All Roads Lead North : Nepals Turn To China

About the BookA DEEPLY RESEARCHED NARRATIVE THAT GOES AGAINST THE GRAIN OF MAINSTREAM NARRATIVES ON NEPAL.In the June 2020 territorial dispute over Kalapani, India was faced with a newly assertive Nepal, and blamed the latters deepening relations with China for the tension. But beyond the accusations and the grandstanding, there was a new reality to reckon with: the power equations in South Asia had been redrawn to make space for China.Nepal did not turn northwards overnight, however. For one, NepalChina ties have deep historical roots built on Buddhism, going as far back as the early first millennium. For another, while the 2015 unofficial Indian blockade had provided momentum to the rift, the Himalayan nation had long wanted greater ties with its northern neighbour to counteract Indias oppressive intimacy. With Chinas growing ambitions, both globally and in South Asia, Nepal now has a new primary bilateral partnerand Nepalis are forging a path towards modernity with its help, both in the remote Himalayan borderlands and in the cities.All Roads Lead North is the long view on Nepals foreign relations, as well as the story of China as a global power in the twenty-first century. With never-before-told stories about Tibetan guerrilla fighters, failed coup leaders and trans-Himalayan traders, this book examines the histories that tie remote Himalayan communities to each other. Part historical study, part journalistic account and all of it rigorously researched, Nepal analyst Amish Raj Mulmi writes a new, complex and compelling account of a small country caught between two neighbourhood giants.About the AuthorAmish Raj Mulmis writings have been published in The Himalayan Arc: Journeys East of South-east (HarperCollins India, 2018) and The Best Asian Speculative Fiction (Kitaab, 2018). He has written for, among others, Al Jazeera, Roads and Kingdoms, Himal Southasian, India Today, The Kathmandu Post and The Record. He is consulting editor at Writers Side Literary Agency, and has previously worked for Juggernaut Books and Hachette India. He is from Pokhara. This is his first book.