Sushma Swaraj tells Nepal: India elder, not a ‘big brother’

After the chill due to the Madhesi agitation in the past few months, India said Monday it was Nepal’s “elder brother” but not a “big brother”, as it’s often called. External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said India will always help its neighbour and never become a source of difficulties.

She emphasised the age-old ties between the two nations to make her point, and repeatedly praised Nepal’s political leadership and Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli for promulgating its new constitution. “I congratulate their (Nepal’s) leadership for showing maturity in difficult circumstances (post-earthquake). They said it was time to create the constitution ... and the political leadership came together and did so,” she said.

“A few issues cropped up. The Madhesis thought they had received less than expected political representation. But I want to reiterate my gratitude to the Nepali political leadership... taking their demand as legitimate, they passed two amendments under the leadership of Sushil Koirala. The Oli government bettered and passed those amendments. Amendments are not brought soon after promulgation of a Constitution,” she said.

Ms Sushma Swaraj expressed the hope that the “political mechanism” put in place by Nepal PM K.P. Sharma Oli will address the remaining concerns of the Madhesis, and praised him for engaging them in a dialogue. “This is the power of democracy that we resolve our issues through political dialogue.”

Foreign secretary S. Jaishankar recently said the “tone and tenor” of Mr Oli’s visit to India was forward-looking, adding that “assurances” given on addressing grievances within Nepal, if left unaddressed, may “detract” the country from stability.

Presiding over the 21st Sapru House Lecture of the Indian Council of World Affairs here, where Mr Oli delivered the keynote lecture, Ms Swaraj said “few people” who don’t want good bilateral relations between the two nations say India has a “big brother” attitude towards Nepal. “The Hindi meaning of big brother is elder brother. But the construct of ‘big brother’ is a Western one. Its Indian translation is elder brother... We view it from a different perspective. Big brother is egotist whereas elder brother shows concern. Elder brother tries to assist you in solving your problems. India is that elder brother who will never become the cause of your difficulties, and will assist you. I welcome you as the elder sister of that elder brother,” the minister said.

Ms Swaraj, who had co-chaired the meeting of the Indo-Nepal Joint Commission in Kathmandu after a gap of 23 years, credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with having infused new energy in bilateral ties during his trip soon after assuming office in 2014, becoming the first Indian PM to visit Nepal in 17 years.

“The PM in his speech to the Constituent Assembly said Nepal has come from the path of war to that of Buddha, from weapons to scriptures. These sentences resonated across the country and it seemed as if the distance that was created over the last 17 years got removed in a day,” he said.

Ms Swaraj also extended birthday wishes to Mr Oli, who turned 65 on Monday. “I am eight days older than him,” she said, smiling. “Nepal-India relation is unbreakable because it is not just based on geography but history as well, not commerce only but love, not economics but culture as well, not government but people as well,” she said.