Boundary of Nepal

(International Boundary of Nepal with India and China)
 

Author:
Buddhi Narayan Shrestha
Managing Director
Bhumichitra Mapping Company
Copyright (c) 2000 by Buddhi N. Shrestha
E-mail: border@wlink.com.np

 

Published by :
Bhumichitra Mapping Company
P. O. Box  6769
Kathmandu, Nepal
E-mail: border@wlink.com.np

First Edition :  13 September 2000
ISBN  99933-564-0-9
 

Printed in :
United Graphic Printers Ltd.
New Plaza Ramshah Path
Kathmandu, Nepal

Nepal Ko Simana   "Boundary of Nepal “ – A book that deals with the Nepalese boundary with India and China. It has 550 pages with 20 maps plus 12 pages of publisher’s note, preface and content. It is written principally in Nepalese (Devanagari script) with 96 pages in English. The book describes, analyzes and presents views on the border issues of Nepal with India and also some issues with China. The book is useful for the researchers, scholars and laymen who are interested to know the issues and information on the current border problems of Nepal. The book is released on 13 September 2000.
 
 

Boundary Background :
Kingdom of Nepal is encircled with the total boundary line of  2,889.47 km  as :

• 1,111.47 km adjoined with China and
• 1,778.00 km (+30 km Limpiyadhura sector) with India:
• Land boundary as : 1,213 km
• River boundary as :    565 km  (Kali 200 km, Mechi 80 km, Narayani 20 km, Rapti 6 km and 259 km other rivers) makes 60 rivers, streams and rivulets in total.

• Greater Nepal (Tista - Kangra)              4,816 line km                   367,575  sq. km
• Nepal the then (Tista - Sutlej)                3,776 line km                    204,917  sq. km
• Present Nepal (Mechi - Mahakali)         2,889 line km                    147,181  sq. km

1. Boundary line of the Kingdom of Nepal During Various Era :
    First three chapters have been dealt on -

• the geographical birth of Nepal, during the era of King Prithvi Narayan Shah the Great.
• historical boundary of Greater Nepal: extended from Tista to Kangra.
• boundary during Sugauli Treaty of 1816 : one third of the territory was lost.
• boundary after Sugauli Treaty : restoration of some parts of the frontier.
• boundary delimitation and demarcation in the context of international boundary principles.
• demarcation of riverian sector : especially the westernmost border river Kali.
• preparation of the boundary maps of Nepal was started from the end of 1816.
• boundary maps of Kalapani area from 1816 to 1881 and subsequent maps of other areas have been interpreted and spelled out as : what all these maps tell about the border issues of Nepal!
• boundary delimitation and demarcation of Nepal in the context of international boundary principles.
• demarcation of riverian sectors, as stated in the international law.

• the northern boundary line of 1775/  1789/  1792/  1856/  1961/  1963/  1979/  1988 etc.
• the southern boundary line of 1801/  1815/  1816/  1860/  1875 etc.

3. Boundary demarcation :
    Fifth chapter has been named as Boundary Demarcation and it has seven different titles such as :

• the role of mapping on boundary demarcation = To show physical and man made features, such as concrete pillars.
• segment from Brahmadeo Mandi to the origin of the river Kali is yet to be demarcated.
• boundary pillar as the guard of the nation = Junge masonry pillar is the live on the spot at Mechi area.
• boundary maps as the burning proof of the boundary line = Map of Gurhwal Kumaon 1827 shows Limpiyadhura as the origin of the river Kali.
• where lies the Nepal-India-China trijunction point? = At the origin of the river Kali.
• business of Nepal-India Joint Technical Level Boundary Committee since the last 18 years and Nepal-China Joint Boundary Committee and inspection teams = Mentioned in the tabular form.

