On 26 February 2004, the IISS hosted a Spacial Round Table Discusion with Major General Ashok K. Mehta (retd.), Senior Commentator on Nepal.
Commissioned into the Gorkha Rifles regiment of the Indian Army in 1957, Major-General Mehta has had a distinguished military career, including an appointment as Divisional Commander of the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) in Sri Lanka (1988-90). Since retiring from the army, he has become a well known policy analyst and commentator on South Asian security affairs, with considerable experience of Nepal. He is an Advisor on His Majesty's Gurkha Memorial Trust, Kathmandu, and Member of the India-Nepal Track 2 Dialogue. He has also worked extensively in Nepal. In December 2003, his first book, ‘War Despatches: Operation Iraqi Freedom’, was published.
At the IISS, Major-General Mehta spoke on ‘The Maoist Uprising in Nepal: Trends and Implications’. He argued that Nepal could become a 'failed' state if the government refuses to introduce democratic reforms and address problems like poverty, deterioration of law and order, underdevelopment and corruption. Although the King has an interest in maintaining the status quo, political forces demanding multiparty democracy and representative government are growing stronger. The Maoist uprising has its roots in internal political and economic conditions of Nepal, with little evidence of significant external support – apart from financial support emanating from the large Nepalese population in India.
There have been three attempts to negotiate a peaceful settlement of the conflict. The last round of negotiations started in January 2003, during which the Maoists demanded democratic elections and placing the Nepalese army under civilian control. The Maoists aim to weaken the King and establish a republican state. The army has been unable to respond effectively to the well-coordinated asymmetric attacks of the Maoists. The Maoists are destroying vital infrastructure and causing population movements from the rural to the urban areas. Currently the Maoists control more territory than the government, some 60 percent, but the government still controls the key areas. Major General Mehta called on India to take a more active role in the peace negotiations, emphasising that Nepal is not India's 'backyard' but a 'frontyard'.
