Oli’s brinkmanship

Dahal may be on the throne, but it is clear who is setting the rules of the game.

In June 2020, Nepal’s Parliament ratified a new political map of the country, including geographical territories that were and still remain under the control of India. While some areas in the new map, especially the Kalapani region, were already a subject of dispute between the two countries, the communist government under Khadga Prasad Oli used its two-third parliamentary majority to include areas as far as Limpiyadhura unilaterally. For those who care to look at historical evidence, Nepal had never asserted its claim over Limpiyadhura, which was a territory lost after the Sugauli treaty of 1816. It was only in context to the existing dispute over the origin of the Kali river, which forms an international boundary in the treaty, that Nepal has claimed the Kalapani region and Lipulekh as its territory. India is cognisant of Nepal’s claim, and there is a joint committee looking at these boundary claims, with dialogue also happening at the Foreign Ministry level.