Post-2015 India-Nepal Relations and China Factor in South Asia

Abstract

The India-Nepal relationship has always been regarded as a distinctive one because of strong cultural, political, and civil ties. The unannounced economic blockade imposed by India in 2015, however, takes the India-Nepal relationship to a cult. The misplayed neighbourhood policy of India after 2015 moved Nepal towards its northern neighbour. Likewise, for India, Nepal is equally very strategic to China as one of the signatories and the core component of the ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. Thus, the Indian-Nepal partnership bitterness and multilevel Chinese participation in Nepal is the same scenario for India’s overall neighbourhood policy misconduct and China’s growth in South Asia. This study examines the major events that occurred in Nepal after 2015, encouraging distancing relationships with India and closeness to China.