Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh

Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh

Subject: International Relations

Section: Mapping

Context: Former Nepalese PM KP Sharma Oli has claimed that he was removed from power last year after his government published a new map of Nepal that included Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekha sits territories

Concept:

• The Lipulekh pass is a far western point near Kalapani, a disputed border area between Nepal and India. Both India and Nepal claim Kalapani as an integral part of their territory

• Lipulekh is a Himalayan pass. The pass is near the Chinese trading town of Taklakot (Purang) in Tibet and used since ancient times by traders, mendicants and pilgrims transiting between India and Tibet.
• This pass links the Byans valley of Uttarakhand, India with the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, and forms the last territorial point in Indian territory.
• The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a Hinduism pilgrimage to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, traverses this pass.
• Presently, Lipulekh Pass is open for cross-border trade every year from June through September.
• It is also known as Lipu-Lekh Pass/Qiangla or Tri-Corner is a high altitude mountain pass situated in the western Himalayas with a height of 5,334 metre or 17,500 feet.
• It is an International mountain pass between India, China and Nepal.

Nepalese claims

• The Nepalese claims to the southern side of the pass, called Kalapani territory, are based on 1816 Sagauli Treaty between British East India Company and Nepal. The treaty delimited the boundary along the Kali River (also called the Sharda River and Mahakali River).
• India claims that the river begins at the Kalapani village as this is where all its tributaries merge. But Nepal claims that it begins from the Lipulekh Pass.
• The historical record shows that, sometime around 1865, the British shifted the border near Kalapani to the watershed of the Kalapani river instead of the river itself, thereby claiming the area now called the Kalapani territory. This is consistent with the British position that the Kali River begins only from the Kalapani springs, which meant that the agreement of Sugauli did not apply to the region above the springs.

Kali River

• It is also known as Sharda River or Kali Ganga in Uttarakhand.
• It joins Ghagra river in Uttar Pradesh, which is a tributary of Ganga.
• River Projects: Tanakpur hydro-electric project, Chameliya hydro-electric project, Sharda Barrage.