Indophobia among Nepalese is something I have witnessed since the time I gained consciousness to understand world and human activities. It took quite sometime for me to understand how badly Nepalese society was influenced by conspiracy theories and how much of irrationality is in existence in day to day decision-making process. Nepalese politicians are nothing but one of the kinds from the same society.
When I was a kid, the first conspiracy theory I heard was "road-construction conspiracy theory." I was coming to Kathmandu from Hetauda, and I heard my uncle and dad and their friends were talking something like "the route was made intentionally long and spiralling by Indian contractors, so that more fuel would be consumed, tyre would wear off quickly, and as fuel and tyre come from India, India would benefit." As I grew up, I started hearing more and more conspiracy theories on how India decides who to be PM of Nepal, how India dictates over Nepal government, how India is making Nepal underdeveloped, bla bla. As I stepped to adulthood, I heard the mother of all conspiracies: "India has designed a plan to take neighbouring countries and as per their plan, they already took Sikkim and now on row is Nepal and Bhutan; Nepal to be taken over by 2020 and Bhutan by 2050 (I suppose). It's a plan perpetuated by Indira Gandhi who said 'we shall not take over these countries through bullet but via ballet.' According to which, they create problem and chaos in these targeted countries that people get so sick and tired of instability and underdevelopment that someday they will reach to the point of realisation that their leaders and government are not capable to govern, so better annex to India. Thus, once the mood reaches to the point, will conduct polls and take the country. To make this happen, they have seeded some RAW agents in the form of politicians and bureaucrats and systematically fail the country and create chaos."
"Nepal to be taken over by 2020 and Bhutan by 2050"
Yes, that's the conspiracy theory, the mother of all Indophobic conspiracy theories, which have been rooted so deeply among many Nepalese people that almost no one to trust Indian government here, and any engagement of Indian contractors or Indian government are taken very suspiciously (e.g. be it airport or hydropower contract.) To these conspiracy theory believers, multiparty democracy movement, maoist civil war, royal massacre, rule of Gyanendra, then dethroning of Gyandendra, constitution assembly, then second constitution assembly and now making of constitution and creation of states, all are part of Grand Design of India. What an unfortunate state of affair Nepalese are living in. These conspiracy theories have no rational base, but when you have got 80% people incapable for critical thinking, brainwashed by ultraleftists, anti-capitalist, anti-globalisation, anti-liberalisation, conspiracy theory becomes the foundation of all assessment and analysis. When voice of engineers is mute to inform people that spiralling roads are due to hilly structure, propagandists voice become louder to mislead innocent and ignorant people to falsely believe that we are doomed by Indian contractors. When you don't have an ethical and professional media to not perpetuate theory and idea if not backed by valid proof or reference, and don't have educated people to not believe on stories and opinions but believe only on evidence, it's easy to brainwash mass through opinion leaders and great orators.
Events, conflicts, shift in powers, changes are obvious things that happen in any society constantly. More the poverty and instability and hardship, unstable the society becomes. Better the living and guarantee of survival and prosperity, stable the society becomes. Because every society is constituted of human, and every human is guided by survival instinct. If everyone's survival is guaranteed with ease, lesser the desperation thus calmness and peace and steadiness (e.g. US.) If survival is not that easy thing, people get anxious, will be moving and trying things desperately, lots of conflicts and lots of issues and thus frequency of shift in powers, change in belief systems, occurrence of conflicts are very high. That's what been happening in Nepal. We keep trying things, we keep searching ways to do things, we keep shifting from one objective to another, all for one reason -- in search of stable way to survive. Everyone here is trying to survive like a desperate hungry dogs. Some are trying to survive to live as regular human. Some are trying to survive as a politician. Some are trying to survive as a businessperson. But this country is so badly griped by poverty, ignorance, lack of opportunity, that we all have become a subject to the law of nature -- Jaha Kangal, teha chandal. Jaha Avav, teha tanab.
But why India is blamed? It's not that India is creating all this hardship. It's the geography, it's the people here, it's the limited resource and things, but why India is blamed instead? One line answer to it, when you are incapable for critical thinking and reasoning, you are prone to create your own God and Ghost to give credit and blame. That's what India is -- The escaping route for politicians to hide their incapability to govern and lead people, because they simply are not capable for critical thinking and rationalisation of any situations or conditions nor have a guts to acknowledge their incompetency leaving way for competent. Indian government thus is their God and Ghost.
