The reflex action of the Indian strategic community to China’s offer to build a railway line to Nepal is bound to be consternation. The air will be imbued with dire predictions of the Chinese dragon’s spreading tentacles into South Asia. The so-called string of pearls theory that accuses China of building alliances to box in India will be recast to include Nepal, a country that had never figured in this alleged game plan. This is because China had so far been content to let Nepal remain an Indian backyard. The same set of retired soldiers and diplomats who will now vent against China must share part of the blame for the imminent loosening of India’s monopolistic hold over Nepal’s trade. They had failed to raise the flag when the RSS and the South Block went a step too far with an undeclared blockade of Nepal that lasted months.New Delhi’s single minded devotion to the Madhesi cause must have stiffened Kathmandu’s resolve to open up alternatives for trade. After all it couldn’t have remained indifferent to the impact of the blockade on the prices and availability of essentials like LPG and medicines. Now that the die is cast, India can either join the connectivity game or rail against the intensification of China-Nepal relations. The second option will be a nonstarter because every nation has the sovereign right to choose its alliances. Just like India which dallies both with the US and Russia.India could take the cue from the recent SAARC conclave where all the foreign ministers pitched for greater connectivity. India needs to accelerate work on two rail links to Nepal and put on the front-burner plans for another three. This will dovetail with the planned BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) corridor and the US-Japan supported Pacific Corridor from India to Vietnam via Myanmar and Thailand. Instead of lamenting an inevitable, India must build on its advantages with Nepal. The South Block’s response is in the right direction. It has refused to get drawn into the comparison game, knowing well that no other country in the world has the kind of ties India has with Nepal.