From Historical Bonds to Modern Partnerships: India–Nepal Relations and the Emerging Role of Balen Shah
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71371/87w1k128Keywords:
India–Nepal relations, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Balen Shah, ‘Neighbourhood First', Gen Z movement, Kalapani, non-alignment, South Asian diplomacy.Abstract
In this paper, the author has tried to trace the course of the India-Nepal relations from its strong historical and civilizational linkages to the current juncture of generational change in the Nepalese politics. It asserts that, since the day Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014, the relationship has been marked by alternating highs and lows, partly because of the ‘Neighbourhood First' outreach that has often run into problems over sovereignty issues – the most glaring being over Kalapani, Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura during the 2015 constitutional crisis and in 2019-2020 border dispute. The study then moves on to the rupture of 2025-2026, when an uprising by youth swept away the existing order and ushered in a four-year-old party, the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), and its leader, Balendra “Balen” Shah, who is 36 years old. The paper evaluates Shah's adherence to a nationalist and sovereignty-first foreign policy, as well as his evident Third Worldist approach, which is rooted in his non-aligned stance, and their impact on the bilateral relationship, based on press reporting, think-tank analysis and official statements until June 2026, against the backdrop of the structural tensions of the bilateral relationship, including the China factor, the asymmetry and the territory.