Let me put it in a simple perspective.
I am Prachanda, you are KP Oli, another guy is Sushil Koirala, another guy is Kamal Thapa. Let's say, we are the current political players. I, Prachanda, become a prime minister. What rest of the politicians will do?? Remember, we all are trying to survive in political arena. If stable country, Prachanda, goes on with his ideas and policies and rest helps him or stay in opposition and governance goes on. Here, rest has nothing to do. You cannot sit at home all day and watch TV and wait for Prachanda to finish his 5 years, unlike other developed nations where rest has lots of opportunity to keep engaged with. So, what happens, KP Oli, for his own political existence, will search for a reason to pull me, the Prachanda, down. Since the country is very poor with lots of socioeconomic issues, it's not hard to play politics and portrait me as a failed PM. Now, KP Oli gets into the position with the help of Sushil Koiral and Kamal Thapa and all. Me, the Prachanda, will be pissed off with Baburam and Sushil and all for not helping and taking side and saving me. Now, I the Prachanda is not capable for critical thinking and reasoning, so how I analyse this situation is based upon the things that I have heard and read in history books and my limited knowledge -- betray, jealousy, propaganda. Now, my defence mechanism come into play so aggressively that I create my own story based on assumptions and perspectives that is not through critical thinking and reasoning but purely fallacy and cognitive biases.
This is when I go paranoia and delusional and start building an assumption "must be Mr. Modi didn't like me for my stance on XYZ" "must be Baburam wanted to take over party by making me look like loser" "must be the economic crisis in market was created by these enemies to fail me" and I go in Khulamunch and throw my heavily-biased perspectives claiming to be the truth. "Dear cadres, I am pulled down from postion due to known/unknown forces from country and abroad." My supporters will think, Yes Prachanda was out because of India, but then, this claim needs to be backed by "for what?" and there comes the answer,
"Don't you know India does not like Nepal being stable. They do it to take over us. Baburam is Indian agent. KP Oli is RAW agent. They all are trying to create instability here." Reality is, it's just a regular competition between politicians to stay in power for their own survival. Every human is very capable to do that. Those who don't know how human behaves, how decision-making process are guided by, for them conspiracy theory is way to validate their own reasoning.
This is what happens here - inside the house, outside the house, inside the Singhadurbar, outside the Singhadurbar. Almost everyone is ignorant. They don't know what is fallacy, they don't how brain functions in decision-making process, what are things to avoid while doing critical thinking. They are just so black and white. I experience on page. If I condemn Maoist's agendas, I must be congress. If I support politicians, I must be a son of politician. People here are not capable to explore grey area. Common sense isn't so common here. So many people throw their allegation as "are you guys funded" without even thinking if am funded, why my page number is so less. People are really stupid here. Politicians are nothing but one of the kinds.
To those conspiracy theory believers, just ask yourself these simples questions,
1. Why no one have ever produced proofs to claim their fact, if India is primary decision maker on any power change in Nepal? C'mon at least believe on Baidhya. He portrays himself to be hardcore communist, uncompromised, ideologically adhere, very virtuous. How come he does not have a single proof to claim that Prachanda is agent of India or Baburam is agent of India or anything as such..10 years of civil war that too with so many cadres, why not a single proof to back the conspiracy that Civil war was funded by India to create instability in Nepal? Biplov. He must have done that. Neither he could.
2. All these politicians, and those representatives, why no one came up and said we are asked by Indian agency to do this and that??? No one can fool everyone forever. That's the common sense. 1000s of politicians and lawmakers, don't you think someone would have leaked the truth??
3. Let's talk of Parash, who is always high..if Gyandendra was dethroned as part of game, why not a single thing has every come out..coz he being spoilt brat, truth must have come out right? Somewhere he would have slipped his tongue.
4. One thing, just one thing you ask yourself, in last 50 years, what is that publicly claimed allegations and are produced proofs for??
