The disputed land:
The dispute started when Nepal released a new map including some areas which were not shown in their previous maps. Those areas are presently control by India. The disputed area is in north-western tip of Nepal which is the eastern most tip of Uttarakhand 'India'. It is almost 300 sq km and it is defined by 3 locations they are Limpiyadhura which is the northern most tip, Lipu lekh is in south eastern and Kalapani in the south.
How the dispute started:
On November 2019 Indian government released a map including the Kalapani region. K.P. Oli Government was not happy with this action. The next event was on 8 May 2020 when Indian defense minister inaugurated a road which is 80km long and goes through this disputed area and ends in Lipu lekh. The purpose of building this road was to help the mansarovar yatris. The Nepal government was not happy because Indian government has builded a road in their region. The Nepal government told Indian government that " if they wanted to make a road for the yatris they should have consulted us before making it they should have made an agreement".
In return to this statement's Indian ministry told Nepal that "the Kalapani region comes in Indian territory so we didn't bother to make an agreement with Nepal we have made a road in our own territory we don't think Nepal has any rights to make any judgements on it". Then on 15 may many protest occurred in Nepal on this statement and then on 20 may 2020 Nepal government released a new map which includes this disputed land.
What is the history of this land:
The story starts when the britishers were ruling India and they wanted to expand their empire towards the Nepal therefore a war happened in 1814 which is also called as Anglo-Nepalese war 1814. The war lasted for 2 years then there was a treaty signed by both the kingdoms which is called as Treaty of Sugauli to decide which area is to be controlled by Britishers and which area is to be controlled by Kingdom of Nepal. Under this treaty, when the borders were marked, it was decided that on the western side, Kali river will mark the border, while on the eastern side, River Mechi will be the border. The areas were decided according to the rivers. In today's maps Indian and Nepal borders are also defined by the rivers. The maps of the Britishers in the years following the treaty, show that the origin of the Kali river was near the Limpiyadhura pass, on the western side.However, realising the trade importance of this pass, over the next few years, the Britishers shifted the boundaries to the east of Kalapani. The monarch who ruled Nepal didn’t raise an objection, and over a period of time, this became the border between India and Nepal.
Situation after both the countries became independent:
When India got its independence in 1947 India has followed the border which was made by Britishers at that time which was considering the east side of the river. When Nepal shifted from monarchy to democracy in 1990 Nepal didn't questioned on this unofficial border. In 1960 when tensions intensified between India and China which led to Indo-China war. India had deployed troops in this disputed area then too Nepal didn't bother to question India about the land. From 1962 onwards both the countries Nepal and India have shown the area of Lipu lekh and Kalapani region in their governmental maps and on 2020 this is the first time that Nepal had shown the region of Limpiyadhura in their maps.
The questions on this disputed land arosed when Nepal shifted from monarchy to democracy from 1990s. The democratic government of Nepal was finally able to access this historical papers of defining their borders. After getting access of the papers Nepal realised that the disputed area belongs to Nepal. Ever since then this area is defined as disputed land Since then, the border dispute has been a serious issue between India and Nepal. In an attempt to solve this, in 2000, the then Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had agreed to conduct field surveys at the border. However, this process did not go further as India refused to remove troops from the disputed area until the process was over therefore the agreementwas clashed. Similarly, in 2015, India and China agreed to use Lipulekh to further trade between the two countries. The then Nepalese prime minister Sushil Koirala raised strong objections to the deal. He claimed that the Kalapani region comes under Nepal's administration.
Present situation:
The relations between India and Nepal have been great both the countries have shared equal amount of respect with each other. After five years, the dispute between India and Nepal has resurfaced. Days after Nepal deployed armed police along its border, one Indian citizen was killed in a firing incident. Moreover, the new Nepalese map shows Indian territory within Nepal's borders. But the region of Kalapani is strategically important for India in defence against China. Nepal has his reasons in having that area and India has his reasons to take that area in his administration.
My Opinion:
*From Nepal's perspective the region of Kalapani region belongs to them according to treaty of Sugauli and the Britishers have deceitfully made an loop hole in the treaty.
*From Indian perspective the region of Kalapani belongs to them because after the independence India has shown its borders according to the borders Britishers were using at that time.
*From my perspective the region rightfully belongs to Indian administration because if Nepal have any short of discomfort of their borders they should have told when Indians first released its official governmental map. But in counter to this statement India got its independence in 1947 and Nepal became democratic in 1990 so when India released its map on 1947 there was still monarchy in Nepal so because of the mistake of monarchy they didn't question India. But my opinion is that the India and Nepal borders are for namesake the citizens of Nepal can come and go without any Visa they can have education and also they can live peacefully in India. So the solution to this dispute can end by talking each other peacefully and respecting each other's perspectives. Because India and Nepal have great relations they shouldn't spoil it because of a small of piece of land.
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Very informative and very amazing. Thank you for sharing. It was a very good read
ReplyDeleteVery informative
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