Eighth and ninth chapters  deal on border issues, disputes and encroachments. It has described and presented the issues and problems; analyzed it on point to point basis and expressed views with the suggestions to solve the problems. Some of the issues have been raised as :

• Kalapani border issue : what is the purpose? = 372 sq. km. of land has been encroached by India.
• what is Mechi river dispute? = controversy of 209 hectares of land.
• What is Susta dispute? = conflict of 150 hectares of land.
• where is the origin of the river Kali : whether it is originated from Limpiyadhura or Lipulek or an artificial pond!
• Mechi as the bargaining item to Kalapani issue.
• India has encroached the Nepalese territory in 53 places. = 589 sq. km. approx.
• open border between Nepal and India : whether it should continue the open border system or it            needs controlled border between  two countries.
• what are the suggestions to solve the border management? = needs equal participation from both the countries to introduce new system.

• why there was no confrontation during Nepal-China boundary demarcation, though there were disputes in 35 places?
• Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) was claimed by China = solved in the Prime-ministerial level.
• northern boundary of Nepal had crossed watershed of the Himalayan range = before Nepal-China Boundary Treaty of 1961.
• how was the shape of the northern boundary line of Nepal before the treaty of 1961 etc. = some changes in the pastureland, sparse settlement and snowland.

5. Collection of boundary Treaties, Agreements and Engagements :
 

Nepal-India Boundary Treaties from 1801 (with East India Company) to 1950.

Nepal-India Peace and Friendship Treaty, including letters to acquire and exchange the land for Sharada (Mahakali) dam construction.

Nepal-China Boundary Treaties from 1775 (with Tibet) to 1988.

Nepal-China Boundary  Protocols of 1963 / 1979 and 1988.

Notes on the third session of Nepal-China Boundary Second Joint Inspection Committee.

• Kalapani, A motionless move.
• Issue of Kalapani/Limpiyadhura: the north-western border of Nepal.
• There is a boundary line even on the sky.
• Seventeen years on Nepal-India boundary demarcation.
• India wants to see the proof of Kalapani.
• Let us reach to the origin of the river Kali.
• At last, mouth is opened on Kalapani issue
• Encroachment on no-man's land (ten-yard) area.
• Status of masonry boundary (Junge) Pillar.
• Mechi and Susta border issues etc.

7. Maps and Tables :

Tables of data on Nepal-India and Nepal-China Boundary Committees as : date and number of joint meetings and name of the leaders of technical committees etc have been tabulated = (22 joint meetings in 18 years with India).

Number of demarcation segments as : 913 boundary pillars in 10 segments with India and 79 pillars in 13 segments with China.

Area provided from Nepal to China and China to Nepal as : 302.75 sq. km of land was gained by Nepal.

List of border maps :  name of 42 maps have been mentioned with date in tabular form.

included in the book :  twenty maps of Nepal Boundary from 1816 to 1941 especially of Kalapani area.

COVER PAGE :

• The cover page has a background of five physiographic regions of Nepal with major rivers : Tarai plain in the south, low hills of Siwalik (Churia) range, middle mountain, high mountain and high himal  to the northern border.
• Besides, demarcation and delimitation of international boundary lines have been drawn with different cartographic symbols on the front and back cover pages.
• Condition of masonry boundary pillars have been depicted. Some of these main boundary (Junge) pillars are intact and a few of them are ruined, misplaced and missing, whereas some other reinforced cement concrete (RCC) pillars are not in position.
• In some places, international boundary line between Nepal and India is blurred with the construction of houses and dam.
• No-man's-land (each ten yards width on both the sides) of some segments have been encroached by cultivation, aforestation and pulling out the boundary pillars.
• Pillars on Nepal-China boundary line have been shown sequential and managed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Buddhi Narayan Shrestha holds Master Degree (Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu) and earned surveying education from Calcutta, India. Besides, he has obtained professional training on land use mapping from the University of Guelph, Canada; land information system, Landesvermesungarmt Wiesbaden, Germany; remote sensing technology, RESTEC  Tokyo, Japan; consulting methods and skills, USAID/MAN, Kathmandu, Nepal etc.

