Kathmandu, Nepal, November 19, 2019: The government has not paid heed to what is happening in the border areas though the every section of the society has sought response from the government over the recent border dispute between Nepal and India. The Prime Minister Oli and some leaders of the government allies used to issue strongly-worded statements regarding encroachment in Kalapani, but little headway is made yet on the political and diplomatic front as per the interests of the Nepali people along the border with India including Kalapani.
There are now widespread protests against the Indian move. Political parties, media and the general public are all up in arms against the Indian move. But the government has not taken any political and diplomatic initiative officially even though the India has already brought its new political map including the Kalapani region, which includes Kalapani, Lipulek and Limpiyadhura, which belongs to Nepal, in its territory. Till the date, there has been no diplomatic push from the government side.
As the government has not paid its heed to take initiative on time, severe consequences are likely in the front of bilateral relationship between the neighboring countries- Nepal and India. As the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 AD has clearly delimited the Kalapani area of Nepal, the there is no reason to hesitate or to by time to initiate dialogue with the India.
According to the concerned experts and local people of the region, India has encroached 335 square kilometers Nepali land in Limpiyadhura where as 62 square kilometers in Kalapani and Lipulek area alone. Till the date, however, such a political map was not brought into publication.
Since, Nepal and India share 1,758 kilometre-long porous borders, there are border disputes in as many as 71 places including the Kalapani and Susta region. The people living in the disputed border sides have repeatedly been saying that India has been encroaching upon Nepali land continuously even relocating the pillars hoisted to divide the border between the two countries.
The Sugauli Treaty of 1816 AD has clearly delimited the area of Nepal of 147,181 square meters shrinking its territory from an area of 204,917 square meters in the past. But the delimited area of Nepal has also continuously been shrinking, which is estimated of about two percent, thanks to the apathy shown from the Nepali side.
Responding the widespread pressure for appropriate and immediate response over the border disputes, the Prime Minister KO Oli urged India to withdraw its Army from the Kalapani. But it is unlikely that Indian troops would leave Kalapani so easily by responding to the urge of the Prime Minister Oli made while delivering a speech.
Being the stable government backed with two-third majority strength, the government should have initiated a high level dialogue considering to the fact that the existing foreign secretary-level mechanism and foreign minister-level commission may not be capable of resolving the issue.
The blame of apathy does not go solely to the incumbent government because the India had begun to occupy the Nepali land since Sino-Indian War in 1962 in the Kalapani region. As the Kalapani is the tri-junction of Nepal, India and China, Indian forced had crossed the Kali River, the border between Nepal and India and stationed its forces there in Kalapni in 1962 during the Sino-Indian War.
However, the government has to take immediate initiation to resolve the issue through the high level dialogue in the diplomatic and political level before internationalizing the issue as India has attempted to capture the Nepali land officially by including on its political map.
