Area Of Conflicts - INDO-NEPAL

 

Indo-Nepal - Area of Conflicts

Territorial Claims:

At present both India and Nepal have a border dispute over regions such as; Kalapani, Lipulekh Trijunction between India, Nepal and China, Susta Region of West Champaran (Bihar).

 

Kalapani region.

India released a new political map showing Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as union territories. This followed the revocation of special status for Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019. The map included the disputed Kalapani region, which India claims as part of Uttarakhand. Nepal objected, stating it belongs to its Darchula district.

 

The disagreement centers on the origin of the Kali River, which is key to both countries’ claims. Nepal claims the river starts at Limpiyadhura, while India argues it begins further south.

 

Border Dispute

In May 2020, the Government of Nepal had released an updated political map of the country, claiming Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh of Uttarakhand as part of Nepal’s territory.

India rejected the updated map of Nepal stating that the map is not based on historical facts and evidence.

The move was described by the Ministry of External Affairs as “artificial”, “unilateral” and “unacceptable”. India had also asked Nepal to return to dialogue.

Susta Region:

The change of course by the Gandak river is the main reason for disputes in the Susta area.

Susta is located on the bank of the Gandak river.

It is called Narayani river in Nepal.

It joins Ganga near Patna, Bihar.

Nepal’s Stand:

Kali river originates from a stream at Limpiyadhura, north-west of LipuLekh. Thus Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura, and LipuLekh, fall to the east of the river and are part of Nepal’s Dharchula district.

Lipulekh was deleted from the country’s map by the kings to get favours from India. The territory of Kalapani was offered to India by King Mahendra after the 1962 India-China war who wanted to help India’s security concerns due to perceived lingering Chinese threats. Kalapani was not a part of Nepal-India dispute. It was Nepal’s territorythat the king had allowed India to use temporarily. The new map is in fact a document that was in circulation in Nepal till the 1950s.

 

India’s Stand:
Kali river originates in springs well below the Lipu-lekh pass, and the Sugauli Treaty does not demarcate the area north of these streams.The administrative and revenue records of the nineteenth century also show that Kalapani was on the Indian side, and counted as part of Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand.

 

Chinese Interference: In recent years, Nepal has been moving away from India’s influence and China has been stepping in with investments, aid and loans. China’s involvement in Nepal’s infrastructure projects through its Belt and Road Initiative poses a threat to Nepal’s role as a buffer state between India and China.

 

Security Threat: The porous and poorly guarded border between India and Nepal allows terrorist groups to exploit it for smuggling weapons, ammunition, trained members and fake currency, which poses a significant security risk to India.