Nepal shocks India with new political map

KATHMANDU: Nepal has released a new political map that includes a small stretch of disputed land, toughening its stance on a decades-long row over the territory with India.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali told The Associated Press in an interview on Tuesday that requests to talk were made in November and December last year, and again in May. “We have expressed time and again that Nepal wants to sit at the table to resolve this problem,” Gyawali said.

The government led by Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli had issued a new political map of Nepal that showed the disputed territory within its borders. The land dispute strained relations between the South Asian neighbour for decades.

The new map that shows a sliver of land – including Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani – jutting out from the northwestern tip of Nepal was made public on May 20 by Land Management Minister Padma Aryal, who said the occasion was “historically pleasant” for Nepal and its people, according to Al-Jazeera.

The Oli government also introduced a constitutional amendment bill in Parliament to secure approval for the new map, said a report in Nepal’s The Kathmandu Post newspaper on Tuesday. The report said the bill was welcomed by opposition legislators too, who said the map incorporated land that belongs to Nepal.

The latest border dispute reemerged between the countries after India’s inauguration last month of a Himalayan link road built in a disputed region that lies at a strategic three-way junction with Tibet and China.

On the other hand, the Indian government has not shown any interest to hold dialogues with Nepal over the disputed land in the name coronavirus pandemic.

Nepal has long claimed the disputed areas of Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh in accordance with the 1816 Sugauli treaty with the British Raj.