Nepal is heading to the national polls on March 5, and among the major issues facing its citizenry are lack of jobs, economic instability, and cross‑border ties with India. For years, ordinary Nepalis and Indians have been connected through work, remittances, and family links across the open border.
This living connection between ordinary people, workers, families, and communities is often referred to colloquially as “Roti‑Beti Ka Rishta” (bread and daughter relationship). It captures the idea that economic livelihoods (roti) and familial ties (beti - daughters and marital connections) bind these neighbours in everyday life.
The Meaning Of “Roti‑Beti”
The phrase 'Roti‑Beti Ka Rishta' is a metaphor for a bond forged through economic interdependence. Earning a livelihood (roti) and social ties, marriage and kinship (beti) that defy rigid political borders.
In rural regions along the open border, people on both sides often speak the same languages (such as Maithili, Bhojpuri or Nepali dialects), share festivals like Chhath or Dashain/Deepawali, and maintain families that span the boundary without passports or visas.
Marriages between Indian and Nepali citizens have been commonplace for generations.
India-Nepal Open Border
The 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between India and Nepal allows citizens of both countries to cross, live, work, and study on either side freely, without visas or standard international migration restrictions.
This enables many Nepalis to work in India and Indians to find jobs in Nepal, often without formal documentation.
Labour Migration And Remittances
Nepali Labourers In India
For decades, millions of Nepalis have migrated to India in search of work. They range from skilled professions to construction, agriculture and services. The porous border and similar cultural landscape make such movement easier than migration to distant countries.
Data showed that Nepal's inward remittances, predominantly from Nepalis working abroad, account for over a quarter of the country's GDP, with recent figures around $11 billion annually.
While many now migrate to the Gulf or Western countries, border-region families still rely on income from India as a stable source, as per the BBC.
Indian Workers In Nepal
Migration flows are not only one‑way. There are Indians who live and work in Nepal, especially in sectors like construction, trade and informal services.
Indian labour enriches local economies and fills gaps where skilled or unskilled labour is locally scarce, contributing to Nepal's development in sectors like infrastructure, transportation and retail.
Economic Lifelines And Remittances
Remittances, money sent home by migrants, are closely connected to labour migration between Nepal and India, but they are part of a global system of workers' remittances.
For Nepal, remittances are the main part of economic stability, household income, poverty reduction and foreign exchange earnings. India, though, is one of the largest recipients of global remittances thanks to its vast overseas Indian population worldwide (over $135 billion in inflows in the last reported fiscal year), according to IBEF.
Remittances into India come mostly from Indians abroad in the Gulf, Europe and North America.
Social And Cultural Integration
Economic ties are inseparable from the cultural and social bonds that bind Indians and Nepalis.
Shared Languages, Festivals And Rituals
The border regions are dominated by linguistic and cultural continuity: Maithili, Bhojpuri and Nepali languages, rituals, music, cuisine, and religious celebrations often transcend the international boundary, blending social life into a shared cultural fabric.
Marriages And Families Across Borders
Cross‑border marriages have long formed families that live and work in both countries. Yet, such marriages are increasingly touching on legal and bureaucratic challenges.
For example, Nepali women married to Indian men in border districts have faced difficulties obtaining identity documents like Aadhaar cards, cited by TOI.
Challenges
Several factors have put pressure on traditional Roti‑Beti ties:
Bureaucratic And Identity Issues
Identity verification systems and citizenship requirements on either side of the border increasingly complicate the lives of cross‑border families who once moved freely without passports or formal documentation.
Economic And Employment Pressures
Economic stagnation, youth unemployment, and global labour market competition push both Nepalese and Indians to seek opportunities far beyond the traditional corridor between India and Nepal. Nepal, for example, now sees more migrants heading to the Gulf and Europe for work.
