Article 5 of the Sugauli Treaty concluded between Nepal and the then East India Company on March 4, 1816 is the official document demarcating the border between Nepal and India.
Border experts allege that even though the border was fixed on the basis of the same treaty as Kali's East Nepal and West India, India's unilateral encroachment on Nepali land is unjustified.
Although India claims that the river that starts from Lipulek is Kali instead of Limbiyadhura, it is considered to be the source of the river Mahakali due to its high density and size in international practice.
The map published by the British Survey of India in 1827 and 1856 states that Lipulec, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura belong to Nepal.
However, on a map issued by British authorities in 1879 and later, the 'cartographic' sign moved Kalapani and Lipulec to India. And, from there, India showed signs of encroaching on the land of sovereign Nepal.
Similarly, in a map prepared by China in 1903, Nepal is written in the Limpiyadhura point.
In a letter sent to Nepal by the Chinese Ambassador on May 11, 2005, it is stated that the territory belongs to Nepal and China will always respect Nepal's sovereignty.
However, under the then Prime Minister Matrika Prasad Koirala, the Indian Army had set up camps at 18 places on the northern border of Nepal and China.
Though the then Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru asked King Mahendra for Indian security personnel to rest for a few days, the then Minister Vishwabandhu Thapa said that sovereignty was vested in Nepal.
Budhinarayan Shrestha, a border expert, says that India's seizure of land for a few days has devalued Nepal's sovereignty.
To remove the Indian Army from Kalapani, the Manmohan Adhikari-led government in 1951 BS and later the Sher Bahadur Deuba government in 1954 BS proposed to resolve the border dispute with India including Kalapani.
Though the then Prime Minister of India Inder Kumar Gujral replied that the Indian Army would be withdrawn from Kalapani and the border issue would be resolved, India, which had become factless, refused to resolve the border issue.
Despite the initiative to resolve the Akkal-Jhukkal problem, after India and China decided to make Lipulek Bhanjyang a trading point in the agreement reached on June 20, 2013, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a short road to Mansarovar through Nepali territory.
India's move to unveil the unjustified factual map of road digging on Nepal's land without asking is unacceptable at the international level.
The Indian mentality of despising and weakening Nepal has not been able to resolve the border issue through talks nor does it want to understand the report of an enlightened group that has studied the border in depth.
With Nepal ready to engage in diplomatic dialogue with India on land encroachment and border issues, it would be beneficial for India to join the talks.
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