India and Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka

At a Glance

• Nepal Treaty, July 1950
• Bhutan Treaty of perpetual peace and friendship, August 1949
• Sri Lanka Riots of 1958 treated as an internal matter
• Common theme Security and friendly relations in the neighbourhood
• Exam link UPSC Prelims, Modern History: The Nehru Era, 1947-64

Where Does It Fit?

This is the eighth and last topic of the category on the Nehru era. The previous topic covered India and China to 1962. This topic covers the smaller neighbours: Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. The next category begins with the Shastri years and the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Previous topic: Panchsheel agreement 1954 Asylum Dalai Lama…">India and China, 1947-62.

Why Did Nepal Matter for India’s Security?

The geographical location of Nepal makes it inseparable from India as far as India’s external security is concerned. Aware of this, India signed a treaty with Nepal in July 1950 by which it recognised Nepal’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. The two countries committed themselves to inform each other of any serious friction or misunderstanding arising between either of them and a neighbouring state that might damage their friendly relations. The treaty came three months before China’s entry into Tibet changed the northern frontier, as described in India and China, 1947-62, and it should be read together with the policy of Panchsheel in Evolution of Nationalist Foreign Policy: Panchsheel and Non-Alignment.

What Was the Treaty with Bhutan?

In August 1949 India and Bhutan signed a treaty of perpetual peace and friendship. India undertook to exercise non-interference in the internal administration of Bhutan, while Bhutan agreed to be guided by the advice of the Government of India in regard to its external relations. The arrangement replaced the relationship between Bhutan and British India, which is part of the wider British policy towards the border states in British Policy Towards Princely States and Foreign Policy.

What Else Marked the Early Years of These Relations?

Two further facts place the treaties in context. In Nepal, the Rana regime ended in early 1951 through a settlement reached in Delhi that restored King Tribhuvan, with India acting as mediator, so the treaty of 1950 was followed within a year by a political change inside Nepal. In Bhutan, the treaty of 1949 returned a small tract of territory in the Dewangiri area to Bhutan and raised the annual payment that Bhutan received. Both cases show how the northern frontier, which the war of 1962 made a matter of urgent defence, was handled in the years before it through treaties and diplomacy and not through military arrangements.

How Did India Deal With Sri Lanka?

The Tamil-Sinhalese riots of 1958 and later disturbances drew the sympathy of some Indian leaders for the Tamil population of Sri Lanka. The open sympathy, both inside and outside the Indian Parliament, was disliked by the Sri Lankan government. The Indian government, however, considered the ethnic disputes of Sri Lanka to be an internal matter of that country and stayed friendly towards it. The two nations built mutually beneficial economic and trade relations, and Sri Lanka supported the Non-Aligned Movement and did not join any military alliance.

As an analytical point, the three cases show one policy applied with different instruments: treaties that protect the security interest on the Himalayan border with Nepal and Bhutan, and a position of non-interference in the internal affairs of an island neighbour with a large ethnic minority. The long-term effect of the last position is seen in later decades, when the question of the Tamils of Sri Lanka returned to Indian politics, as in The Rajiv Gandhi Years, 1984-89. The neighbourhood policy passed to the next government after Nehru’s death in May 1964, whose first years are in The Lal Bahadur Shastri Years and the Indo-Pak War of 1965.

Why Is This Topic Important?

• Treaties Names and years are standard Prelims facts
• Security logic Explains the special ties in the Himalayan neighbourhood
• Non-interference A principle of the Nehru-era foreign policy

What Came Next?

The next category begins with the Lal Bahadur Shastri years and the Indo-Pak war of 1965. Next topic: The Lal Bahadur Shastri Years and the Indo-Pak War of 1965.

Key People and Terms

• Treaty of 1950 The India-Nepal treaty of July 1950
• Treaty of 1949 The India-Bhutan treaty of August 1949
• Non-interference India’s undertaking in Bhutan’s internal affairs
• Tamil-Sinhalese riots The 1958 ethnic violence in Sri Lanka
• Territorial integrity Principle recognised in the Nepal treaty
• Non-Aligned Movement Sri Lanka’s chosen international position

Exam Corner

Mains Angle

Questions ask about India’s neighbourhood policy. These points add depth.

• Himalayan treaties Security linkage
• Bhutan Advice on external affairs
• Sri Lanka Non-interference