Mr. Rishi Dhamala, President of the Reporters Club, Distinguished members of the Press, ladies and gentlemen,

I would first of all like to express my very deep gratitude to Mr. Rishi Dhamala for giving me yet another opportunity to have very useful interactions with Members of the Nepali press. I would also like to express my very deep gratitude to all of you, our friends from the press who have taken the trouble to be present here this afternoon. With the kind of full house that we have today, it is obvious that there is considerable interest in some of the issues which Mr. Rishi Dhamala has mentioned in his opening remarks. Of course, I would be prepared to answer various questions that you would like to raise on any of these issues. But I would like to first of all make some opening remarks which perhaps may disappoint you in not necessarily addressing some of the issues which have been raised by Mr. Dhamala but I think we will have an opportunity to also talk about these issues. So, Mr. Dhamala, I am happy to have another opportunity to interact with distinguished members of the Reporters’ Club. During my very first encounter with you soon after my arrival in Kathmandu, I was deeply impressed by the professional enthusiasm of and incisive questioning by the members of the club. We know from our own experience in India what a critical role a free and vibrant press can play in upholding democratic principles and people’s rights. I have no doubt that democracy has a bright future in Nepal, precisely because there is an independent media which is not only vigilant in safeguarding Nepali interest but also in working hard to develop a culture of investigative but responsible journalism.

In these opening remarks, I would like to focus on India. As you know, in a few days’ time, India will be celebrating the 57th anniversary of its Independence. As a people we have been through many ups and downs in the past half-century or more. During the early years of our independence, there were many doomsday predictions about India. Some experts believed India would not survive as a united country, but would inevitably break up into smaller units. Others saw India as the classic Malthusian example, where its population growth would outstrip food supplies, resulting in the economic and political chaos. Still others felt that democracy was a luxury that a developing country like India could ill-afford. On each of these counts, India has proved its detractors wrong. India is today a strong and united country. It has a strong centre and strong states. It is, in a very real sense, a common market of over a billion people. Contrary to dire prognostications, India has put behind it the images of hunger and deprivation, and is now already a major food exporting nation. To be able to feed a billion people, to have reserve stocks in excess of 60 million tonnes and to be able to export significant quantities of both rice and wheat is not an insignificant achievement. Lastly, India remains a functioning democracy, in fact democracy has now taken such strong roots among the people of India, that it can never be subverted.

During the past decades or more, India has been registering a growth rate of 6% per annum. In PPP terms, it is already the fourth largest economy in the world. Our foreign exchange are US $ 85 billions and still growing, while the Indian rupee is one of the few currencies that is actually appreciating. From being a debtor nation, India is today a creditor to the IMF and the rupee is already convertible on current account.

Most people are aware of the giant strides India has taken in the Information Technology Sector. IT software exports are now US $ 10 billion and slated to reach US $ 50 billion by the year 2010 or even earlier. We have also made significant advances in several high technology areas such as space sciences and biotechnology. India is today a highly competitive source of high technology as well as management skills. We are conscious that we have a long way to go yet, but today there is a sense of confidence and assurance amongst our people and an optimism about our ability to join the ranks of developed nations by the year 2020 – a vision cherished by our President Abdul Kalam.

What do these developments mean for Nepal? I sincerely believe that India is today a great opportunity for Nepal, a factor that could infuse immense energy into Nepal’s development . There are no two economies that are as complementary as India and Nepal. We can develop an interdependent partnership from which both our countries could benefit.

With all its recent economic achievements India is not an affluent country. But, even within our modest capabilities and achievements we have always been willing to extend developmental assistance to Nepal. Our efforts till now have concentrated on strengthening Nepal’s infrastructure, especially in roads, medical facilities and educational sectors throughout the country, as well as providing opportunities to Nepalese students to pursue higher education in India. We have also increasingly begun directing our assistance to community and grass root projects such as those providing solar energy, drinking water, school buildings and roads to remote areas. Scholarship schemes have also been introduced for students studying in Nepal at both the 10+2 level (500 scholarships) and undergraduate levels (50) scholarships.

