Nepal, Sept. 30 -- Every September, Nepal gets about 15 minutes at the world's biggest podium, the UN General Assembly. For most of the last decade, our prime ministers used that time the same careful way to praise Nepal's Himalayan and Buddhist heritage, ask the world for climate justice and development support, and, whatever else is said, avoid naming India and China in the same sentence. However, that habit broke this year. And the reasons why matter for every Nepali, not just diplomats.

Look back at Sher Bahadur Deuba's 2017 address, delivered as Nepal was still rebuilding after the 2015 earthquake. He spoke of building connectivity 'with countries on both sides', never naming India or China, even though everyone in the hall knew exa...