The Central Bank of Nepal 'Nepal Rashtra Bank' has given a contract to a Chinese company to print the new Nepalese note of 100 rupees. According to news agency PTI, the map on these notes shows Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani areas of India as part of Nepal. There has been a dispute between India and Nepal over this area for almost 35 years.
According to the report, China's 'Bank Note Printing and Minting Corporation' company has got the contract to print the notes. A Chinese company will print 30 crore copies of Nepali currency notes. This will cost about 75 crore Indian rupees. That is, the cost of printing 1 Nepali note of 100 rupees will be around 2.50 Indian rupees.
The Nepal government approved the change in May In Nepal, the Nepal National Bank has the right to change the design of the notes. However, for this they have to take permission from the government. Nepal's cabinet approved the change in the design of the note in May this year.
At that time Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda was the prime minister of Nepal. KP Sharma Oli was supporting this government. On 12 July, Oli withdrew support from the formidable government. Now he is the PM of Nepal. He is being supported by Nepali Congress leader and former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Nepal released a new political map of the country on 18 June 2020. In which Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani were shown as part of Nepal. For this, the constitution of Nepal was also changed. At that time, the Indian government opposed this step of Nepal, calling it unilateral.
These 100 rupee notes are currently in circulation in Nepal. (File photo)
The Indo-Nepal border is determined by two rivers Bordering India, Nepal and China, this area is a valley formed by Himalayan rivers, which is the source of the Kali or Mahakali River, which flows through Nepal and India. This area is also called Kalapani. Lipulekh Pass is also here. At some distance to the north-west from here is another pass called Limpiyadhura.
In the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 between the British and the Gorkha Raja of Nepal, the border between India and Nepal was determined by the Kali River. Under the agreement, the area west of the Kali River was considered Indian territory, while the area east of the river became Nepal's.
There is a dispute between the two countries over the origin of the Kali River, i.e. where it first originates. India considers the eastern current to be the origin of the river Kali. While Nepal considers the western stream as the main stream and based on that both the countries have their own claims on the Kalapani area.
Mansarovar Yatra passes through Lipulekh pass, it is easy to keep an eye on the Chinese army
- Limpiyadhura-Kalapani-Lipulekh is part of Pithoragarh district of Kumaon division of Uttarakhand. These three areas are spread over 370 square kilometers. People living here have Indian citizenship and pay taxes only in India.
- Kalapani in Pithoradh district of Uttarakhand is at the tri-junction between India, Tibet and Nepal. So this is strategically very important place. India can easily monitor the Chinese army from Kalapani.
- India deployed its army here for the first time in the 1962 war. Considering the importance of the area, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is stationed here these days.
- At the same time Lipulekh Pass connects Uttarakhand with Tibet. Pilgrims going to Mansarovar from India pass through Lipulekh Pass. After the Chinese attack in 1962, India closed the Lipulekh pass.
- It was reopened in 2015 to facilitate trade with China and Mansarovar Yatra.
- In May 2020, India inaugurated a new 80 km long road from Pithoragarh to Lipulekh Pass to facilitate the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, which Nepal expressed displeasure at.
- Nepal's claim to the Limpiyadhura Pass area stems from its claim to Kalapani. It is located adjacent to India near the urban border of Tibet.
China's hand behind provoking Nepal After the treaty with the British, there was no dispute over the area for nearly 100 years. India deployed its army in this area in 1962 to prevent Chinese invasion. Indian Army is still stationed in many parts of this area.
As Nepal transitioned from monarchy to democracy in the 1990s, voices of protest over the area began to rise.
The controversy deepened in 2015 when communist leader KP Oli became the Prime Minister of Nepal. Oli increased Nepal's closeness with China instead of India, its traditional friend.
In return, China invested billions of dollars in various projects in Nepal, but China's real intention behind doing this was to incite Nepal, which has been close to India for centuries, against India.
Last year, the country's army chief MM Naravane said that Nepal is doing this under someone else's influence. Naravane was pointing towards China.
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh also said in a script after Nepal's objections to India's road construction that Nepal has been misled on the issue.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
