The book, “Bhurajniti ko Bhar,” or “Nepal at Geopolitical Crossroads: Rivalry Between China, India, and the USA in Nepal,” written by Baburam Bishwakarma, is classified into thirteen chapters.
In this book, writer Bishwakarma examines whether the geopolitical implications in Nepal have increased since the promulgation of the new constitution.
An independent journalist for two decades, Biswakarma excels in investigative journalism and has been awarded the National Education Journalism Award and the Rotary Journalist Award.
To document the geopolitical implications of the last two decades, the author has indexed 181 references to provide an evidence-based document.
From the constitution-making process to its promulgation, the geopolitical trend must have been altered.
This book delves into several untold stories that took place while dealing with Nepal’s neighbors and the USA. In 2015, during the Nepal-India border embargo, anti-Indian nationalism erupted in Kathmandu.
CPN-UML’s leader KP Sharma Oli took advantage of that pseudo-nationalism.
The author has documented the visit of Xi Jinping to Nepal in 2019. During the two-day visit, Nepal’s former prime ministers, including Sher Bahadur Deuwa (who also represented the Nepali Congress as president), reiterated ‘Nepal’s commitment to the One China Policy’ before Jinping.
The book analyzes how KP Oli became beloved and trustworthy to China, the northern neighbor, while denouncing India.
Oli vehemently tried his best to provoke India intentionally while redundantly declining to engage with Nepal’s southern neighbor.
Corroborating this fact, the writer has mentioned several incidents, among which the diplomatic and political activism of the then Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Hou Yanqi, seems to be of serious concern.
Defying diplomatic decorum by presenting the letter of credence to the head of state, Chinese Ambassador Yanqi met former prime ministers of Nepal, including Bidya Devi Bhandari, during the period of July 3-7, 2020.
Yanqi’s marathon of political meetings had embarrassed the diplomatic circle within Nepal.
The author claims that since 1990, there is no record of any country’s ambassador meeting with the Prime Minister of Nepal in such a short period, let alone facilitating or giving advice on domestic affairs.
It is believed that during the general election of 2017, Ambassador Yanqi and Chinese officials played a pivotal role in bringing the then CPN-UML and the Maoist Center onto the ‘red canvas.’
The saga of Chinese interests in the unification of communists in Nepal has been plotted chronologically.
Yanqi, who used to preach to the communist leaders, behaved undiplomatically with the Nepali media, writing a threatening letter to the then editor-in-chief of The Kathmandu Post.
Regarding the influence of Chinese media in Nepal, a separate chapter has been written.
China Media Group (CMG), headquartered in Beijing, through which the ‘Central Propaganda Department’ of the Communist Party of China (CPC) spreads its ideology globally.
Interestingly, CMG also opened a branch in Nepal before the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2019. A Chinese journalist, Zhang Yue (pseudonym ‘Barsha’), heads CMG in Nepal.
This book elaborates on how China produced propaganda about the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) during its approval and legal passage.
The Nepali version of China Radio International (CRI), headquartered in Beijing, was used to portray the MCC as a seditious agreement.
The book presents intriguing information about the spread of a four-point propaganda on February 27, 2022, against the MCC on the world stage, including in Nepal. Despite China’s efforts, the MCC was eventually approved by the parliament, a proposal that Nepal herself had put forward.
Similarly, this book sheds light on the opaqueness of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) agreement signed between Nepal and China on May 12, 2017.
For those confused about what BRI entails or those curious to understand it, this book can be informative.
Author Bishwakarma asserts that before the BRI agreement, the provisions included in it, as well as the positive and negative effects, benefits, losses, and challenges of these provisions on Nepal-China relations in the long run, were not discussed even in the sovereign parliament of the country.
The BRI agreement between Nepal and China, achieved through informal means, has been shunned by the government machinery.
We all know that Nepal has a border dispute with India and China. When the border dispute with India comes to the surface, as much as it is considered normal to oppose it, the border dispute with China has been seen as unequal.
However, after Yanchi’s diplomatic and political marathon and China’s unnecessary interference in the Humla border, a public slogan ‘Go Back China’ was raised for the first time at the gate of the Chinese embassy in Nepal.
Unfortunately, instead of taking diplomatic initiatives to resolve the border issues with India and China, the country’s political leadership and government machinery seem to be focusing on hiding the problem.
Bishwakarma’s notable concern, that ‘Nepal does not seem to know China in the same proportion as it understands Western countries, including India,’ sounds convincing.
Nepal is known in the world as the oldest and independent country in South Asia.
As an independent country, Nepal has no obligation to anger, upset, or please any other country.
Nepal is not in a position to compete with China and India on various grounds, including military strength, geography, area, population, economic and physical development.
After the then-president Bidya Devi Bhandari participated on behalf of Nepal in the international forum organized by China regarding GSI as the president of the country, it became clear that China wants Nepal to participate in the GSI. This book narrates why GSI has been taken as a weapon to weaken the role of the United Nations.
Even if it cannot compete with its neighbors in economic progress, Nepal may want to benefit from the development and progress of its two neighbors.
The author has documented the visit of Xi Jinping to Nepal in 2019. During the two-day visit, Nepal’s former prime ministers, including Sher Bahadur Deuwa (who also represented the Nepali Congress as president), reiterated ‘Nepal’s commitment to the One China Policy’ before Jinping.
The author considers it unfortunate that efforts have been made to ensure that Nepal’s territory is not used against any neighbors.
However, the Nepalese leadership seems to be under psychological pressure and a compulsion to keep repeating the same thing over and over again.
China was pleased after Nepal did not sign the US State Partnership Program (SPP). If Nepal had participated in the SPP, China’s understanding that Nepal would go beyond its strategic control would have become public.
Due to this, China increased various pressures on Nepali leaders against the SPP.
Later, after the Nepalese government and parliament were affected by the SPP, the Deputy Head of the American Embassy in Nepal held a press conference on June 15, 2022, and had to reveal that Nepal had requested the US to participate in the SPP in 2015 and 2017.
To find out more about the SPP in the Nepalese context, this book can be recommended. Meanwhile, China, which pressured Nepal to stay away from the SPP, wants Nepal to be a part of its strategic project.
After the then-president Bidya Devi Bhandari participated on behalf of Nepal in the international forum organized by China regarding GSI as the president of the country, it became clear that China wants Nepal to participate in the GSI. This book narrates why GSI has been taken as a weapon to weaken the role of the United Nations.
It seems that no chapter of the book is complete without mentioning China’s mala fide intentions.
It covers details about how China hammered on the separate relations between ‘Nepal-US and Nepal-India.’
After reading the book, a question can land in readers’ minds: ‘Is China active in its expansionist incarnation in Nepal?’
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