One major India-assisted project worth Nepali Rs. 1320 million to be soon completed is the state-of-the-art East-West Highway Optical Fibre Project which will enable Nepal to enter the new information age. The other significant India aided project is the INSAT Ground Receiving Facility with Meteorological Data Dissemination Receiving System in Nepal for receiving accurate weather forecasting data in real time. There are also plans to establish under Indian grant assistance a high performance computing facility in Nepal using the state-of-the-art Indian super computer “PARAM PADMA” for use in weather forecasting, hydrology, geomatics, and remote sensing.

There are, as you are aware, many layers of interaction between India and Nepal. Given the scope and extensive nature of our interaction, it is inevitable that there will occasionally arise controversies and difference of opinion on various issues. We must not ignore such issues, but neither should be fall prey to the temptation of exaggerating them, some times to the point where they begin to over shadow the many positive things that are happening in our relations. Given the close and friendly relations our two countries enjoy since time immemorial, there is no issue that can not be resolved through friendly dialogue. That is the spirit in which we approach our relations with Nepal.

Q & A following Ambassador’s Opening Statement

1. What is India’s attitude towards the 5-party agitation and does India still consider Maoists terrorists? Also at the India-Nepal border, there are several instances of harassment of Nepali citizens. What can be done about this? There are also reports of building of embankments by India near the border which is causing problems on the Nepali side.

Amb: Let me just repeat the questions so that I hope haven’t got it incorrect. One is that what is the India’s policy with regard to the five party agitation. Is that correct? And the second is what is India’s policy with regard to the Maoists? Do we consider them to be rebels or do we consider them to be terrorists? And the third is that there are incidents of some misbehavior by our police and what India intends to do about it and also the issue of embankments on the border. Lots of questions.

Well let me take your first question concerning the agitation by the five parties. India does not have anything to say about any specific actions adopted by the parties or by the government in Nepal. These are really matters for the people of Nepal to decide. However, I would like to return to the consistent policy the Government of India has pronounced since the last several months that we consider that for political stability in Nepal, there are two pillars. These are constitutional pillars. One is the pillar of constitutional monarchy, the other is the pillar of multi party democracy. In addition to that we have also stated that any peace process in Nepal cannot succeed without the involvement of the political parties. Therefore, political parties have a key role to play in the political life of the Nepalese people. So this is the Indian position with regard to Nepal.

With regard to the Maoist movement, here what we have consistently opposed is the terrorist activities indulged in by the Maoists. We have not attacked this or that individual. We have attacked the kind of activities in which the Maoists may have been involved. What are the concerns on the Indian side? The concerns on the Indian side are that (i) we have certain terrorist outfits in India for example we have the MCC, we have the PWG. We have had evidence in the past of linkages between the Maoists and these outfits. Therefore, we have stated very clearly to the Maoist leaders that in order that there should be, our attitude should be different from what is today, these linkages must end. Second thing that we have mentioned is that if the Maoist movement claims that it is committed to multi party democracy, then we have also said that multi party democracy cannot go together with reliance on violence as a political weapon. The third point we have mentioned to them that eventually what is the political solution to the present problems? It will have to be some electoral exercise which means that you must return to the people of Nepal in order to obtain their verdict in terms of any political solution. For that particular verdict to be acceptable or credible both to the people of Nepal as well as to the international community, it must be an election which takes place in a free and fair manner not under the shadow of the gun. So this is the position that we have conveyed to the Maoist leaders. I think what our position on this is very clear.

Third issue is of the question of embankments on the border. Some time ago we issued a Press Statement in which we had pointed out that there are many hundreds of rivers and water courses which the two countries share. There are many rivers which are flowing from the Nepalese side into the Indian side. Similarly there are many nallahs or smaller streams which also flow from one side to the other. If you look at the India Nepal border, both sides of the border, are what are technically known as flood plains of these rivers. It is inevitable that when there is a strong monsoon and there are very heavy rains, there will be flooding or inundation of these areas. Now number one it has to be understood in Nepal that this is a problem not merely affecting Nepal but it is also a problem which our people on the Indian side of the border face. Just as there is flooding of the houses or the crops of the farmers on the Nepali side similarly we are faced with the same problem on the Indian side. Now, there is no way that we can solve these problems by finger pointing or by selectively putting blame on the one side or the other side. If we ever have a hope of resolving these problems, these problems can only be resolved if both sides work together, to see what really the problem is, how can we find a solution which is of benefit to Nepal as well as to India. I cannot see any other alternative. Therefore, in this spirit, if we approach this problem, I think we can find solutions. As I said in my opening statement, we have a very long standing relationship of friendship between the two countries and if we approach these issues which will inevitably arise given the nature of our relationship, if we approach these issues in that spirit of friendship I see no reason why we cannot solve any of these problems.

