• China has taken various initiative to step up ties with Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nepal termed as Himalayan QUAD.
• India must ensure cooperation all along the southern belt of the Himalayas to counter China as well as to bring enormous benefits to the countries and peoples of the region.

Southern Himalayan region

• Northern fringes of South Asia stretch an arc along the Himalayas across Indian Union Territories (Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir), Indian states (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh) and Nepal and Bhutan.
• On the northern side, the Himalayas are bounded largely by China.

Issues in Himalayan countries

• There is little or no cooperation between various Himalayan countries even though their traditions and cultures, and geographies are similar.
• Despite the fact that each Himalayan country has unique knowledge and skilled manpower, no mechanism exists to share knowledge, best practices, and lessons learned from diverse development experiences.

Nepal

• It is a trekker’s paradise and has established good infrastructure along hiking trails.
• It has also made big strides in harnessing the wealth of Himalayan herbs and medicinal plants.
• Historically, Kashmiri traders were invited by the Malla Kings in Nepal to develop trade links between Nepal and Tibet.
• Newar artists and artisans are renowned for adorning Buddhist monasteries and viharas across the Himalayas with beautiful frescoes and woodwork.
• Many of the Buddhist statues have been cast in the workshops of Bhaktapur in Nepal.

Bhutan

• It is an excellent case study for harnessing the potential of water resources and hydropower for national development.
• It is also an exemplar of high-value tourism.
• Bhutan and Ladakh are linked to each other through the Drukpa Buddhist tradition.

Sikkim

• It is a success story in the development of organic agriculture.
• Sikkim is recognised as the “world’s first organic state” by the World Book of Records London.

Looking ahead

Establishing new forum

• India should establish new forums at government level for exchange of ideas for strengthening cooperation across entire Himalayan belt.
• Forum should meet every year.

Himalayan Games

• India can lead in hosting Himalayan Games.
• This will bring together athletes specialising in mountain sports such as mountain biking and high-altitude running.

Cross border bilateral meetings

• India can encourage regular cross border bilateral meetings that are not merely limited to security and border-related issues, but also cover development cooperation and partnership.
• As Nepal has adopted a federal system, the chief ministers of Bihar and the neighbouring Madhesh province should consider meeting regularly.

Border development projects

• It would be more cost effective to coordinate certain projects such as airports, universities and hospitals that have a catchment area and serve both sides of the border.

Constitute interdisciplinary organisation

• There is need to establish an interdisciplinary organisation that is focussed on the holistic development of the Himalayan region.
• It should cover issues relating to development and livelihoods, ecology and the environment, politics, religion and culture and border related issues.

Integrated Mountain Development

• Kailash and Mansarovar are holy for both Hindus and Buddhists. Ties of religion and culture bind this region together.
• Through cooperation of India, Nepal and China, a proposal can be brought in International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to develop Kailash and Mansarovar region as a sacred world heritage site.

China factor and the politics of terror used by some elements in this region cannot be discounted, stepping up cooperation all along the southern belt of the Himalayas would bring peace and prosperity to countries and peoples of the region, and also smoothen some of the political and geographical problems encountered from time to time.