Editorial: Wasting the Potential of Nathula

Border Trade over Nathula is in its seventh season at present, and where one would have expected the processes and infrastructure to have improved with every year of trading, ground reality is much different. The direct road to Nathula [from Gangtok] is in temperamentally collapse and the lack of understanding among central agencies on border trade niceties remains awaited. Both these issues remain beyond Sikkim’s control, but what has been a major dampener has been the fact that border trade has injected no excitement beyond those directly involved in the trading when something as historic and pregnant with possibilities as the reopening of Nathula should have spread cheer to a larger swathe. Cheer, not of the kind acquired by reflected glory, but the one in which an opportunity is seized to spark prosperity among more people. Unfortunately, Sikkim has approached Nathula with the same consumer and immediate profit-driven mentality which has wasted many other opportunities here. Traders, as recent developments bear out, are more focused on cartel-driven pricing and moving unlisted goods than recognising and exploiting the potential of the listed and fair. Nathula has more potential just stocking curio shops in the region or moving goods at usurious rates. 
Sikkim should consider itself very lucky that the Centre’s paranoia has seen to it that despite Trinamool Congress being such an important cog of the UPA wheel [and in urgent need of being provided some celebratory announcement], West Bengal has been denied a share in Indo-Tibet trade. The limiting of Nathula for border trade exclusively by Sikkim-based traders works in Sikkim’s favour because even as the items of trade remain consistent with the traditional trade and the demand in TAR, it also allows local traders a monopoly over the exchange. The prosperity enjoyed by Kalimpong in the past, when it had earned near monopoly over the trade through sheer business acumen and the hectic trading hub that Siliguri is now, by becoming the conduit of supplies to the region should have been replicated in Sikkim. The present configuration in Delhi is traditionally suspicious of China and cannot be expected to go out of its way to make Nathula more than just a token gesture which explains the lack of urgency in repairing the infrastructure and the lack of clarity on policy directives. The trade, however, has been opened through a bilateral agreement between the two countries and given this status, no obstacle will be impossible to surmount because New Delhi’s whims alone are not enough to limit this trade. The optimism has to outlast the stonewalling, and a minor victory was earned this season with the addition to the list of items allowed for trade. These are minor adjustments, and the real challenge – of seeing to it that Sikkim benefits in more ways than would accrue to it by virtue of just sitting on the pass – is yet to be addressed. In the initial years of trade, the Chief Minister had made frequent appeals that Sikkim entrepreneurs should invest in value addition to goods imported from TAR so that the trade has more spin-offs. This was and remains very doable; but no one is doing it. What limits Sikkim’s hand? Nothing. In fact, everything encourages such an evolution. Sikkim has exclusive access to raw materials [like wool, borax and china clay] and even livestock [like ponies and sheep] which are required as much to take existing cottage industries to new levels of quality and demand as to replenish the gene-pool of such animals in the region. But these are items which are not even traded in. Admittedly, the required infrastructure [for warehousing and quarantine] have not been adequately established and the paperwork promises to be a nightmare, but seven seasons is enough time for these to have been resolved if earnest enough attempts had been made. The traders, unfortunately, appear satisfied to engage as retailers and focus on immediate profits, not long-term investments.
Sikkim is marching on the Middle East path by ignoring the potential of value-adding and marketing the possible products by itself. But remember here, too many conspiracies and huge money see to it that Middle East countries don’t exploit their oil reserves on their own and sell-out to first world countries; there are no such excuses for Sikkim. The only thing letting it down is its own lethargy. Sample this, countries that produce 90% of the world’s cocoa bean, produce only 5% of the world’s chocolate. Why? Remember the Bournville advt of a westerner selecting cocoa beans in Ghana? Even in their case, production is curtailed because their chocolate is usuriously taxed by chocolate-consuming countries which have their own chocolate manufacturing MNCs. The growers there have the excuse of being victimized. And why look only at Nathula, Large Cardamom replays the same lethargy. The officially recorded largest producer of large cardamom in the country is not interested in value addition and despite growing the spice for more than century, limits its business to middle-men. This attitude should have changed for Nathula and it will only be such a paradigm shift which will have Nathula deliver on its promises.