''All Roads Lead North: Nepal's Turn to China'' is a 2021 non-fiction book by journalist Amish Raj Mulmi. It was published on 15 March 2021 by Context (an imprint of

Westland Books Westland Books or Westland Publications is an Indian publishing house. It was co-founded by the Padmanabhan family in 1962, starting out under the name East West Books. Tata owned it from 2008 as a subsidiary under Trent (Westside) Trent Li ...

), and published by Hurst Publishers and Oxford University Press in the UK and US respectively as ''All Roads Lead North: China, Nepal and the Contest for the Himalayas''. It was chosen among

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

's 'Books that explain the world' in 2021. The book explores the geopolitical relationship of Nepal with its two neighbors, China and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Synopsis

The book studies and analyzes the eroding relationship of Nepal with India and the budding relationship with China. While the Indian media and political figures have blamed and criticized Nepal for increasing closeness with China, the book shows and explains the historical relationship between China and Nepal, and Tibet and Nepal. The book shows how trans-Himalayan trade and

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

shaped relations between Tibet and Nepal since the 7th century. It talks about the impact of Chinese development on Himalayan communities, and portrays the complex story of China’s influence in Nepal. The 2015 Nepal blockade was one of the major turning points of the changing equation of the diplomatic ties of Nepal with its neighbors. Also, the Kalapani territory dispute further damaged the Indo-Nepal relationship.

Reception

Former Indian foreign secretary

Shyam Saran Shyam Saran (born 4 September 1946) is an Indian career diplomat. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1970 and rose to become the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India. Prior to his appointment as the Foreign Secretary he served as ...

called the book "a finely grained narrative". Former Indian ambassador to Nepal M.S. Puri has written that the book is "strongly grounded his work in the historical and societal dynamics around Nepal’s northern areas".''The Asian Review of Books'' said the book is "a concise modern history of the complicated triangle of Nepal, China and India relations and how a focus on one of Nepal’s neighbors always needs to factor in the other." Biswas Baral of ''The'' ''Annapurna Post'' praised the book and said "the book will be read by generations to come, by scholars and non-scholars alike". Kallol Bhattacherjee of ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' called it a "a must-read to understand India-Nepal ties". Anand K Sahay described the book as "a well worth a read to better understand Beijing’s ways" in his review for the ''

Deccan Chronicle ''Deccan Chronicle'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper founded by Rajagopal Mudaliar in the 1930s & currently owned by Samagrah Commercial Pvt Limited. It is published in Hyderabad, Telangana, by Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited ...

''. Maj Gen Ashok K Mehta (Retd.) in his review for ''

The Tribune (Chandigarh) ''The Tribune'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper published from Amritsar, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Bathinda, Chandigarh and New Delhi. It was founded on 2 February 1881, in Lahore, Punjab (now in Pakistan), by Sardar Dyal Singh Ma ...

'' called the book a "must read".

References

{{Reflist Nepalese books Nepalese non-fiction books 21st-century Nepalese books 2021 non-fiction books Political books India–Nepal relations China–Nepal relations Nepalese literature in English Westland Books books

Synopsis

Reception

See also

References