India-Nepal Boundary
States Touching Nepal Border
- Five states of India, namely Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, and Sikkim touch the Nepalese border with India.
- The border is a porous one with unrestricted movement of goods and people between India and Nepal.
- A major portion of the Indo-Nepalese border runs in the east-west direction almost along the foothill of the Shiwalik Range.
Disputed Territories
- Kalapani:
- Kalapani is a valley administered by India as part of the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, situated on the Kailash Mansarovar route.
- The latest political map of India reiterated Indian claims on the region that Nepal asserts belongs to its westernmost part.
- India claims the historic region as part of Uttarakhand.
- The Kali River in the Kalapani region demarcates the border between India and Nepal.
- The Treaty of Sugauli (1816), signed by the Kingdom of Nepal and British India after the Anglo-Nepalese War, located the Kali River as Nepal’s western boundary with India. The discrepancy in locating the source of the river led to boundary disputes between India and Nepal, with each country producing maps supporting their own claims.
- Susta:
- Susta is one of the disputed territories between India (Uttar Pradesh) and Nepal.
- It is located on the bank of the Gandak River (called Narayani River in Nepal).
- The change of course by the Gandak River is the main reason for disputes in the Susta area.
- According to the Sugauli Treaty (1816), the Gandak River is the international boundary, with the eastern part of the river belonging to India and the western part to Nepal.
- When the treaty was signed, Susta village was situated west of the river, but over the years, the Gandak River changed its course, placing Susta on the eastern side, now on the Indian side of the river.
Image of Gandak Kali river
