Nepal told to take Bhutan's cue, attack Maoists

India Times ^ | FEBRUARY 06, 2004

[Tailgunner Joe]

THE success of Royal Bhutan Army’s operation against Indian insurgents operating from its territory has encouraged the Vajpayee government to mount pressure on Nepal for a similar strike on hideouts of Indian Maoists across the Indo-Nepal border.

The issue was taken up by Union Home Secretary N Gopalaswami at his two-day interaction with Nepalese counterpart Ananta Raj Pandey that ended on Wednesday. Mr Gopalaswami is said to have offered technical assistance by the Indian forces in the proposed military crackdown by the Royal Nepalese Army on Maoist hideouts bordering Terai region in UP, Purnea in Bihar and Siliguri in West Bengal.

The red terror that Nepal has itself been facing at the hands of Maoist rebels is being emphasised by New Delhi to convey the urgency of a Nepalese operation. For this, New Delhi has offered to make available aircraft and other surveillance equipment to the Royal Nepalese Army to track down the insurgents camping on its soil. The Indian Army, like in the case of Royal Bhutan Army’s strike against the north-east insurgents’ camps, will not be involved directly and will only reinforce troops along the porous portions of Indo-Nepal border to avoid a spillover of MCC extremists to its territory in the event of a Nepalese strike.

The proposal for a Bhutan-type operation by Nepal is also said to have been conveyed earlier by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee when the Nepalese Crown Prince Paras made a courtesy call on him recently. Kathmandu, according to sources, is favourably disposed to the idea and has also informed New Delhi that it had increased the strength of its Army by 3,000 personnel. However, it may still be a while before Nepal can be persuaded for a full-fledged military operation.

The active support from Maoists in Nepal, both in the form of training and weapons, has helped Indian Left-wing extremist groups like MCC to spread terror not only across bordering Bihar and Eastern UP but also create pockets of influence in Jharkhand and Chattisgarh.

With the Left-wing extremist groups like PWG and MCC now trying to join hands to form a “corridor” extending from Nepal to South Indian states like Andhra Pradesh, the government feels getting Kathmandu to start eliminating the Maoists right at the originating point would go a long way in the Vajpayee government’s efforts to tackle Left-wing extremism.

Even as Nepal debates the Indian request for military action on Maoist rebels on its soil, it has at least made a forward movement by assuring India on deporting and repatriating the Maoists listed in the red corner notice of Interpol.