Farazi Azmal Hossain :
Regardless of the small to large almost all the countries of the world are spending their days in anxiety due to the terrible coronavirus. In this crisis period, the war situation in the neighboring countries has caused additional concern for Bangladesh. India and China have already clashed at least twice in the past few days. If full-fledged war breaks out, no one will be at peace. The whole subcontinent will suffer. Indo-China war means Bangladesh is also in the face of gunpowder. Another biggest concern for Bangladesh is the geopolitical conflict between India and Nepal.
Since the signing of the cooperation agreement between India and Nepal in the 1950s, the economy of Nepal has largely been dependent on India’s aid and cooperation. Besides, India continued to offer jobs to Nepalese citizens in Indian Army and Para Military Forces. Nationals of both the countries can travel both countries freely. Nepalese do not require any work permit in India. India, a country of 1.3 billion people is very positive to Nepal which has a population of only 29 million. After independence in 1947 many in Nepal and the world thought that India might annex the Himalayan nation. But India had refrained from that.
Bangladesh also has very good relations with Nepal for multiple reasons. It is the only country in South Asia with which Bangladesh has a trade surplus. Bangladesh exported goods worth $38.04 million to Nepal during 2019-2020. In recent times Nepal has shown very keen interest to use Bangladesh’s Syedpur Airport for their import and export business. They are also allowed to use transit facilities via Bangladesh. On the other, Bangladesh has a plan to import 9,000 megawatts electricity from Nepal to mitigate the increasing demand of electricity by 2040. In the first phase 500 MW electricity would be imported through Indian grid system. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed and finalised with Nepal and Bangladesh to set up an India-Bangladesh-Nepal railway line.
Kankrabhita in Nepal and Banglabandha in Bangladesh, both land ports will be significant routes for trade between Bangladesh and Nepal through Siliguri in West Bengal, India. Hence, Bangladesh will lose lot of trade opportunities with Nepal if Indo- Nepal relations face trouble.
Nepal’s energy export to the third countries was made possible after India amended its cross-border power trading regulation in December last year, paving the way for power producers in Nepal to sell energy not only to India but to other countries as well.
Bangladesh has also shown interest in investing in Nepal’s hydropower projects. It has been urging the government to provide opportunity to invest about USD 1 billion in such project and export electricity to Bangladesh.
Energy from Nepal will be exported to Bangladesh through NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited, an Indian-government owned company, following the terms and conditions of the Indian regulatory commission. But recent tensions over the border dispute between Nepal and India have pushed Bangladesh into a new dilemma.
On 20 May 2020, Nepal released a new map of its own territory that for the first time claimed all the area up to the Kuti Yangti river, including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The Nepalese maps show this area, measuring 335 square kilometres as part of Nepal’s Darchula District. The lower house of Nepal’s Parliament recently approved a new map of the country, including areas disputed with India. Later, on Thursday 18th June 2020, The Upper House of Nepal’s Parliament passed the new Map Amendment Bill. On the same day, Nepal’s President Bidhya Devi Bhandari ratified the Bill. After her approval, the bill will now be incorporated in the Constitution. Nepal published its revised map in May after India inaugurated an 80km (50 miles) road connecting its northern Uttarakhand state with Lipulekh on the border with Tibet that passes through the land Nepal says belongs to it. Nepal claims that the river to the west of Kalapani as the main Kali River, hence it belongs to Nepal. The river borders the Nepalese district of Darchula in the Sudurpashchim Pradesh province and the Indian district of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand state.
The move signals a hardening of Nepal’s position over a decades-long border dispute that has strained ties between the South Asian neighbors. Responding to the development, India had said that this artificial enlargement of claims is not tenable.
However, Treaty of Sugauli signed by Nepal and British India on 3 March 1816 locates the Kali River as Nepal’s western boundary with India. Subsequent maps drawn by British surveyors show the source of the boundary river at different places. This discrepancy in locating the source of the river led to boundary disputes between India and Nepal, with each country producing maps supporting their own claims. The Kali River runs through an area that includes a disputed area of about 400 km2 around the source of the river, although the exact size of the disputed area varies from source to source. Kalapani has been controlled by India’s Indo-Tibetan Border Police since the Sino-Indian War with China in 1962.
