PROXIMITY TO CONNECTIVITY: INDIA AND ITS EASTERN AND SOUTHEASTERN NEIGHBOURS PART 3 India’s Connectivity with its Himalayan Neighbours: Possibilities and Challenges Project Adviser: Rakhahari Chatterji Authors: Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury and Pratnashree Basu Research and Data Management: Sreeparna Banerjee and Mihir Bhonsale Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata © Observer Research Foundation 2017. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any part or by any means without the express written permission of ORF. India’s Connectivity with its Himalayan Neighbours: Possibilities and Challenges Observer Research Foundation Building Partnerships for a Global India Observer Research Foundation (ORF) is a not-for-profit, multidisciplinary public policy think- tank engaged in developing and discussing policy alternatives on a wide range of issues of national and international significance. Some of ORF’s key areas of research include international relations, security affairs, politics and governance, resources management, and economy and development. ORF aims to influence formulation of policies for building a strong and prosperous India in a globalised world. ORF pursues these goals by providing informed and productive inputs, in-depth research, and stimulating discussions. Set up in 1990 during the troubled period of India’s transition from a protected economy to engaging with the international economic order, ORF examines critical policy problems facing the country and helps develop coherent policy responses in a rapidly changing global environment. As an independent think-tank, ORF develops and publishes informed and viable inputs for policy-makers in the government and for the political and business leadership of the country. It maintains a range of informal contacts with politicians, policy-makers, civil servants, business leaders and the media, in India and overseas. ORF publications are distributed widely to government officials and legislators, business leaders, journalists and academics. Headquartered in New Delhi, ORF has chapters in Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata. More information about the Foundation is available at our website: www.orfonline.org. 3 India’s Connectivity with its Himalayan Neighbours: Possibilities and Challenges About the Authors Rakhahari Chatterji (PhD, Chicago) is Adviser of Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata. He has been a Professor in Political Science and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Calcutta. He was a Fulbright Scholar (1970-71), Social Science Research Council Fellow (1973-75), and a Fulbright Post-doctoral Visiting Fellow (1986-87) at the University of Chicago; a Ford Foundation Visiting Fellow (1988-89) at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; a Fulbright American Research Fellow (1996-97) at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; and the UGC Emeritus Fellow (2009-11). He has written several books, including Methods of Political Inquiry; Unions, Politics and the State; and Working Class and the Nationalist Movement in India. His most recent book, Gandhi and the Ali Brothers–Biography of a Friendship, was published in 2013 (New Delhi: Sage). His latest articles include: “Gandhi, Non-Violence and Communal Unity: A Freudian Perspective” (Gandhi Marg, January-March 2016) and “China’s Race for Arms” (co-written with Pratnashree Basu) (Jadavpur Journal of International Relations, Sage, June 2016). Dr. Anasua Basu Ray Chaudhury is a Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata, working with ORF’s Neighbourhood Regional Studies Initiative. Currently she is coordinating the major research project, “Proximity to Connectivity: India’s Connectivity with its Eastern and Southeastern Neighbours” and “Understanding Public Perception: India –China”. She holds a PhD in International Relations and specialises in South Asian affairs. She was a Research and Programme Associate at Calcutta Research Group, and a Visiting Fellow at Science Po, Paris in 2012. She received the Kodikara Award from the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies (RCSS), Colombo, Sri Lanka in 1998-99. She was an ICSSR Post- Doctoral Fellow (2004-06) at the Centre for the Studies of Developing Societies (CSDS), Delhi. Her recent publications include Driving Across the South Asian Borders: The Motor Vehicle Agreement Between Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal, (ORF, New Delhi, 2015, co-authored), State of being Stateless: An Account on South Asia (Orient Black Swan, New Delhi, 2015, co-editor); India-Myanmar Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges (ORF: New Delh, 2015, co-editor), India-Bangladesh Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges (ORF, New Delhi, 2015,co-author); Women in Indian Borderlands (Sage, New Delhi, 2011, co-editor); SAARC at Crossroads: The Fate of Regional Cooperation in South Asia (Samskriti, New Delhi, 2006). Pratnashree Basu is a Junior Fellow at Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata and works with the Neighbourhood and Regional Studies Initiative and the Maritime Initiative. She works on the project, ‘Proximity to Connectivity: India and its Eastern and Southeastern Neighbours’, which included ‘India-Bangladesh Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges’ (June 2015) and ‘India-Myanmar Connectivity: Possibilities and Challenges’ (December 2015). She is the Associate Editor of the monthly South China Sea Monitor. Her recent publications include: “Meeting with China in the Bay of Bengal”, published in the Journal of the Indian Ocean Region 4 India’s Connectivity with its Himalayan Neighbours: Possibilities and Challenges (Taylor & Francis), Volume 12, Number 2, Page 143-160, October 2016 (co-authored); “China’s Race for Arms”, published in the Jadavpur Journal of International Relations (SAGE), Volume 20, Issue 1, Page 1-32, September 2016 (co-authored); and a chapter titled, ‘Negotiating the Asian Transformation’ in the book, Asia in Transition, Knowledge World Publications and the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Insitute for Asian Studies, 2016. Mihir Bhonsale is a Junior Fellow with ORF Kolkata’s Neighbourhood and Regional Studies Initiative. He is currently working on the research project, ‘Act East through Tourism: Tapping Potential for Cross-border Religious and Ethnic Linkages’. Mihir has authored research articles on the topics of connectivity, security and India’s bilateral relations with Bhutan and Myanmar. His research interests include India’s Look East/ Act East policy, borderlands, ethnicity, connectivity, and culture. He is pursuing his PhD at the University of Calcutta on the ethnic identity of the Tai Khamti tribe of North-East India. Before his present assignment at ORF, he has worked as a correspondent in newspapers in Kolkata and Mumbai, besides doing short stints in broadcast and new media. Sreeparna Banerjee is a Research Assistant at Observer Research Foundation, Kolkata. She is associated with the Neighbourhood Regional Studies Initiative. She is part of the project, ‘Proximity to Connectivity: India and its Eastern and Southeastern Neighbours’. She has completed her Master’s degree in Sociology and is a doctoral candidate in Sociology at the University of Calcutta. She cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the University Grants Commission in Sociology in 2013. Previously, she has been a faculty member at Basanti Devi College, Kolkata, and she has also been a participant and presenter at National Sociological Society and regional academic conferences throughout India. Her interest areas are Gender Studies and Identity Politics. She co-authored ‘India-Bangladesh Connectivity: A Year after Modi’s Visit’ (ORF: New Delhi, 2016, Issue Brief). 5 India’s Connectivity with its Himalayan Neighbours: Possibilities and Challenges Contents Observer Research Foundation ............................................................................................. 3 About the Authors ..................................................................................................... 4 Contents ..................................................................................................... 6 Foreword ..................................................................................................... 9 Preface ..................................................................................................... 10 Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... 11 List of Tables ..................................................................................................... 12 List of Figures ..................................................................................................... 14 List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................... 15 1: India’s Connectivity with Nepal ......................................................................... 19 1. Connectivity through Road, Rail and Air ............................................................. 19 1.1 Road Connectivity ..................................................................................... 19 1.1.1 Existing Cross-border connectivity .............................................. 20 1.1.2 Proposed land routes .................................................................. 22 1.1.3 Bus services connecting India and Nepal ................................... 23 1.2 Rail Connectivity ....................................................................................... 23 1.2.1 Proposed rail