China today operationalised its Zam Hydropower Station, the largest in Tibet, built on the Brahmaputra river, which has raised concerns in India over the likelihood of disrupting water supplies.
Nepal's decision to adopt a new Constitution, in spite of objections and diplomatic pressure from India, is turning into a major embarrassment for the Modi government. The sequence of events unfolding in Nepal has put India in the unenviable position of an intrusive bully who is being continuously rebuffed by a much smaller neighbour.New Delhi appeared to be precariously perched on the brink of losing most of the goodwill generated by the two visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Nepal. But more ominous than the erosion of brand Modi, is the fear that India is trapped in reliving the agony of its blunder in Sri Lanka more than a quarter of a century ago. New Delhi now faces the risk of being labelled as being intrusive by the dominant upper-caste hill groups - the Bahun-Chetri on the one hand and apathetic by Madhesis, the Indian-origin inhabitants of the Terai region bordering India.
