Border expert Buddhinarayan Shrestha says: India is a river. There is little water. According to international principles, the river originating from Limpiyadhura is considered as the main river. Others are branch rivers. So the river coming out of Limpiyadhura is Kali and that is the border.
What you should know
Neighbors to the north and south have tried to mend their relations, but have again shocked Nepal by agreeing to trade through the Lipulek Pass. China and India have not even informed Nepal when they agreed to trade through Nepalese land. These two neighbors have been teasing Nepal's sensitivities by repeatedly raising this issue for a decade.
This 63-year-long ups and downs Kantipur's conversation with border expert Buddhinarayan Shrestha about the geographical location of Kalapani and Limpiyadhura
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Kalapani, Lipulek and Limpiyadhura disputes come and go. Nepal has been rebutting every time when India claims it, but what is the biggest evidence that the land is Nepali?
The border between Nepal and India is 1,880 km long and has been demarcated at 71 places, and there are disputes and conflicts. The biggest dispute among them is Lipulek, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura in Darchula district. There is a problem in 370 square kilometers in one place. Similarly, there is a dispute over 147 square kilometers in Susta and 89 square kilometers in various other places.
Lipulek is a sovereign land of Nepal. Now India and China are saying to increase trade and traffic through Lipulek Bhanjang. It destroyed the sovereignty of Nepal. It has affected the geographical integrity of Nepal. There are many proofs that the land is ours. In the maps of 1827, 1856 and 1879, the river originating from Limpiyadhura is marked as Kali. Kuti, Navi, Gunji, Kalapani, Lipulek belong to us before the Kali river.
After the Sugauli Treaty, when the people of Gunji asked the British government where to pay the tax (tax), they said that 'according to the Sugauli Treaty, your land belongs to Nepal, you should contact Bam Shah of Nepal and pay it there'. In the letter written by the Acting Chief Secretary of India J Azam in July 1817, it was asked to contact there as the lands there are towards Nepal.
These are important evidence. Another, senior journalist Bhairav Risal conducted the census of Gunji, Nabi, Kalapani area in 2018. That also confirms that the area is ours. In the 2015 general election, the names of people from Gunji, Nabi, Kuti were in the voter list. They participated in the voting. Many such evidences show that the land belongs to Nepal. Now China and India have shocked Nepal.
When exactly did Indian control of Kalapani and Lipulek begin?
India and China went to war in 1962. At that time, the Indian army camped in our Kalapani Lipulek area. Since then, our land has been eroded. In this context, the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote a letter to King Mahendra. That letter has been revealed by Vishwabandhu Thapa, who was the Home Minister in Mahendra's cabinet. Nehru has sent a letter to the king asking him to allow his army to stay in Kalapani.
Nepal kept silent because China would also get irritated when they answered the letter. Nehru's letter is also a great evidence, that letter should be searched. Could it be with Narayanhiti Darbar, Nagarjuna's Redbox or the Nepali Army? It must be sought. After the Indian army established a base in the Kalapani area, India built a Kali temple a little south of Lipulek Bhanjang and a little north of Tinker Bhanjang. A small river has come from that temple. India has been claiming the mouth of the Kali River since 1962. Since that time, India has destroyed the land of Nepal's sovereignty.
However, Limpiyadhura was included in the map of Nepal five years ago in 2077, why was it not included before that?
Nepal made its first map in 2032. In the surveying department, a field surveying division was formed with the assistance of the United Nations. Technicians were in a dilemma – whether to move the border to Limpiadhur or to keep Lipulek on the map. It was sent to the Ministry of Land Reform after asking from the surveyors department.
From there the palace went. I was a second class technical legal officer in the department. After going to Takita Palace, the file went to Bhadrakali, the military base. There was also a warning. From there it was said that the river emerging from Lipulek Bhanjang should be made as the border. After studying, it was said to draw a map up to Limpiyadhura area. Accordingly, Lipulek and Kalapani have been merged into our own Nepal and a map has been made. Thus Limpiyadhura was left at that time by the neglect of the palace.
India also does not disagree that Kali River is the border. Instead, how can this dispute be resolved simply as to which Kali river is the dispute? How to tell which one is Kali?
