantment against the monarchy.
New Delhi is also watching developments in the Himalayan kingdom
ahead of the launch of an "agitation" next month by political parties keen
on demonstrating a groundswell of support in their favour.
New Delhi's assessment was that since a military solution was
improbable, political settlement was the option that should be explored by
the seven political parties, which have taken tentative steps towards
starting a dialogue with the Maoists.
The government's thinking seems to be have been influenced in no small
measure by the "anxieties creeping in" among political parties and civil
society alike. Nepal is also witnessing a flight of capital outside the
country.
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