Placing the Kalapani region in Nepal’s Darchula district within Indian borders as shown in a new map created by the Indian Home Ministry has ignited a storm in on social media.
Kalapani, a 35-square kilometer area claimed by both India and Nepal, has been embroiled in controversy since mid-1996, shortly after the ratification of the Mahakali Treaty with India by Nepal’s Parliament.
A majority of netizens, both of Indian and Nepali origin, have questioned this development.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry of Nepal has made it clear that Kalapani is an integral part of the Himalayan nation. The ministry said that any unilateral actions along the Nepal-India border will be unacceptable to the Nepal government since the foreign secretaries of the two countries have already been assigned by the Nepal-India Joint Commission to find a solution on unresolved border disputes in consultation with border experts.
A Nepal Parliament committee (State Affairs and Good Governance Committee) is aware of the new map and has demanded an explanation from concerned government ministries.
Officials from the foreign affairs, home and land reform and management ministries, besides the survey department, are likely to depose before the parliamentary committee on Thursday.
The Indian government released the new political map after it formally split Jammu and Kashmir State into two central government-administered Union Territories on 31 October.
The 1816 Segauli Treaty between Britain and Nepal provided that the Kali River would mark the western border between India and Nepal. Kalapani lies on its east bank. India asserts that old British surveys and maps show this section to be a part of India. Nepal has staked its claim for all the area east of the Lipu Gad, a rivulet that joins the Kali River on its border.