Nepalese official slams Indian official's 'Nepal India's younger brother' remark

Ruckus surrounding a remark by an Indian official addressing his Nepalese counterpart reached chaotic levels on Saturday, during a meeting between officials from both countries at Ramnagar in Uttarakhand's Nainital district.

Ramnagar:Ruckus surrounding a remark by an Indian official addressing his Nepalese counterpart reached chaotic levels on Saturday, during a meeting between officials from both countries at Ramnagar in Uttarakhand's Nainital district. The meet, organized by Jim Corbett National Park administration, aimed at holding a discussion between Indian forest officials and officials as well as MP's from Nepal regarding the conservation and protection of wildlife.

The topic centering discussions was the constantly increasing number of tigers as well as other animals in the forest, and putting a stop to poaching occurring from across the Nepal border. What visibly took centre stage, however, was the verbal brawl between the representatives.

According to information, Neeraj Sharma, Deputy Director of Corbett National Park, said "Nepal is our younger brother", causing an intense protest from the Nepalese side led by Bikram Kunwar. Stating there there was no "elder brother, younger brother" situation involved, the Nepali official claimed there was no reason to demean Nepal's sovereignty.

"It is also a hegemony from the Indian side. We have our own sovereignty, our own government, and our own rights. You're saying 'elder brother, younger brother'. There is no such thing. We are making a courtesy tour and friendship tour to increase eco-tourism. I am also a bureaucrat from Nepal, representing the central government. The way you have pride in your motherland, I also have a similar pride in Nepal", the official is heard saying.

Nepal MP Mahesh Dutt Joshi, also a part of the delegation, noted during the meeting that Government of Nepal had taken the decision to strengthen the security of its forests, and thus had started to take suggestions from three tiger reserves in India.