• India
  • Nov 11

Explainer / Dispute over Kalapani

Days after India issued new political maps showing the Kalapani area in the country’s far-west as part of its territory, the Nepal government made it clear that the region lies within the Nepalese boundary.

India released fresh maps of the newly created Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh and the map of India depicting these UTs. In the maps, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is part of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, while Gilgit-Baltistan is in the UT of Ladakh.

A media report said Kalapani was a part of the Darchula district of Nepal while the Indian map places it under the Pithoragarh district in the state of Uttarakhand.

Border issues with Nepal

The Treaty of Sugauli, which established the boundary line of Nepal, was signed on December 2, 1815, and ratified on March 4, 1816, between the East India Company and King of Nepal following the Anglo-Nepalese War of 1814-16.

In January, a Nepalese NGO launched a signature campaign demanding the return of territory that Nepal lost to British India through the Sugauli Treaty.

A report said Nepalese territories including Darjeeling were handed to the British East India Company as concessions under the treaty, which was signed in 1816.

Under the treaty, Nepalese-controlled territory that was ceded included all areas that the king of Nepal had won in earlier wars such as the kingdom of Sikkim in the east and Kumaon and Garhwal in the west.

In June, the government in a reply in Lok Sabha mentioned about the border dispute with Nepal. “Strip maps covering 98 per cent of the India-Nepal boundary have been jointly finalised and initialled by the two sides. There are, however, differences of perception on alignment of the boundary in some areas such as Kalapani in Uttarakhand and Narsahi-Susta in Bihar. The shifting of course in Susta region of the Gandak river, the mid-stream of which formed the boundary under the Treaty of Sugauli of 1816, has resulted in claims by Nepal in this segment. The two sides have set up a high-level bilateral mechanism to discuss the matter, with technical inputs from the India-Nepal Boundary Working Group,” the ministry of external affairs said in its reply.

What is India’s stand on the map dispute?

India said the new map issued by it accurately depicts its sovereign territory and it has in no manner revised its boundary with Nepal.

“Our map accurately depicts the sovereign territory of India. The new map has in no manner revised our boundary with Nepal. The boundary delineation exercise with Nepal is ongoing under the existing mechanism. We reiterate our commitment to find a solution through dialogue in the spirit of our close and friendly bilateral relations,” said MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar.

At the same time, both the countries should guard against vested interests trying to create differences between our two countries, the MEA said.

What is Nepal’s demand?

The Nepal government has said the media reports drew its attention to the Kalapani area being included in the new Indian map. The Nepal government is clear that the Kalapani area lies within Nepalese territory, the Nepalese foreign ministry said.

“During foreign secretary level joint meetings, responsibility has been assigned to the officials of both the countries to resolve the remaining border related issues between Nepal and India in consultation with concerned technicians,” it said in a statement.

All outstanding issues relating to the border between the two countries need to be resolved through mutual understanding and any unilateral move is unacceptable to the Nepal government, the ministry said.

Senior Nepalese political leaders urged Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli to resolve the border issue of Kalapani area with India through diplomatic channels.

The senior leaders, which also included former prime minister Baburam Bhattarai, said that Oli should take up the matter with his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seek to resolve the matter by forming a political commission.

“The border dispute should be resolved through diplomatic initiative. The prime minister should approach his Indian counterpart and seek to resolve the matter by forming a political commission. The issue should be resolved on the basis of historical documents,” Bhattarai said.

The issue triggered protests in Nepal, compelling Prime Minister Oli to call for an all-party meeting to forge a common stand of all sides on the issue of national importance.

Former deputy prime minister and president of Rastriya Prajatantra Party Kamal Thapa said Oli should take initiatives to remove Indian army camp from Kalapani area.

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