Nepal fears 'infiltration' of Naga sadhus from India

The government has beefed up security along the Indo-Nepal border to prevent their entry.

Fearing "infiltration" of thousands of Naga sadhus and other Hindu fundamentalists into Nepal to join protests here aimed at reviving the demand for a Hindu state, the government has beefed up security along the Indo-Nepal border to prevent their entry.

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A secret circular has been issued to the administration in the border areas to check the entry of sadhus from India during the Hindu festival of Shivratri on February 16, Home Ministry sources said.

The World Hindu Federation and other Hindu fundamentalist groups are planning to bring some 30,000 Naga sadhus or Naga babas from India to Kathmandu to stage sit-in and demonstrations to save the world's only Hindu monarch and revive the Hindu state, WHF said in a statement.

"The government has reportedly received information about the infiltration of thousands of fundamentalist Hindu activists from India to join the pro-Hindu demonstrations in Kathmandu aimed at reviving the demand for Hindu state," the sources told The Kathmandu Post.

Nepal was converted into a secular state through the Parliament Declaration on May 18, 2006 and the major parties have virtually agreed to abolish monarchy through Constituent Assembly election slated for June.

The local administration in the district bordering India have been instructed to tighten the flow of the sadhus through the open border during the festival

The administration in the border areas have informed their Indian counterparts about the plan and sought necessary cooperation, the report said.