KATHMANDU: India may have pulled out all stops to help quake-devastated Nepal with 'Operation Maitri', but the friendly neighbour may remember China's silent work in their country more than the Indian effort. The perception, unfortunately, is that the Indians talked too much, making a foe out of a friend.
Indian politicians and media first extended their activities to Nepal in the 1940s when it was fighting the Ranas. The period marked the flight of King Tribhuvan, who clandestinely supported the anti-Rana forces, to India, and the foundation of Nepali Congress and the Communist Party of Nepal in Kolkata.
Some say these developments allowed Indian politicians and media a role in Nepal's internal affairs. In 1950, India brokered a peace deal between the King, Ranas and political parties. This was perhaps its first post-independence foray into affairs abroad. But in no time India spoilt its goodwill in Nepal, first by setting up a military mission there and then by becoming a party to the internal power tussle.
The Nepalis resented the presence of the Indian army, which was supposed to help them expedite development work. India openly went against King Mahendra when he sacked BP Koirala's ministry in 1960. By then Nepal had spawned a media that projected India as a threat to its sovereignty.
A decade later India was in a similar predicament in Dhaka when helping Bangladesh obtain freedom from Pakistan. India's tacit support to Nepali Congress when itlaunched an armed struggle against King Mahendra in the 1960s complicated matters for New Delhi.
This continued till 1990 when Congress and the United Left Front launched a movement for restoration of multiparty democracy in Nepal. The agitation was announced at a Nepali Congress meeting, attended, among others, by former PM Chandra Shekhar in Kathmandu.
Much has happened since then. Nepal is now a vibrant democracy with an influential media. Though the Nepalis are proud they were never under foreign rule, they acknowledge that their economic destiny is tied with India's, their biggest aid giver.
China and other big powers understand this and allow India a bigger role in the Himalayan nation. This became evident when India brokered a truce between the Maoists and mainstream parties in 2006. What baffles the Nepalis is what they call India's China obsession. In 1988-89 Delhi opposed King Birendra's decision to import weapons from China. A decade later it allowed Nepal to get arms from abroad to fight Maoists.
Many in Nepal say the hyper-active Indian media tried to keep their country ahead of China in their earthquake coverage. In contrast, China seemed least interested in publicity.
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