THE MODI EFFECT: Will Nepal Benefit Or Lose?
Following the results of the elections in India last week, speculations have been rife in Nepal about the impact of the resounding victory of the rightwing Bharatiya Janata Party under its three-time flamboyant Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi.
Reams of paper have been spent on analysing the possible impact of the installation of a Modi-led BJP government on Nepali politics. There has been a deluge of words on the implications of a government of what the western media calls the Hindu nationalists for the long-running political transition of a once-Hindu kingdom.
Will the famous business-friendly leader's ascension to the seat of power in the centre, after a remarkable 'growth' innings in his home state of Gujarat, be conducive to fuel the engine of growth in the neighbouring Nepal too? Will the saffron outfit's undisputed star performer take any special interest in the revival of a Hindu state in the land of Pashupatinath as claimed by the president of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Ashok Singhal who recently said in Biratnagar that " Nepal will turn into a Hindu state if Narendra Modi becomes India's Prime Minister."? Will Modi by any chance go one step further and toy with the idea of the utility of the discarded Hindu monarchy as well?