India’s Mutual Security Arrangements with Nepal

The Himalayan kingdoms of Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim constitute India’s natural line of defence in the north. The British maintained a firm and complete control over this natural frontier, particularly on the defence and external affairs of these kingdoms. To sustain this control, which was considered the key to the defence of the Indian heartland, the British maintained some military presence and an assertive political influence in Tibet. They used Tibet as a buffer to forestall and counteract any aggressive manoeuvres of the rival powers, mainly China and Russia. What sustained this system of India’s northern defence were the British will and might. It was also facilitated by Russia’s physical distance and its preoccupation in Europe and by China’s weakness.