The cancellation of the visit by the Nepalese President Bidhya Devi Bhandari to India on Monday; the abandonment of the idea of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the ‘Buddh Purnima’ in Lumbini on May 21; Kathmandu’s decision to recall its ambassador in New Delhi – the weekend is packed with dramatic developments that have deeply wounded the India-Nepal relationship.Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is not only not under India’s control but is pushing ahead with an independent foreign policy Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is not only not under India’s control but is pushing ahead with an independent foreign policy Nepal joins Pakistan, China and the Maldives as the problematic relationships that the Modi government has failed to sort out. India today has relatively problem-free relationship only with three out of its seven neighbors.And yet, in Modi’s foreign-policy compass, as he pledged while on the 2014 campaign trail, India’s neighbors take the top priority.The last weekend’s developments in India-Nepal relations expose that what was perceived up until recently as the main bone of contention between New Delhi and Kathmandu – constitutional rights of Madhesi communities of Indian origin living in Nepal – is more a symptom than the real problem.Simply put, the real problem lies in the fact that the new government in Nepal formed last October under Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is not only not under India’s control but is pushing ahead with an independent foreign policy.
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