Work Experience :

- Mr. Shrestha has served 28 years for the government (including the post of Director General of Survey of Nepal)
   and earned 7 more years of experience in the private sector mapping company.
- He has attended and led the Nepalese delegation in more than nine international congresses such as :

• International Federation of Surveyors Congresses (FIG )1994 and 1998.
• International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS Congresses) 1996 and 2000).
• U.N. International Seminar on GIS Infrastructure 1995.
• U.N. Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and Pacific 1991.
• Nepal-India Joint Technical Level Boundary Committee 1992.
• Nepal-China Boundary Committee 1988 etc.
• He has also attended twenty national seminars and presented few technical papers.

Publication :

He has written and  published :

• a book "Cadastral Survey for Public Usefulness" in 1981.
• various articles on boundary issues (especially Kalapani-Limpiyadhura, place of origin of the river Mahakali etc.)
• presented papers on workshops at home and abroad- ISPRS Congresses.
• his writing is mainly concentrated on border issues to surveying and mapping.
• height of Mt. Everest to need of maps for development projects.
• problem of human settlement to downtrend of real estate activities in Nepal etc.

Award :

    Mr. Shrestha has obtained :

• "Eduard Dolezol Award", July 1996, ISPRS-Vienna, Austria in recognition for the promotion of surveying, mapping and geographical information system in Nepal.
• He is also felicitated with the Certificate of Merits by District Development Committee, Okhaldhunga, Nepal, 21 January 1999 in recognition and appreciation of his contribution and commendable works to create awareness to protect and preserve the national boundary of Nepal.
• Mr. Shrestha has visited 24 countries of Asia, Europe, America and Australia in official business and has travelled to 64 districts of Nepal.

Affiliation with Professional Societies :

• Past President (1992-1994) and Member of Nepal Surveyor Society.
• President of Nepal Remote Sensing and Photogrammetric Society.
• Vice President of Nepal Land and Housing Development Association.
• Vice President (1996-1998) and life member of Nepal Geographical Society.
• Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, London, U.K.
• Fellow, Royal Geographical Society, London, U.K.
• Member, Institution of Surveyors, Melbourne, Australia (1995-1998).
• Nepal Chapter President of International Real Estate Federation (FIABCI), France 1997-99.
• Honorary Senior Consultant, Magna Technologies, Delaware, USA.
• Advisor and Member of Nepal GIS Society.
• Member of Management Association of Nepal.
• Member of Tanka Prasad Aacharya Academy etc.

Medal and Decoration :

    Mr. Shrestha has been decorated with the medals -
    -  Gorkha Dakchhinbahu Class III and Class IV by His Majesty the King.
    -  Jaanapadsewa Padak, Deerghasewa (long service) Padak.
    -  Coronation Medal.
    -  Throne Accession Silver Jubilee Function Medal.
 
 

BOOK  AVAILABILITY :

The book, Nepal Ko Simana "Boundary of Nepal" is available ordering through :

• E-mail: border@wlink.com.np with  sending  bank transferred voucher via fax (977-1-410361).

Bank transfer voucher could be sent in the name of :

• "Bank of Kathmandu"  Account # 1666 (Savings Account  - Buddhi Narayan Shrestha)

Price of the book:

• Price of the book is US $20. Discount rate is prevalent, if ordered in bulk (more than ten copies at a time).

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CONTACT  ADDRESS :

Bhumichitra Mapping Company
P O Box  6769
Adwait Marga
Kathmandu, Nepal
Tel: 977 1 254-181
Fax: 977 1 410-361
E-mail:  border@wlink.com.np
E-mail:  simana3@hotmail.com

 
1. Thank you for your curiosity on the book, which deals on Nepalese border issues, problems and solution / suggestions with examples to create awareness for the protection and preservation of the international boundary line of Nepal.

 
One example: India has encroached the Nepalese territory of Kalapani-Limpiyadhura by deploying para-military force since 1962, just after the boundary war between India and China.