Regarding the Indo-China agreement to reopen border trade through Lipulekh pass, Nepal, as well as Nepali ( residing in and out of the country), must stay united and urge both India and China to respect the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Nepal.

Yet at this moment, Nepali people must realize the fact that no country will think of Nepal when it comes to benefiting themselves, and hence, we must also choose the course that benefits us. For a long period of time majority of Nepal have been thinking China is a better friend than India, but now the world evidence suggests China is no different. In reality, at least India was being honest and wasn’t hiding its keen interest in having ‘Lipu lekh’ as theirs, but China made us fool us until the last minute. Yet what has been done is done, so it’s not worth debating about what’s already been done.

Now we must debate on what we should do to make things better, and that is to establish our right on our land of ‘Lipu lekh’. And no matter how crazy it sounds but the fact of the matter is that Nepal must work with India through its diplomatic channel and urge India to respect our long-standing relationship with India and ensure our rights in ‘Lipu lekh’.

We must also not hesitate to be clear that we wouldn’t mind helping facilitate Indo-China trade through our ‘ Lipu Lekh’ as long as India accepts the fact that it is, in fact, the territory of Nepal. We all know that Indian officials as well asthe public keep saying “नेपाल के साथ हमरा रोटि बेटीका सम्वन्ध है ”.

They say so to exemplify the depth of our relationship with them, and that’s ok. Yet sometimes we must prove our words through actions, and this is the moment in time when India must prove that it really is a true friend of Nepal and kindly accept that Lipu Lekh belongs to Nepal. Once India does it part to undo the damage, Nepal will do its part by facilitating Indo-China trade through Lipu Lekh or any other parts of Nepal. But till then, let’s keep asking India, “Is this what ‘roti aur beti kaa rishtey’ means?