Kalapani territory | |
|---|---|
Territory in dispute | |
  Kalapani territory Kalapani territory (Sudurpashchim Province) | |
| Coordinates: 30°12′50″N 80°59′02″E / 30.214°N 80.984°E | |
| Status | Controlled by India Disputed by Nepal |
| Established | c. 1865 |
| Founded by | British Raj |
| Government | |
| • Type | Border security |
| • Body | Indo-Tibetan Border Police[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 35 km2 (14 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 6,180 m (20,280 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 3,650 m (11,980 ft) |
| Population | |
• Total | 50–100 |
| Time zone | UTC+5:30 |
The Kalapani territory is an area under Indian administration as part of Pithoragarh district in the Kumaon Division of the Uttarakhand state,[4][5] but it is also claimed by Nepal since 1997.[6][7] According to Nepal's claim, it lies in Darchula district, Sudurpashchim Province.[8] The territory represents part of the basin of the Kalapani river, one of the headwaters of the Kali River in the Himalayas at an altitude of 3600–5200 meters. The valley of Kalapani, with the Lipulekh Pass at the top, forms the Indian route to Kailash–Manasarovar, an ancient pilgrimage site. It is also the traditional trading route to Tibet for the Bhotiyas of Kumaon and the Tinkar valley of Nepal.[9][10]
The Kali River forms the boundary between India and Nepal in this region. However, India states that the headwaters of the river are not included in the boundary. Here the border runs along the watershed.[2] This is a position dating back to British India c. 1865.[11][12]
Nepal has another pass, the Tinkar Pass (or "Tinkar Lipu"), close to the area.[a] After India closed the Lipulekh Pass in the aftermath of the 1962 Sino-Indian War, much of the Bhotiya trade used to pass through the Tinkar Pass.[14] The Nepalese protests regarding the Kalapani territory started in 1997, after India and China agreed to reopen the Lipulekh pass.[15][16] Since that time, Nepalese maps have shown the area up to the Kalapani river, measuring 35 square kilometres,[2][17] as part of Nepal's Darchula District.
A joint technical committee of Indian and Nepalese officials have been discussing the issue since 1998, along with other border issues.[2] But the matter has not yet been resolved.
On 20 May 2020, Nepal released a new map of its own territory that expanded its claim an additional 335 square kilometres up to the Kuthi Yankti river, including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura.[18][19] It did not explain why a new claim arose.[20] According to The Kathmandu Post, residents of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura, which India has claimed for decades, were not counted after the 1961 Nepal census.[21] The final census report of 2021 Nepal census did not include data of Kuti, Gunji and Nabi villages of the Kalapani area,[22] which was included in the preliminary census report released in January 2022.[23]
- ^ "Why Kalapani is crucial and the Chinese threat should not be taken lightly". Hindustan Times. 9 August 2017.
Kalapani is a 35 square kilometre area in the hill state's Pithoragarh district under control of Indo Tibetan Border Police.
- ^ a b c d Gupta, The Context of New-Nepal (2009)
- ^ Śreshṭha, Border Management of Nepal (2003), p. 243
- ^ Manzardo, Dahal & Rai, The Byanshi (1976), p. 90, Fig. 1.
- ^ K. C. Sharad, Kalapani's new 'line of control', Nepali Times, 10 September 2004, p. 6
- ^ It's ours, The Economist, 2 July 1998.
- ^ Ramananda Sengupta, Akhilesh Upadhyay, In Dark Waters, Outlook, 20 July 1998.
- ^ Shukla, Srijan (11 November 2019). "Why Kalapani is a bone of contention between India and Nepal". ThePrint.
- ^ Chatterjee, The Bhotias of Uttarakhand (1976), pp. 4–5.
- ^ Manzardo, Dahal & Rai, The Byanshi (1976), p. 85.
- ^ Manandhar & Koirala, Nepal-India Boundary Issue (2001), pp. 3–4: "The map 'District Almora' published by the Survey of India [during 1865–1869] for the first time shifted the boundary further east beyond even the Lipu Khola (Map-5). The new boundary moving away from Lipu Khola follows the southern divide of Pankhagadh Khola and then moves north along the ridge."
- ^ Atkinson, Himalayan Gazetteer, Vol. 3, Part 2 (1981), pp. 381–382 and Walton, Almora District Gazetteer (1911), p. 253: "The drainage area of the Kalapani lies wholly within British territory, but a short way below the springs the Kali forms the boundary with Nepal." (Emphasis added)
- ^ Śreshṭha, Border Management of Nepal (2003), p. 243.
- ^ Schrader, Trading Patterns in the Nepal Himalayas (1988), p. 99: "Lipu La, however, was closed in 1962, due to the strained Sino-Indian relations. Today remaining trade moves via Tinkar La."
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Rosewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Harsh Mahaseth, Nepal: The Different Interpretations of Crime, National Academy of Legal Studies and Research University, 10 March 2017, via Social Science Research Network.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Survey of Nepal 1996was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Dialogue of the deaf". kathmandupost.com. 21 May 2020. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
- ^ "Nepal launches new map including Lipulekh, Kalapani amid border dispute with India". indiatoday.in. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2020.
- ^ Sugam Pokharel, Nepal issues a new map claiming contested territories with India as its own, CNN, 21 May 2020.
- ^ "Central Bureau of Statistics estimates 750 people living in the Kalapani area". kathmandupost.com. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "No Kalapani villages in final Nepal census".
- ^ "Nepal 'census' in Lipulekh, Kalapani, Limpiyadhura".
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