How would it be had Nepal been part of India?
My house is 20 minutes from Nepal, got families who are Nepalese and loads of Nepali friends, hence my interaction with Nepalese citizens is way more than average Indian and more nuanced.
Not even one Nepali, not even the ones who have spent most of their life in India think that Nepal is part of India or wish to see Nepal become a part of India.
Only ignorant Indians ever think of Nepal as their backyard and not a separate country with its own identity.
We should start first with Nepal's flag:
Do you see 'sun and moon' in the flag? The significance of the sun and moon is that, till there are sun and moon in the sky, there will be Nepal. That should tell you about the intention of the founders of Nepal.
If we move back into history, when the world was ruled by European colonial powers, Nepalese were masters of their own country. Nepal was never pat of any Indian empire, although many great empires ruled just next to their borders, from Mauryas to Mughals but not even once was Nepal part of any kingdom.
So when Nepal was never part of Indian identity, then why should it become an Indian state? Indian states might differ from each other in culture but there is an underlying theme, Indian identity which can be easily discerned.
It is reverse Jinnah logic to think of Nepal as a part of India. ''Same religion and people get along very nicely, so lets make Nepal part of India.'' Sounds familiar?
For all practical purposes, there is very high level of uniformity between India and Nepal, we have open borders, free flow of goods, people, capital, and Indian currency can be used across Nepal. . And thats where the practicality stops. Any further move would have India facing resistance.
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