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Vital national interests
AUG 23 -
Protection and promotion of the vital national interests are preconditions for the survival and growth of a nation. A dynamic nation, therefore, remains engaged in activities, which safeguard and promote its vital interests that are well-defined and endorsed by the people. Has Nepal been meeting this precondition?
Vital national interests are derived from national purpose, and are highlighted in some important documents or the preamble of the constitution. In addition, vital national interests are outlined in different sections of the constitution. However, deciding which interests are vital could be difficult. Traditionally, those of the greatest consequence are categorised as vital interests. To quote E. Plichke, “Vital interests are those which a nation deems to be essential, which it will not willingly forsake, and for which if necessary it will fight—diplomatically, politically and militarily.”
Before and during the Rana regime, modern Nepal’s vital interests implied only the territory
and sovereignty of the country, because the then rulers hardly concerned themselves with the prosperity of the public. In this sense, the Sugauli Treaty (1816) and the Anglo-Nepal Treaty (1923) largely dictated Nepal’s vital interests. Later on, Mohan Shumsher, in a desperate effort to save the Rana regime, sealed the scope of Nepal’s vital interests through the Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship 1950. However, for the politically conscious people of present-day Nepal, vital national interests imply more than territory and sovereignty of the country. A brief assessment of some of the vital interests of Nepal follows.
To ensure territorial integrity, nations have risked even war (e.g., Sino-India war of 1962). Moreover, China and all our South Asian neighbours have deployed large forces to the international
border areas for securing their frontiers.
However, Nepali territory along the border remains neglected, unsecured and vulnerable to encroachment. A National Security Council report (2009) reveals that strategically important places along the border face constant encroachment. Nevertheless, no Nepali border security force exists, though Nepal maintains a large security force and Maoist combatants. Can there be a nation-state, in the true sense, without a secure border?
After the Sugauli Treaty, Nepal’s sovereignty and independence continued to be compromised/degraded. This trend accelerated, especially after Jana Andolans I and II. Except for a very few, none of the democratic governments after Jana Andolan I seemed to be in actual command of the Nepali nation-state, indeed. They rarely enjoyed the freedom of choice and action as a government of an independent and sovereign country. Balanced diplomatic relations with the immediate neighbours is certainly one of the essentials for Nepal’s survival. History testifies that it is unwise to play the China or India card. It is also unwise to be involved in any sort of overt or covert strategic alliance with one neighbour against the other. Immature acts like unnecessary appeasing (MRP issue) or displeasing (the Maoists’ anti-Indian activities) the neighbours are counterproductive for Nepal.
Several armed centrifugal forces are thriving in Nepal due to the protracted political instability. The political leadership has created a hopeless situation where enduring political stability in Nepal has become like a mirage, attracting foreign power intervention in various seen and unseen forms. Owing to the perpetual political instability, Nepal seems to be rapidly sliding towards the status of a “failed state”.
National unity—another pre-condition for the country’s survival—enables a nation to sustain national sovereignty and independence. Nepal’s national unity is a function of inter-ethnic, inter-regional, inter-racial and inter-cultural harmony, which serves as the “centre of gravity”. Over the years, however, Nepal’s “centre of gravity” has
been experiencing severe stress, which, if not addressed in time, may cause an ultimate implosion or explosion of the nation.
Abstract concepts like sovereignty, nationality and democracy are meaningless for the starving Nepalis comprising a great majority of the population. As Seneca said, “A hungry people listens not to reason, nor cares for justice, nor is bent by any prayers.” Unless the most fundamental human-needs—physiological and safety—are met to a reasonable degree, human beings are most unlikely to seek for higher needs, which are required for the sustained growth of a nation. More than 50 percent of the Nepalis still live below the absolute poverty line. Successive Nepali governments have deplorably failed to utilise the available resources to meet even the basic needs of the people.
The only reliable natural resource Nepal has been gifted with is the mighty Himalayan rivers with a hydropower potential of about 83,000 MW out of which approximately 42,000 MW can be economically harnessed to transform Nepal into a prosperous nation. In fact, proper development of its hydropower potential is the only reliable strategic means for Nepal to safeguard/promote its vital interests. However, successive governments have been able to tap only a fraction of Nepal’s hydropower potential so far. Moreover, any short-sighted water development strategy of Nepal as in the past (Koshi, Gandak and Mahakali projects and the Arun issue) and the present (naked manipulation of businesspersons, compradors, political parties, foreign powers) could be disastrous for the national economy, sovereignty and regional peace and ecology.
Why is it that our vital interests are suffering? It can be argued that the crises of leadership in Nepal in the past and the present are one of the fundamental reasons for this deplorable state of affairs. Nepal, in its history, continuously suffered from
its leadership for whom everything including
the core national interests were negotiable. Present-day Nepal also suffers from the same chronic disease. The historic Jana Andolans I and II brought about many good things. Unfortunately, these great movements miserably failed to produce great leaders/statesmen like Nelson Mandela to lead Nepal.
All the unfavourable treaties/agreements that severely constricted the scope of our vital interests were the outcome of the bargaining of our past/present leadership. As regards our core
national interest, the most crucial treaty is the
Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship
1950, and the enclosed letters of exchange which implies a Nepal-India strategic alliance against China. However, Nepali leaders have never been honest enough to accept or deny it openly and inform the public accordingly. Indeed, the
public do not favour such an alliance. Nevertheless, whether we like it or not, this treaty still
exists, though neither Nepal nor India strictly
implemented the critical provisions of this
treaty since the Indo-China border war. Nepal—badly governed, politically unstable, ideologically divided, economically paralysed and geopolitically cursed—is not in a good position to look after its vital interests.
In its entire history, Nepal as a nation-state has probably never felt so insecure and hopeless as today. As long as the types of national leaders we had/have prevail now and in the future, the future of the Nepali people remains doomed. Fortunately, however, an important, powerful and the most representative institution—the Constituent Assembly (CA) accommodating, among others, a number of promising and younger leaders—exists today. This CA could address some of the most vital issues of our national interest including a general agreement on a well-defined national purpose and vital interests, which would serve as a strong centripetal force for all ethnic and regional groups. The new constitution must wisely address the necessities and concerns, hopes and fears and emotions and aspirations of the multi-ethnic, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-cultural Nepali people. The CA, primarily, must produce such a constitution on schedule and implement it to create a new Nepal capable of safeguarding and promoting its vital interests.
(The author is a former Army officer)
ranadhoj limbu-angbuhang rdlimbu@yahoo.com
Posted on: 2010-08-24 10:03
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