Nepal and China have agreed to build a strategic rail link between the two nations. Thanks to the Chinese might, determination, financial muscle and unbridled desire to expand their influence, the mighty Himalayas, once considered impregnable, seem no longer so.

For India, this must set the alarm bells ringing. Constant mishandling of the situation in Nepal by us has played a role in no uncertain terms in pushing the nation that we almost ruled by proxy once, into the waiting hands of their powerful neighbours across the Himalayas. That their PM, who is currently on a week-long visit to China where this rail-link agreement has been signed, almost didn’t visit us before visiting China, had already sent a strong message.

While Nepal has every right to do what it feels is good for itself, one feels pained at how we have mismanaged the situation in that nation, especially given the fact that PM Narendra Modi has made more than a few trips to the country, and even wowed their parliamentarians, and indeed the common man, with his honest analysis of what we should do to come closer. The sensitivity displayed by him while talking about Buddha, for example, was not lost on the Nepali people. While the world talks of India as the land of Buddha, Modi’s repeated assertions that Nepal was in fact the birth place of Buddha was not lost on the Nepalese, something a number of my friends there acknowledged and appreciated.

But look at what and how badly we have messed up subsequently. While some honest analysis needs to be done of what and where we have done wrong, some of the things stand out. It is fairly commonly acknowledged, for example, that often the people posted there are more interested in pocketing the large chunk of the aid and other grants provided by the Indian government for Nepal’s development. But even more than that is the pace at which China itself is progressing and what it does to give confidence to those seeking its help.

As I said in a post in January 2010, which is over 6 years ago – China is a story, India is a mere comma, if at all, we think small, and do even less. The Chinese, in contrast, think BIG and deliver. It is no different when it comes to dealing with neighbours.

Look at the rail link itself. Over a decade ago, the Chinese built a rail line from their mainland into Tibet, complete with pressurized coaches to cater to the rarified air at the lofty Tibetan altitude. They are now promising to deliver for the Nepalese people the link all the way up to their border, which could mean Kodari on the Nepalese side and Zhamgmu on their side. This would also mean crossing the mighty Himalayan passes near Nyalam, which one crosses while travelling by road from China to Nepal.

I have seen and driven on this road as I came back from Mansarovar a decade ago. And I could see it then and can say it now: Impossible is NOT in their vocabulary.

Now contrast that with our great achievements, in railways, for comparison. Over sixty years since independence, we have only recently taken the railways to Katra from Jammu, while we still don’t have an unbroken link from Jammu to Srinagar.

Do you see the difference? Do you see the scale at which they think and perform? Do you think we even stand a chance? Can we even dream of taking them on?

As of now, the answer is a no. And if we don’t learn from our mistakes in handling neighbours with tact, that No turning into Yes, may not happen in any foreseeable future. Sad, but true!