Army Chief General Naravane to be conferred honorary rank of 'General of the Nepal Army' by Nepalese President

Army Chief General MM Naravane will be going to Nepal in the first week of November. According to the sources, Naravane will be conferred the honorary rank of 'General of the Nepal Army' by Nepalese President Bidya Devi Bhandari during his visit.

The ritual is reportedly a continuation of an age-old tradition that first started in 1950, reflecting the strong ties between the two militaries.

"The Chief of Army Staff will travel to Nepal early next month. The dates of his visit are being finalised," said an official.

According to officals, Naravane is supposed to hold extensive talks with the top military brass of Nepal including his Nepalese counterpart General Purna Chandra Thapa and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokhrel.

This will be the first high-level visit to Nepal from India after Kathmandu issued a new Nepal map that showed Indian territories as Nepali territories.

The decision for the new Nepal map was announced through an executive decision by KP Sharma Oli-led government. The constitutional amendment to give legal backing to its coat of arms that shows the new map was passed by the Nepal parliament earlier this year.

MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had that time said, "map is not based on historical facts and evidence. It is contrary to the bilateral understanding to resolve the outstanding boundary issues through diplomatic dialogue. Such artificial enlargement of territorial claims will not be accepted by India."

Ties between the 2 governments have gone downhill since then.

(With agency inputs)