In November 2019, there was a protest in Kathmandu opposing a new map of India showing Kalapani as part of Indian state of Uttarakhand. On 20 May 2020, Nepal launched its own map showing Kalapani as parts of its own territory. On 10 June 2020, the Nepali parliament moved to approve a new map and revision of the national emblem which includes territory in India’s Uttarakhand state.
The Treaty of Sugauli of 1816 A. D. between the two sides in order to stop the Nepal-British War set the east-west boundary of Nepal. In some places, boundary disputes appear when the provision of this treaty formed about 200 years ago was not practically obeyed. This was contradicted by the fact when Nepal’s terrain was placed on the political map of India drawn by the Survey of India. The map clearly shows the encroachment of 372 square km area on the western border of Nepal. According to Article Five of the Sugauli Treaty between Nepal and the East India Company, the Kali River is the western boundary of Nepal with India. According to a map drawn by the East India Company ten years after the Sugauli Treaty, the river with the Limpiadhura estuary is the Kali River.
The territory represents 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 Uttarakhand and Tinkar valley.
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. This is a position dating back to British India c.?1865.
Nepal has another pass, the Tinkar Pass (or “Tinkar Lipu”), close to the area. 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. The Nepalese protests regarding the Kalapani territory started in 1997, after India and China agreed to reopen the Lipulekh pass.
A joint technical committee of Indian and Nepalese officials has been discussing the issue since 1998, along with other border issues. But the matter has not yet been resolved.
Hence, Nepal will face immense problems if it tries to reduce the importance of India in their daily lives/economy. This will also be a problem for Bangladesh as it will not be able to increase trade with Nepal through India. So, cordial relations between Nepal and India is a necessity for Bangladesh and Nepal from economic point of view and Nepal should not try to weaken that relationship.
(Writer is a journalist)
Regardless of the small to large almost all the countries of the world are spending their days in anxiety due to the terrible coronavirus. In this crisis period, the war situation in the neighboring countries has caused additional concern for Bangladesh. India and China have already clashed at least twice in the past few days. If full-fledged war breaks out, no one will be at peace. The whole subcontinent will suffer. Indo-China war means Bangladesh is also in the face of gunpowder. Another biggest concern for Bangladesh is the geopolitical conflict between India and Nepal.
Since the signing of the cooperation agreement between India and Nepal in the 1950s, the economy of Nepal has largely been dependent on India’s aid and cooperation. Besides, India continued to offer jobs to Nepalese citizens in Indian Army and Para Military Forces. Nationals of both the countries can travel both countries freely. Nepalese do not require any work permit in India. India, a country of 1.3 billion people is very positive to Nepal which has a population of only 29 million. After independence in 1947 many in Nepal and the world thought that India might annex the Himalayan nation. But India had refrained from that.
Bangladesh also has very good relations with Nepal for multiple reasons. It is the only country in South Asia with which Bangladesh has a trade surplus. Bangladesh exported goods worth $38.04 million to Nepal during 2019-2020. In recent times Nepal has shown very keen interest to use Bangladesh’s Syedpur Airport for their import and export business. They are also allowed to use transit facilities via Bangladesh. On the other, Bangladesh has a plan to import 9,000 megawatts electricity from Nepal to mitigate the increasing demand of electricity by 2040. In the first phase 500 MW electricity would be imported through Indian grid system. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed and finalised with Nepal and Bangladesh to set up an India-Bangladesh-Nepal railway line.
Kankrabhita in Nepal and Banglabandha in Bangladesh, both land ports will be significant routes for trade between Bangladesh and Nepal through Siliguri in West Bengal, India. Hence, Bangladesh will lose lot of trade opportunities with Nepal if Indo- Nepal relations face trouble.
Nepal’s energy export to the third countries was made possible after India amended its cross-border power trading regulation in December last year, paving the way for power producers in Nepal to sell energy not only to India but to other countries as well.