You mentioned about the Police. Again you know there are about 22 border crossing points. We also have deployed additional companies of Special Security Bureau forces mainly in order to curb cross border terrorism and criminal activities. Now there are thousands and thousands of people who are crossing the India Nepal border every day. Again I am not surprised if every once in a while some incident like this occurs but what I can assure you is that every time any such incident is brought to our notice, we have taken up these incidents immediately with the concerned authorities and in a few cases actually the officer concerned or the police officer concerned has been punished if he has done something wrong. So please rest assured on our side we are very conscious that any Nepali citizen who is coming into India must feel welcome. That is the spirit of our friendship. So if there is any problem and if it is brought to our notice, I can assure you that we will make every effort to solve this.

2. We have read in the Hindu, which is a very respected Indian newspaper that India does not favour involvement by any third party even an international organization like the U.N. What is Indian position on this issue? How does India view the peace process and does it not think that the international community can play a helpful role?

Amb: Well I will certainly explain to you what the Government of India’s position is with regard to the peace process in Nepal. I cannot speak for the Hindu and I cannot speak to you what any newspaper in India is saying. The Indian Press is an independent press. There are different opinions and different views expressed in different newspapers and magazines and I think we should take it as the expression of views of different experts or different journalists or different individuals. But as far as peace process in Nepal is concerned, I can certainly tell you what our position is. India welcomes the peace process. India welcomed the ceasefire. India welcomed the peace process. India has also been saying as I pointed out earlier that in this peace process the political parties have a very key role to play, a critical role to play. Therefore, I would like to see a situation in this peace process where there is also an involvement of the political parties. We have also stated that we believe that the solution of the current problems in Nepal must be found within the parameters of (i) Constitutional Monarchy and (ii) Multi party democracy. As far as the issues in the peace process is concerned, certainly I do not think it is our place to pronounce on any specific issues that may be raised or may be discussed.

What about the foreign intervention or what about the aspect of mediation? Really in terms of what role a foreign country or a foreign organization can play or United Nations can play, this is a decision which has to be taken by the Government of Nepal in its own best interest. It is not for us to pronounce whether or not Nepal should go for some mediation or should not go for some mediation but certainly India has a certain view point on such mediation because of our own experience, because of what we see what has been happening in other parts of the world. What have we said? We have said as far as any discussion taking place between say the Maoist leaders on the one hand and the Nepalese leaders on the other, this negotiation does not require a third party. One Nepali can speak to another Nepali; one Nepali understands the nuances of his own culture, the nuances of language better than any foreigner can. So I do not think that it is necessary for any third party to come in to enable one Nepali to talk to another Nepali. Second as far as the issue of any facilitatory role played by the international community is concerned, please let me make it clear that we are not saying that there is no role for the international community. International community has a very important role to play and I include India in that International Community. But what are we saying? We are saying that to us the key problem is that we have here trilateral problem. We have the government, we have the Maoist movement and we have the political parties. Now our view right from the beginning has been that in these peace negotiations what you need is that constitutional forces should be working together. They should be on one side and the Maoist movement on the other side to see that how a solution can be found to the current problems. So the international community has an important role to play in terms of bringing the constitutional forces together. International community would like the principle of constitutional monarchy to be adhered to and the principle of multi-party democracy to be adhered to. So our efforts should be directed not towards trying to mediate between the Maoists and the government but rather try and see how can we bring the constitutional forces together. This is one aspect. The second aspect is with regard to what is the international community’s influence as regards to the Maoist movement itself. I have mentioned to you that we believe that Maoist movement must abjure violence. That is if there is a commitment to multi party democracy it cannot go hand in hand with continued reliance on violence; it cannot go hand in hand with continued reliance on the gun. Therefore, the international community also has a role to play in convincing the Maoist movement that if they want legitimacy, if they want to enter political mainstream it is very important for them that the continued reliance on violence must be abandoned. This is very important because today we are in a world where we are part of global alliance against terrorism we are trying to fight the phenomenon of mindless violence. Therefore, the international community also has a role to play in convincing the Maoist movement that their reliance on weapons; their reliance on violence must be abandoned. We are not saying that the international community and the United Nations has no role to play but we believe that this is the role the international community can play by providing as supportive an environment as possible in which the peace process can be successful.

