An analysis published in The Economics
Nepal, China and India Rivals on the roof of the world Great-power rivalry grows in the Himalayas Sep 16th 2010 | KATHMANDU Rakesh Sood (right), treading gingerly EARLY in September a group of Nepali newspaper editors were having dinner when, one by one, their phones started ringing. The man on the other end, whom they said was the Indian ambassador, Rakesh Sood, wanted to know whether their papers would be running stories on a sensational audio recording then doing the rounds. The recording purports to be an intercepted telephone call between a senior Maoist leader, Krishna Mahara, and an unknown man, Chinese from his accent; the two are discussing the use of $6.75m to bribe members of parliament to elect a Maoist prime minister. A great deal about this story is murky. It has not been confirmed either by Mr Sood or Mr Mahara. The Chinese embassy has denied any involvement and the tape’s authenticity has not been established. Still, two things are clear. First, the intrigue comes at a