Nepal has declared that it will print a new Nepalese rupee 100 banknote including a map of the disputed areas of Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura, and Kalapani, which India has already labeled as “artificial enlargement” and “untenable.”
On June 18, 2020, Nepal amended its Constitution to incorporate three strategically significant areas—Lipulekh, Kalapani, and Limpiyadhura—completing the process of updating the nation’s political map. India reacted angrily, denouncing the “unilateral act” and labelling the “artificial enlargement” of Nepal’s territorial claims as “untenable.”
“The meeting of the council of ministers chaired by Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ took a decision to print the new map of Nepal, which includes the Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani in the Rs 100 denomination bank notes,” PTI, an Indian news agency, reported quoting government spokesperson Rekha Sharma. “The cabinet approved to re-design the banknote of Rs 100 and replace the old map printed in the background of the bank note during the cabinet meetings held on April 25 and May 2,” the report quoted Sharma, who is also the Minister for Information and Communication.
India claims that Limpiyadhura, Kalapani, and Lipulekh are its own.
Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are the five Indian states with whom Nepal shares a border spanning over 1,850 kilometers.
During the latter’s visit to India in June 2023, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart Pushpakamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ pledged to settle the boundary dispute amicably.
The Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh trijunction between India-Nepal and China, as well as the Susta area (West Champaran district, Bihar), are the current points of border dispute between India and Nepal.
India is in charge of the Kalapani valley, which is a portion of Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. It is located along the path to Kailash Mansarovar.
The border between India and Nepal is marked by the Kali River in the Kalapani area. The disagreement over where the river originated resulted in border disputes between India and Nepal, each of which produced maps to bolster its position.
