In May 2020, the Indian Defence Minister inaugurated an 80 km link road known as the Darchula-Lipulekh road, which will connect India’s Ghatiabagarh town (Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand) with Lipulekh at the Line of Actual Control with China. Lipulekh lies at the tri-junction of India, Nepal and China border and is known as the gateway for Mansarovar Yatra. The link road will reduce the journey to Mansarovar by two weeks as the other route through Nathu La from Sikkim is very long.
But Nepal has objected to the construction of this link road on the plea that the Lipulekh area lies on the Nepal side of the border. It should be noted that Nepal has also objected to India’s political map in November 2019, in which Kalapani was shown as Indian territory. Both Kalapani and Lipulekh are part of India’s Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand. For the first time, Nepal advanced her claims over Kalapani and Susta in 1998. Before that Nepal had never raised any territorial dispute with India.
Now Nepal argues that as per the provisions of the Sugauli Treaty, 1816 (between the East India Company and Nepal), all the areas East of river Mahakali including Kalapani and Lipulekh are part of Nepal. But India says that the place of origin of the Mahakali river is wrongly identified by Nepal. If the correct point of the origin of the river is considered, both Kalapani and Lipulekh lie in the West of the river, hence part of India.
The Kali river is formed by the confluence of the headwaters of the two rivers-Kalapani and Kuthi Yankti. These two rivers join at a pace Gunji and after that, the river is known as Kali. The Lipulekh lies East of the Kalapani river but west of the Kuthi Yankti river. Nepal treats the Kuthi Yankti river as the Kali river and makes claims on Lipulekh, but it is wrong. India says that these two rivers and other small streams are the headwaters of the Kali river. In the case of headwaters of the river, the principle of the river basin is followed as has been done in many cases to fix boundaries. Under this principle also, Lipulekh belongs to India.
India has also submitted that she has just paved the road which was earlier used by pilgrims for a long time and Nepal has never objected to this kaccha road earlier. Hence Nepal should not have any ground to object to the paved road now. However, as decided by both the countries earlier, India has proposed that the foreign secretaries of India and Nepal would discuss the dispute after the covid-19 lockdown is over. It should be noted in passing that now Nepal is under the closer influence of China.
But, under the influence of China, Nepal published in May 2020 a new political map that showed the three Indian Territories: Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura (All in Uttarakhand) as her own area. India strongly objected to this fabrication of a political map to claim Indian areas without any historical or legal basis. This new map does not have any legal value. Not only that the Communist regime of Nepal has also inserted this new map in the constitution of Nepal by making a constitutional amendment in June 2020. This amendment has further complicated the boundary issue as India has stated that Nepal’s unilateral action in the case of the political map does not leave any scope for further negotiations on the boundary issue.
Nepal knows that she cannot get Indian areas on the basis of a new political map, but its publication has a political purpose: to strengthen the Oli government’s position and to oblige China which is engaged in a military stand-off with India in the Eastern Ladakh.
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