India's new ambassador to Kathmandu, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, was today summoned before Nepal's foreign minister Pradeep Gyawali and handed a diplomatic note on the Himalayan country's position regarding border issues.
The move follows Nepal's objection on Saturday to the construction and virtual inauguration of an 80 km road from Dharchula in Uttarakhand to Lipulekh Pass, at a height of 17,000 feet. This road will cut short the journey of pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar and is less dangerous than the routes presently used from Sikkim and from Nepal.
Nepal is also reportedly considering deploying more security forces along its border with India. Gyawali, however, has stressed that the country wants a diplomatic resolution to the problem.
Lipulekh is disputed territory, with both India and Nepal making claims to it.
Two days ago, Nepal issued a press note stating that, as per the Sugauli Treaty (1816), all territories east of the Kali (Mahakali) river, including Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh belonged to Nepal. India, however, had dismissed the claim. Ministry of external affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava had stated that the road lay completely within Indian territory and followed a pre-existing route used by pilgrims to Kailash Mansarovar.
"Under the present project, the same road has been made pliable for the ease and convenience of pilgrims, locals and traders,'' he stated.
He added that the two countries had established a mechanism to deal with all boundary matters and that the boundary delineation exercise with Nepal was ongoing. "Both sides are also in the process of scheduling foreign secretary-level talks which will be held after the two societies and governments have successfully dealt with the challenge of COVID-19 emergency," the spokesperson added.
The dispute over claim to this territory is an old one, but in recent times it flared up when in November, India released new political maps to show the brand new union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh following the abrogation of Article 370. The map also showed the Kalapani region as this side of the Indian border. Nepal had raised an objection at that time, too, and Gyawali had stated that the Nepal government was committed to protecting its external orders and determined on its "principled position" that such border disputes with neighbouring countries should be resolved through diplomatic channels "after assessing historical documents, facts and evidence.”
Lipulekh has been a sore point with Nepal even before the maps were released. In 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited China, the two countries signed an agreement to use Lipulekh Pass as a bilateral trade route, and Nepal was outraged that neither side had consulted it. Some observers, however, feel that Nepal's recent actions could have been on the instigation of China.
The KP Sharma Oli-led government in Nepal has a distinct China tilt, and Modi's brand of diplomacy has caused a lot of stress in bilateral relations with Nepal. The memory of then foreign secretary (now external affairs minister S. Jaishankar) visiting Kathmandu in September 2015 to express New Delhi's displeasure with the Himalayan nation's new constitution, which India felt was not in favour of Madhesis, who share strong cultural and familial ties with India, still rankles in Kathmandu.
Nepal saw Jaishankar's visit as an affront to its sovereignty, and all the goodwill India generated by being the first responder to the earthquake which had hit the country earlier that year was lost. In fact, matters only worsened with a subsequent blockade of trucks at border points. Given Nepal's heavy dependency on supplies from India, it was a bleak winter that year, for which India was squarely blamed.
Next year, Oli blamed India for trying to topple him from power in favour of India centric Prachanda. Oli is now in power, with a strong majority, and though he has made a show of improving relations, beneath the surface, a lot of discontent continues to simmer.
There are other pending issues. One is the Eminent Person's Group report on India-Nepal relations, which India has not yet accepted. The report was drafted by eight members, four from each country, but New Delhi has not yet received it. "They had asked Modi for some time even before the last general election in India. Yet, he has not had the time,'' said a member of the Nepal Communist Party. Gyawali said that Nepal was ready to receive the report and implement its recommendations, which would also help address the outstanding issues left by history.
Incidentally, Nepal's current envoy to India, Nilambar Acharya, was a member of the EPG.
Then, there is the baggage from the days of demonetisation in 2016. Nepal had a lot of Indian currency, which it is alleged the Indian government did not exchange, resulting in a huge loss to the country.
"Pending issues should be resolved as soon as possible through dialogue in the light of our age-old and friendly ties between two countries,'' says Bishnu Rijal, NCP Central committee member.