3. India has in the past exported democracy to Nepal in 1950 and then also in 1990. Are you giving support and encouragement to the agitation of the 5 political parties? And if we are unable to solve our problem is it not better to have help from outside? Do you think there will be foreign influence in Nepal?

Amb: To begin with let me assure you India does not believe in export of any ideology whether it is democracy or communist or any other ideology. The reason is that democracy cannot be imported from outside. Democracy is not something that can be given as a gift from some foreign country. Democracy is something that must arise from amongst the people themselves. I think you are perhaps minimizing the importance of the role that the people of Nepal themselves have played in terms of bringing democracy in this country. I think they must be given credit for bringing democracy. So how the people of Nepal whether in terms of the political parties, whether in terms of intellectuals in this country, people like you whom as I have said that you are as much a pillar of the democratic establishment as any other, it is really for you to decide how you are going to really safeguard democracy in this country. Now what the political parties may have decided, really I think it is for them to take their decision. I don’t think it is right or proper for us to comment.

As regards foreign interference, if Nepal does not want any foreign interference, there will be no interference. This is a matter of your own assurance. This is a matter of your own confidence. I have great confidence in your ability to deal with this problem and to resolve the problem. As I said we do not believe that somebody else has to come from outside and teach people of Nepal how to run the peace process. I don’t think so. Now whether or not the foreign forces will come in or will not come in depends on how you deal with your problems. If you have the confidence and you have the ability to resolve these problem by yourself, why should there be any room for any foreign element to come in? I believe that just as India is a very ancient civilization and ancient culture, we have a long history you and we have been through many ups and downs in history. I think we have the ability and culture to deal with this problem. I do not think anybody needs to come from outside and tell you how to deal with this problem.

4. Despite what India has done and what you say why is there so much anti-Indian feeling in Nepal and what can we do to remove such feeling?

Amb: Well first if all I do not agree that there is widespread anti Indian sentiment in Nepal. It may be that there are people in the Kathmandu Valley amongst a certain section of the elite here or some other people. I really cannot speak for them why they have hostility towards India. But let me tell you I very sincerely believe that may be 95% or even more, perhaps even 99% of the people have huge amount of goodwill for India and I would say this is true for people in India with respect to Nepal. After all, you know that there are in India itself many millions of Nepalese speaking people living in peace, there is no discrimination. If there was an anti sentiment towards Nepal this would not happen. But yes there are perhaps in Nepal, there may be some elements who do have certain suspicion about India’s motives, have certain suspicion about India dominating Nepal. India is a very large country. Today India is a rising economic power. I am not surprised that there are smaller neighbours who feel a certain anxiety about India. This is quite natural and it is the duty of India to try and allay any such reservations or any such suspicion . I think India and Nepal are very fortunate that we enjoy a very long standing relationship of peace and friendship which goes back, it is difficult to say when these relations began. So that is a very strong foundation. One has to be, I think people who have an interest in India Nepal friendship, they should also have the confidence, assurance that there is enough strength, enough substance in this relationship that will not be shaken by this kind of sentiments of hostility. Let the record speak for itself. India does not have to always keep protesting friendship for Nepal. I think India has done enough and is continuing today to do a great deal in order to demonstrate to the people of Nepal that we have a very friendly feelings towards this country whether in terms of economic cooperation projects that we have undertaken in the past, which we continue to undertake today. India continues to be a welcome country for thousands of Nepalese students. I think we are very proud of the fact that there are large number of people in Nepal who have had their education in India. I think the best contribution that India has made to Nepal is in terms of its educated manpower. So these things stand by themselves. I do not think that we need to protest each and every time that no no we are very good guys, don’t think of us as bad guys. I think there is enough substance in India Nepal friendship. I think our record speaks for itself. If there are reservations that people have and if these are reasoned reservations, there are reasoned doubts about India, I am prepared to answer those doubts in a reasoned fashion. But if there is a bias, if there is prejudice, then prejudice is something that is very difficult to deal with.