Indian Army chief pays homage to martyrs, inspects guard of honor as he begins five-day Nepal trip

Visiting Indian Army Chief Manoj Pande began official engagements in Kathmandu by paying homage to fallen soldiers (martyrs) and receiving guard of honor at the Nepal Army headquarters on Monday morning.

 

Gen. Pande arrived in Nepal on a five-day official visit on Sunday evening. He was welcomed by senior Nepal Army officials at the Tribhuvan International Airport. This is his first visit to Nepal in the capacity of the chief of the staff of the Indian Army.

The Nepali president is scheduled to confer Pande with the honorary title of Nepali Army on Monday at Sheetal Niwas, the Presidential Palace.

Conferring the honorary rank of General on each other’s Army Chiefs has remained a customary practice between Nepal and India.

According to the Nepal Army headquarters, Gen. Pande will also hand over logistical support to the Nepal Army.

During his visit, Pande will also interact with the student officers and faculty of the Nepali Army Command and Staff College at Shivapuri.

The visit is an opportunity to take stock of the existing bilateral defence ties and strengthen cooperation in areas of mutual interest, the Ministry of Defence of India said ahead of the Army chief’s arrival in Kathmandu.

“India–Nepal relations are historic, multifaceted and marked by common cultural and civilizational ties, apart from mutual respect and trust. India attaches highest priority to its relationship with Nepal in accordance with its ‘Neighborhood First’ and ‘Act East’ policies,” read a press statement issued by the Ministry of Defence of India.

During the visit, Gen. Pande will call on Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba who is also the country’s defence minister, on Tuesday. Likewise, he is scheduled to hold delegation-level talks with Nepali counterpart Prabhuram Sharma at the Nepali Army headquarters.

In his meetings with Nepal’s senior military and civilian leadership, Pande will discuss avenues for enhancing India-Nepal defence relations, the Indian ministry said.

Agnipath on Nepal’s agenda

Promoting traditional military-to-military ties are on the agenda of the visit, according to the officials.

Officials of Nepal’s foreign ministry say that the Nepali side will be brainstorming a mutually acceptable solution during Gen. Pande’s visit to make sure   that the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers into the Indian army remains smooth and uninterrupted.

The Agnipath scheme unveiled by the Indian government in June this year is now the only mode of recruitment of soldiers into the Indian Army.

Nepal is also concerned on it because this will be applicable to the Gorkha soldiers who are recruited in the Indian Army, officials said.

The short stint and the lack of pension are the two major concerns of Nepal with regards to the Gorkha recruitment, they said.

Nepal earlier last week conveyed to India that it needs some time to hold internal discussion on the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army under the Agnipath scheme.

As requested by Nepal, India delayed the recruitment of Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army. However, India responded to the Nepali side that it is looking forward to continuing recruitment of  Gorkha soldiers under the Agnipath scheme.

“We have been recruiting Gorkha soldiers in the Indian Army for a long time. And we look forward to continuing to recruit Gorkha soldiers to the Indian Army under the Agnipath scheme,” spokesperson for the India’s External Affairs Ministry, Arindam Bagchi, told a press conference last week.

The Gorkha connection has been one of the key pillars of Nepal-India military-to-military ties for decades. Approximately 30,000 Gorkhas are currently serving in the Indian Army under the Nepal-India-UK tripartite agreement signed in 1947. Likewise, there are over 126,000 Gorkha pensioners in Nepal.

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