Bangladesh has also shown interest in investing in Nepal’s hydropower projects. It has been urging the government to provide opportunity to invest about USD 1 billion in such project and export electricity to Bangladesh.
Energy from Nepal will be exported to Bangladesh through NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Limited, an Indian-government owned company, following the terms and conditions of the Indian regulatory commission. But recent tensions over the border dispute between Nepal and India have pushed Bangladesh into a new dilemma.
On 20 May 2020, Nepal released a new map of its own territory that for the first time claimed all the area up to the Kuti Yangti river, including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The Nepalese maps show this area, measuring 335 square kilometres as part of Nepal’s Darchula District. The lower house of Nepal’s Parliament recently approved a new map of the country, including areas disputed with India. Later, on Thursday 18th June 2020, The Upper House of Nepal’s Parliament passed the new Map Amendment Bill. On the same day, Nepal’s President Bidhya Devi Bhandari ratified the Bill. After her approval, the bill will now be incorporated in the Constitution. Nepal published its revised map in May after India inaugurated an 80km (50 miles) road connecting its northern Uttarakhand state with Lipulekh on the border with Tibet that passes through the land Nepal says belongs to it. Nepal claims that the river to the west of Kalapani as the main Kali River, hence it belongs to Nepal. The river borders the Nepalese district of Darchula in the Sudurpashchim Pradesh province and the Indian district of Pithoragarh in Uttarakhand state.
The move signals a hardening of Nepal’s position over a decades-long border dispute that has strained ties between the South Asian neighbors. Responding to the development, India had said that this artificial enlargement of claims is not tenable.
However, Treaty of Sugauli signed by Nepal and British India on 3 March 1816 locates the Kali River as Nepal’s western boundary with India. Subsequent maps drawn by British surveyors show the source of the boundary river at different places. This discrepancy in locating the source of the river led to boundary disputes between India and Nepal, with each country producing maps supporting their own claims. The Kali River runs through an area that includes a disputed area of about 400 km2 around the source of the river, although the exact size of the disputed area varies from source to source. Kalapani has been controlled by India’s Indo-Tibetan Border Police since the Sino-Indian War with China in 1962.
In November 2019, there was a protest in Kathmandu opposing a new map of India showing Kalapani as part of Indian state of Uttarakhand. On 20 May 2020, Nepal launched its own map showing Kalapani as parts of its own territory. On 10 June 2020, the Nepali parliament moved to approve a new map and revision of the national emblem which includes territory in India’s Uttarakhand state.
The Treaty of Sugauli of 1816 A. D. between the two sides in order to stop the Nepal-British War set the east-west boundary of Nepal. In some places, boundary disputes appear when the provision of this treaty formed about 200 years ago was not practically obeyed. This was contradicted by the fact when Nepal’s terrain was placed on the political map of India drawn by the Survey of India. The map clearly shows the encroachment of 372 square km area on the western border of Nepal. According to Article Five of the Sugauli Treaty between Nepal and the East India Company, the Kali River is the western boundary of Nepal with India. According to a map drawn by the East India Company ten years after the Sugauli Treaty, the river with the Limpiadhura estuary is the Kali River.
The territory represents 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 Uttarakhand and Tinkar valley.
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. This is a position dating back to British India c.?1865.
Nepal has another pass, the Tinkar Pass (or “Tinkar Lipu”), close to the area. 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. The Nepalese protests regarding the Kalapani territory started in 1997, after India and China agreed to reopen the Lipulekh pass.
A joint technical committee of Indian and Nepalese officials has been discussing the issue since 1998, along with other border issues. But the matter has not yet been resolved.
Hence, Nepal will face immense problems if it tries to reduce the importance of India in their daily lives/economy. This will also be a problem for Bangladesh as it will not be able to increase trade with Nepal through India. So, cordial relations between Nepal and India is a necessity for Bangladesh and Nepal from economic point of view and Nepal should not try to weaken that relationship.
(Writer is a journalist)
