The contemporary strategic and political environment has gone through tremendous changes in comparison to the context in which the 1950 treaty was signed. The Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s August 2014 visit to Nepal, the first by an Indian prime minister in 17 years, has rekindled the hope of improving Nepal–India relations, including revision of the 1950 treaty. Against this backdrop, this article argues that without understanding India’s strategic, security-related and political concerns, revision of the 1950 treaty is highly unlikely.

Nepal's King Prithvi Narayan Shah's famous ‘Yam between two boulders’ quote reflects the great understanding of Nepal's security dilemma, even as far back as the 18th century. 1 This has remained a cornerstone of Nepal's foreign policy to date, primarily driven by Nepal's geographic location. 2 Shah understood well that Nepal would always remain insecure vis-à-vis its powerful neighbours, that is, China and India, and urged the need to keep refining, adapting and adjusting Nepal's foreign policy in order to deal with its powerful regional neighbours.