You know what? Many of us are brainwashed by those people who created their own God and Ghost to validate their own success and failure. We all are doomed by these schizophrenic politicians. Good that, these politicians have now fallen into the pit of propaganda that they themselves have perpetuated. RAW agent, Dalali, CIA agent, what all not they have labeled each other for their own political existence and look at their f* up face now. These guys are nothing but those page followers who call Kaagmandu Magazine as Indian agent, this and that shit. They don't need to think. They are not capable to think. They just speak up their black and white mind, highly fallacious and biased. These bunch of IGNORANT POLITICIANS, or to be more specific ignorant ultraleftist politicians who have infused their paranoid and deluded ideas and perspectives to Nepalese society are to be blamed for the unnecessary fears and doubts among people. And Nepalese Media, Mr. Narad, who never hold responsibility. They just spread the venoms adding some spice to it. People receive it and think got Wisdom of Buddha. All Tom, Dick and Herry are columnist here, are activists or so called member of civil society and all they do is, transfer the deluded message of Prachanda and other party heads to general public.
This flow of communication is very polluted here and reason why people are duped in most part.
Now, most of you must be thinking, "so you think, India has no hand on anything?"
India has been mentor of Nepal. These politicians have given enough access and privilege downgrading themselves and nation and thus it's obvious India interferes and shows interests. Let's say, a friend of your, keep coming to you and tells all his problem with girlfriend. Next time onward, you start giving him relationship lecture, you decide if he has to leave her or not. If he follows your advice, you even start saying "Next girlfriend I will choose for you." Simply, a human thing.
Same with India and Indian government. They show interests and dictate because our spineless, shameless politicians go lie naked in front of them for mentorship and directions. India is nothing but a piece of land. What makes India a influencing power is Indian politicians and government, who are just another human, who too are guided by his/her own ideologies and survival instincts. As a government and politicians, their primary focus is their own people and country which if they can keep happy, they get elected and they stay in existence. To make people happy, there comes happy economy, and so any government wants to do anything to help the economy and their people. Thus, they may seek Indian business groups' being preferred over hydropower in Nepal, may prefer Indian goods and products in Nepal, may prefer having access over resources from Nepal. It's all economy that they care about. What has been going wrong is, XYZ wants to be PM of Nepal, and so will go Delhi, lie naked, and offer contracts to Indian government in return to back him and convincing others. This bitching culture is the culprit.
But again, a simple law of nature -- survival instinct and "kungal/chandal phenomenon"
What about Kalapani?
Right or wrong, U.S. has got army station in almost every part of world. Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Japan, everywhere they have huge army station. Kalapani is nothing but similar kind of army station of India. It is not to take over Nepal but for their own security concerns and is using land of Nepal.
In short,
There is no point blaming India or fearing India. We gotta believe on ourself. We gotta believe that no one can march in our land just like that. India may have it's own interest per its needs, but we need to know how to discover mutual benefit. We need to be capable to discover that. We have everything to prosper and develop. We need to believe that. We need to believe that we are actually powerful enough to ask our government what people need and what shall be done. WE ARE NOT SLAVE. I repeat, we are not slave. We need to start behaving like master. Politicians are nothing but one of our kinds. If they are stupid and useless, we need to believe that we are actually capable to replace them with right one. Problem here, we don't believe on our capacity, a power of being a human. You know why? coz once up on a time, there was king, and Rana, and all kind of dictatorship and one was not allowed, and the message was passed down to be act like slave, think like slave, poor and helpless. Time has changed, but mindset still in kingship.Start believing yourself, believing on your kinds. Belief will lead you to thinking. Start thinking rationally, start doing some reasoning. Start learning about decision making process, how brain functions, how human society functions, what are the things we all are guided by. We need to learn how not to be fallacious or bias in our decision making and thinking process. Once we learn to do that, we will learn to cooperate, we will learn to discover mutual benefit without fearing unnecessarily, we will learn to stay in harmony. We all will learn that we are just trying to survive until the last breath, to raise a family or create a legacy or simply do something to make better world. Be it Indian, be it Nepali, be it any human. It's all that. Nothing more, nothing less.
This simple concept of life and human is hijacked here by complicated borrowed failed ideologies and concepts, that fear profit, that fear development, that fear progressiveness, that fear modern world, and think can twist the law of nature to create utopian society. That's the problem here.
