Nepal, March 25 -- When Pushpa Kamal Dahal became the prime minister in 2008, the Maoists began to call for a new national security policy. While the idea of 'national unity' was designed to reconcile and control the Maoists' former warring partners, the idea of 'territorial integrity' was a reaction to the perceived threats to Maoist power from India and the Madhes movement.

After Dahal was forced to step down, the subsequent governments sought to contain 'anarchy, insecurity and impunity' spread by the Maoists as well as democratise and professionalise the security forces that had once backed the monarchy. The then CPN-UML also perceived a clear threat to national integrity from Indian interference, the rise of identity politics and th...