What is Lipulekh and why is it at centre of India-Nepal border dispute? Explained

Lipulekh is once again in the news after Nepal's new Prime Minister, Balendra Shah, said on Sunday, May 31, that he learned of his country “encroaching” on territories in India as he took questions on the decades-old dispute with India. Speaking on the disputed locations, including Lipulekh, Shah informed Parliament that a diplomatic note has been sent to India over “encroachment” of territories.

When asked by a lawmaker about the government's view on the dispute over the Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani areas, Balendra Shah said that not just India but Nepal too has “encroached” on Indian territory at many places.

“You will be surprised to know about a fact, which I have learnt recently, only after becoming the Prime Minister. It is not only India that has encroached Nepalese territories, but Nepal has also encroached India's territories in many places,” he said.

Hoping to sit with India to resolve the dispute, Balendra Shah said, “Now both countries should study the facts and sit together as friends and resolve the issue.”

While India has not yet responded to Nepal's ‘diplomatic note’, New Delhi had earlier this month rejected Nepal's objection to the upcoming Kailash Mansarovar Yatra through the long-established Lipulekh Pass.

India had dismissed Kathmandu's territorial claims over the region as an "unilateral artificial enlargement" that New Delhi finds “untenable.”

Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had then said that the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra has been taking place since 1954 through this route. “This is not new. So that is where it is. It is not a new development….If there are boundary issues, we are ready to discuss them as well. But making a unilateral claim is not the right way,” he had said.

Why have India and Nepal been locked in a dispute over Lipulekh?

Nepal and India have long had a boundary dispute over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani, with both countries claiming the areas. India maintains that the territories are part of Uttarakhand and has said the issue should be addressed through bilateral dialogue.

Lipulekh Pass is located at the trijunction of India, Nepal, and China.

The main dispute between India and Nepal concerns the location of the Kali River, which is recognised as the natural border between the two countries.

During the signing of the Sugauli Treaty of 1816, it ceded all territory west of the Kali River. According to a report in the Indian Express, Nepal has maintained that the river originates from a stream at Limpiyadhura, located northwest of Lipulekh. Thus, Kalapani, Limpiyadhura, and Lipulekh lie east of the river and form part of the Nepali territory.

New Delhi has maintained that the river originates in springs below the pass, and historical records show Kalapani has long been part of Pithoragarh district in present-day Uttarakhand.

(With agency inputs)