Consensus over Kalapani

• Nepalese political parties have a general consensus over the fact that Kalapani in Uttarakhand is part of Nepal’s sovereign territory, said former Nepalese Foreign Minister.
• However, India rejected this claim.

What is the cause of the dispute?

• The Kalapani region derives its name from the river Kali. Nepal’s claims to the region is based on this river as it became the marker of the boundary of the kingdom of Nepal following the Treaty of Sugauli signed between the Gurkha rulers of Kathmandu and the East India Company after the Gurkha War/Anglo-Nepal War (1814-16).
• The treaty was ratified in 1816.
• According to the treaty, Nepal lost the regions of Kumaon-Garhwal in the west and Sikkim in the east.
• According to Article 5, the King of Nepal gave up his claims over the region west of the river Kali which originates in the High Himalayas and flows into the great plains of the Indian subcontinent.
• According to the treaty, the British rulers recognised Nepal’s right to the region that fell to the east of the river Kali.

Kalapani location:

• Located in the easternmost corner of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district.
• Shares a border on the north with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Nepal in the east and south.
• It is wedged in between Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani.
• The area is the largest territorial dispute between Nepal and India consisting of at least 37,000 hectares of land in the High Himalayas.

Who controls the area?

• The area is in India’s control but Nepal claims the region because of historical and cartographic reasons.