The neighboring country, Nepal, committed such an act again, which caused resentment in India. In fact, the government showed the inclusion of Indian parts of Uttarakhand in the 100 rupee note. These notes are printed by a Chinese company, which also smacks of conspiracy in intentions. Both India and Nepal continued to claim the disputed area of about 372 square kilometers. Although these areas are included in Pithoragarh of Uttarakhand.
China’s own choice of the new currency raises questions. The Central Bank of Kathmandu awarded the contract to Chinese company China Banknote Printing and Minting Corporation to print 100 rupee notes. This includes everything from redesigning banknotes to printing and supply. Its 300 million copies will go to Nepal. That means that there will be this note in almost the entire country. The long-term monetary agreement will include a new map of Nepal, which will also include disputed areas.
This decision was taken in May this year during the Pushp Kamal Dahal government. Let us tell you that the Central Bank of Kathmandu has the right to change the design of banknotes, but for this it needs the approval of the government. Now the news that the same banknotes will be issued even after the change of government is worrying. Recall that during Covid, Nepal had also published a new political map, which included Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani. Even then India had strongly opposed it.
The border dispute between Nepal and India is more than a hundred years old, when the Sugauli Treaty was signed between the two countries. At that time India was under British occupation. There is a valley in the border area with India, Nepal and China, which is also the source of the Kali River that runs through Nepal and India. This area is also called Kalapani. The Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura passes are located here.
According to the treaty, the borders of both countries were decided according to the crossing of the Kali River. According to this, the western part of the river was considered to belong to India, while the eastern part belonged to Nepal. So far it is fine, but there was a dispute between both countries regarding the origin of the river. On this basis, both Kathmandu and New Delhi continued to claim Kalapani. Although the disputed areas of all three have been administratively part of India for decades.
The three areas – Kalapani, Limpiyadhura and Lipulekh are part of Pithoragarh in Kumaon of Uttarakhand. The people here are Indian citizens, they have these identity cards and they still pay taxes in India.
In recent years, Nepal has fueled this controversy. In the year 2020, it introduced a new political map and showed the three areas on its map. Let us tell you that in these few years Nepal’s dependence on China has also increased. It has now also signed an agreement with China over the disputed currency; Nepal is believed to be taking such measures under pressure and influence from China. But what is China’s benefit in this?
India’s border dispute with China is already continuing. Furthermore, both countries are also competitors with each other on the economic front. For a long time, China has been trying to accommodate more or less all of India’s neighboring countries, be it Pakistan, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka. It creates its influence in those countries by granting loans and then inflames tension with India. The same assumption is made in the case of Nepal.
Last time, when communist leader KP Oli became Prime Minister of Nepal, China’s interference in Kathmandu had also increased. He invested a huge amount of money in Nepal in the name of infrastructure. But the real intention behind doing this was different. Some time ago, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, after Nepal’s objection to India’s construction of a road in Lipulekh, said that Nepal was being misled. It is not difficult to guess who this gesture is directed towards.
The disputed area extends over approximately 335 square kilometers. Despite not being such a large area, it is important because it is located at the crossroads of India, Nepal and China. This was a very important area for India from a strategic point of view. From here it is easy to follow the movements of the Chinese army. Keeping this in mind, India had deployed its army here during the 1960s war. Even now, the Indo-Tibetan border police are deployed here from a strategic point of view.
Due to shared borders, there was a border dispute between Nepal and China, although it was soon resolved. During the fifties and sixties the borders of both were not properly defined. There was confusion on the part of China regarding the boundaries of the Tibet region and the northern region of Nepal. During the sixties, talks began between the two to end the dispute and the boundary treaty was signed. In this treaty, the borders of both countries were clearly marked and marks were made across them so that there was no room for error.
