India's `hegemony' is a threat to its neighbours

India's "hegemony" poses a threat to its neighbours, says a premier Chinese daily, citing India's "recent provocation on border issues with China" as proof.

In an opinion piece, the People's Daily says, "In recent years, Indians have become more narrow minded and intolerable of outside criticism as nationalism sentiment rises, with some of them even turning to hegemony.

"It can be proved by India's recent provocation on border issues with China.''

The newspaper, which is the mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, says that India's hegemony "is a hundred per cent result of British colonialism. Dating back to the era of British India, the country covered a vast territory including present-day India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh as well as Nepal.''

A previous victim of colonialism and hegemony, it said, India started dreaming about developing its own hegemony after the British left.

"Obsessed with such mentality, India turned a blind eye to the concessions China had repeatedly made over the disputed border issues, and refused to drop the pretentious airs when dealing with neighbours like Pakistan.''

To bolster its argument, the newspaper says that even Jawaharlal Nehru had once said that "India could not play an inferior role in the world, and it should either be a superpower or disappear.'

Calling the dream of being a superpower held by Indians "impetuous", the daily says, "The dream of superpower is mingled with the thought of hegemony, which places the South Asian giant in an awkward situation and results in repeated failure.

Since India has constantly been under foreign rule, the newspaper said, "the essence for the rise of India lies in how to be an independent country, to learn to solve the complicated ethnic and religious issues, to protect the country from terrorist attacks, to boost economic development as well as to put more efforts on poverty alleviation.''

But India's hegemonic designs face geopolitical limitation. "It has the Himalaya mountain to its north, a natural barrier for northward expansion; it has Pakistan to the west, a neighbour it is always at odds over the disputed border issues,'' the article says.

Blaming India for pursuing a foreign policy of "befriend the far and attack the near", it said, "It engaged in the war separately with China and Pakistan and the resentment still simmers. If India really wants to be a superpower, such a policy is shortsighted and immature.''

If India wants to be a superpower, the daily said, it needs to have "its eyes on relations with neighbours and abandon the recklessness and arrogance as the world is undergoing earthshaking changes.

"For India, the ease of tension with China and Pakistan is the only way to become a superpower.''

It said China is "proactively engaging in negotiations with India for the early settlement of border dispute and India should give a positive response".

http://nepalnow.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-and-nepal-part-i.html

http://nepalnow.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-and-nepal-part-i.html




India has always wanted a somewhat unstable Nepal. It helps to reinforce and maintain Nepal's dependence on its big brother to the south. --blogdai, "The Big Difference" December 2006

...blogdai sees India throwing support behind the 7-party alliance and yes, the Maoists. It's an open secret anyway, but look for more Indian arms to find their way into party hands in the future. India has always used the Maoists to keep Nepal unstable and dependent ......--blogdai "" A Tangible Shift" September 2005

This leads one to the conclusion that India, through Girija, is now allied with the Maoists. This is a typically sneaky and autocratic way for India to deal with an uppity King so no surprises here from the "worlds largest democracy." ---blogdai "I Don't Even Want to Think About It." June 2005

Indian hegemony

http://www.daily.pk/global-war-indian-hegemony-over-water-13819/

Indian hegemony

http://reformistani.wordpress.com/2010/06/27/indian-hegemony-over-bangladesh-by-shah-mohammed-saifuddin/

Resisting Indian Hegemony

http://rupeenews.com/2008/08/15/resisting-indian-hegemony-by-all-neighbors-afghan-cauldron/

Indian hegemony

http://northeastindiadiary.blogspot.com/2008/08/indias-hegemony-unmasked-case-of.html


(Dear Readers, we are giving final touches to the website MERO NEPAL-MA NEPALI and this site wil be linked to the new website.)

Embassy’s ‘media meddling’ draws widespread flak

Political party leaders, Parliamentary committees and advocacy groups have taken serious exception to statements issued by the Indian Embassy that questioned the integrity of the Nepali media, which have questioned the quality of an Indian joint venture product.

In defence of the Nepali media, they have said it is the responsibility of the free press to remain vigilant.

They have demanded the government summon Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood to inquire about the statement, saying that it is in breach of established diplomatic norms. Though no one would go on record

fearing reprisals from the Embassy, even some senior officials in the joint venture companies say the Embassy’s recent policy could make them a “needless victim”.

In its recent statements, the Indian embassy tried to portray the Nepali media in poor light, claiming that the joint venture has received negative media publicity because it failed to provide advertisements. The embassy statements, however, remain silent on the fact that some half a dozen Indian joint ventures had voiced strong reservations against the embassy policy, asking them to impose an ‘Ad blackout’ on those media houses that the embassy regards as “unfriendly.”

