Indian  External Affairs  Minister SM Krishna’s visit to Nepal in January 2010 has come at a very crucial time. First, Nepal is in the last leg of the transitional phase as the May  2010 deadline approaches to submit the written constitution.  This means  the process of integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants  should also be  completed by that time. While the written constitution would address the issues for which the insurgency was waged, the second would dismantle the infrastructure  built  to wage the insurgency. Normalcy should then return to Nepal.

Unfortunately, there is  slow progress on both these issues and there is danger that deadlines may be missed. The fractured nature of consensus politics seen in 2009 threatens more than just the peace process in Nepal. It  has the potential to hit at the democratic principles too, especially the civilian supremacy over the military unless corrective measures are immediately taken. Second, the fourth phase of UCPN(M) protest movement for civilian supremacy which began during the last week of December 2009 directly and indirectly targets India. Both the above developments are not in India’s interests. In the  post 2008 CA elections phase, Indo-Nepal relations have been defined to a great extent by the divisive politics within Nepal. What does mean to the stability within Nepal, Indo-Nepal relations and the regional security? Can India and the various political parties within Nepal revisit the flawed assumptions under which the  relations  are being conducted during this crucial transitional phase