A months-long blockade at the India-Nepal border has stoked tensions between the two countries and created an acute shortage of fuel and other essential commodities within Nepal. The blockade began a few weeks after Nepal adopted a new constitution that one of the country’s ethnic minorities – Indian-origin Madhesis – say left them out of a full political transition and did nothing to reverse decades of discrimination. Nepalis blame India for the blockade, a charge Indian officials deny. Today, India’s Ministry of External Affairs gave an approving nod to a bill introduced in Nepal’s parliament that seeks to amend the new constitution in line with at least some of the Madhesi demands. While some observers welcomed this as a sign of a breakthrough, the blockade remains in place. Bismillah Geelani reports from New Delhi. -
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