“We have in fact told the embassy that it would not be in our long-term commercial interest to ignore the media that have wide reach,” said a senior official of one of the joint ventures. “We are a commercial enterprise and our decisions should be solely based on commercial interests. Politically motivated decisions will unnecessary hurt us. If the embassy wants to take all the decisions for us, it might as well run our companies.”

Reacting to the issue, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament, Ram Krishna Yadav, on Tuesday said his committee would take up the issue. “The questions raised by the media regarding substandard products of an Indian joint venture have drawn our attention,” Yadav said at the Reporter’s Club.

“We will convene a meeting to hold discussions on the issue at the earliest.” The PAC is the second House committee to express concern over the issue.

On Monday, the House committee on International Relations and Human Rights unanimously condemned the Indian embassy’s statements, directing the government to seek a clarification from Indian Ambassador Sood.

Expressing solidarity with the Nepali media fraternity, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) took strong exception to the statement. “FNJ believes that the embassy’s statement targeting the Nepali media is improper and uncalled-for. FNJ completely disagrees with the statement,” the umbrella body of Nepali journalists said in a statement. It also said it is preparing a detailed report on the recent developments vis-a-vis the embassy’s reactions on Nepali media and vice versa.

CPN-UML leader K.P. Oli said no one should interfere in the freedom of the press in the nation. “No one has the authority to question the people’s right to information,” Oli said in an interview with a radio station. “Consumers have the right to consume quality products.”

Nepali Congress central working committee leader Deep Kumar Upadhyaya and UML leader Pradip Gyawali said it was unfortunate to see that there was needless diplomatic response to what is clearly a commercial issue. “There could have been other ways to clarify the media reports, if they were erroneous,” said Gyawali.

Sadbhawana Party leader Laxman Lal Karna urged the government to investigate the issue. “It is the media’s responsibility to point out the wrongs in the society,” said Karna. “The Indian embassy’s statement is an attack on the free media.”

Similarly, Minister for Peace and Reconstruction, Rakam Chemjong, urged the government to seek an explanation from the Indian envoy. Talking to reporters in Dhankuta, Chemjong said the freedom of the press must be respected and everybody should keep it free from intervention.

Contrary to the Indian Embassy’s claims that the media reports were fabricated, the news reports, among others, are based on lab reports from the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC), a government agency. The DFTQC report released earlier this month said the Dabur juice contained inedible substances, including worms. This was widely covered by the electronic and print media.

Concluding that the Indian statement was a direct attack on the country’s sovereignty and press freedom, the Nepali media fraternity has sought an apology from the embassy.

Embassy statement row

The Parliamentary Committee on International Relations and Human Rights on Monday unanimously condemned a statement issued by the Indian Embassy in connection with media reports that questioned the quality of products manufactured by Indian joint venture Dabur Nepal.

Concluding that it was a “direct attack” on press freedom, the committee directed the government to initiate a process to take action against the embassy.

In a statement issued on Monday, the committee said the Indian Embassy’s statement was against established diplomatic norms. “The committee hereby directs the government to initiate a process to take action on the above mentioned act of the Indian Embassy,” reads the statement.

Committee Chairman Padma Lal Bishwokarma said the statement crossed all diplomatic boundaries. “We have taken serious exception to the statement. The government must react,” said BK, adding that the committee also urged the government to seek a clarification from Indian Ambassador Rakesh Sood.

The Committee’s statement follows the Nepali media fraternity’s call to the government to issue a rebuttal. In a statement on Friday, the embassy had accused the Nepali media of engaging in “unethical practices.” It claimed that media houses approached Indian joint ventures for advertisements and resorted to negative publicity when their demands were not met.

The Nepali media fraternity had promptly objected to the Indian Embassy’s press statement.

In a joint statement on Saturday, Nepal Media Society (print), Television Broadcasters, Broadcasting Association of Nepal (commercial radio) and Association of Community Radio Broadcasters Nepal (the umbrella organisation for community radio broadcasters) cautioned the Indian Embassy against “overstepping its boundary.” The media fraternity has it that the reports that quoted the government’s probe into the quality of Dabur products, were not “unethical practices”.

Most lawmakers in the Committee urged the government to stop the frequent intervention of the Indian embassy on Nepal’s internal affairs. “The government can take action against any substandard product,” said CPN-UML lawmaker Radha Gayawali. “The government must seek a clarification from the Indian Embassy,” said Sadbhawana Party lawmaker Gauri Mahato.