Kalapani Dispute: India-Nepal

Kalapani is a region in the Indian state of Uttarakhand (in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district’s easternmost area). Although India controls the Kalapani region, Nepal claims it for historical and geographical reasons.

It is bordered on the north by China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, and on the east and south by Nepal.

Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani are all close by.

The issue covers at least 37,000 hectares of land in the High Himalayas, making it the greatest territorial dispute between Nepal and India.

What is the source of the conflict?

The river Kali is the source of the Kalapani region’s name. Following the Treaty of Sugauli signed between the Gurkha kings of Kathmandu and the East India Company after the Gurkha War/Anglo-Nepal War, this river became the marker of the kingdom of Nepal’s boundaries (1814-16). In 1816, the treaty was ratified.

Nepal lost the western Kumaon-Garhwal area and the eastern Sikkim region as a result of the pact.According to Article 5, the King of Nepal relinquished his claims to the area west of the Kali River, which rises in the High Himalayas and runs into the Indian subcontinent’s broad plains.

According to the treaty, the British rulers acknowledged Nepal’s claim to the land east of the Kali River.

Current issues include:

The east of the Kali river, according to Nepalese authorities, should begin at the river’s source. According to them, the source is in the highlands around Limpiyadhura, which is at a higher elevation than the rest of the river’s flow.

Nepal claims ownership of a land mass located high in the mountains to the east of the entire stretch from Limpiyadhura downwards.India, on the other hand, claims that the border begins at Kalapani, where the river begins.

The disagreement stems mostly from differing interpretations of the river’s origins and the different tributaries that cut through the mountains.

While Nepal claims land east of Kali on the basis of the Limpiyadhura, India claims the river gets the name Kali around Kalapani.

What is the source of the conflict between India and Nepal over Kalapani?

Both India and Nepal claim a 35-square-kilometer territory known as Kalapani.

India produced an updated political map in November 2019 that included the newly constituted Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Kalapani was shown on the map as part of the Pithoragarh district (Uttarakhand, India).

Nepal promptly expressed their disagreement.

India opened the Darchula-Lipulekh pass connection road, which passes through the disputed Kalapani territory, on May 8, 2020. This path allows Indian pilgrims to go faster to Kailash Mansarovar (Tibet, China).

Nepal summoned the Indian Ambassador to Nepal to convey its displeasure.

Nepal is now attempting to provide constitutional validity to a revised official map that includes the territory from the Kali’s Limpiyadhura source to Kalapani and the Lipulekh pass in the northeast of the triangle zone.

According to Indian commentators, this step renders any future solution to the Kalapani issue extremely unlikely, since a constitutional guarantee will make Kathmandu’s position rigid.

The origins of the river Kali can be interpreted in two ways:

In essence, the conflict between the countries revolves upon the Kali (Mahakali) river’s source.There are multiple tributaries of the Kali River, all of which meet near Kalapani (according to India).

The river is said to begin in Kalapani, where all of its tributaries converge. However, Nepal maintains that it begins at Lipu Lekh Pass, which is the source of the majority of its tributaries.

While Nepal claims land east of Kali on the basis of the Limpiyadhura, India claims the river gets the name Kali around Kalapani.

Concerning the Kalpani Dispute:

India has rejected Nepal’s new map, claiming that it entails artificially enlarging regions that are not based on historical facts and proof.

The action taken by Nepal is unilateral and goes against the bilateral agreement to settle outstanding boundary disputes through diplomatic engagement.

India has urged Nepal’s government to stop from making such an unfounded cartographic claim and to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

India has also requested that Nepal resume talks.

Nepal’s decision comes after India’s Defence Minister recently launched a motorable connection road connecting India and China, cutting the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra’s travel time in half.At the Lipulekh pass, the route goes across territory that Nepal claims as its own.

Nepal had previously expressed significant opposition to India after it produced a new map depicting the Kalapani region as part of Indian territory.

Nepal had also voiced dissatisfaction with India and China’s 2015 agreement to use the Lipulekh crossing for trade without consulting Nepal.

Conclusion

The disagreement stems mostly from differing interpretations of the river’s origins and the different tributaries that cut through the mountains. While Nepal claims land east of Kali on the basis of the Limpiyadhura, India claims the river gets the name Kali around Kalapani.Except for the Kalapani and Susta areas, the group marked everything.

In 1998, Nepal officially brought the Kalapani problem to India’s attention. At a prime ministerial level meeting in 2000, both sides agreed to demarcate the outstanding areas (including Kalpani) by 2002. However, this has not yet occurred.