Review Nepal
Kathmandu, Nepal, November 26, 2019: As the government done nothing than issuing a ritual statement describing Kalapani as an integral part of Nepal, the issue of border encroachment would take a nasty turn. The political parties, regardless of opposition or government allies, and the civil society leaders have come heavily against of the government for not taking proper initiation against of the border encroachment by the southern neighbor India through the diplomatic and political channel.
Though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) has lately sent a note to New Delhi calling for a bilateral dialogue over the encroached Nepali territories occupied by Indian security forces, the leaders of the different political parties and the civil society leaders have termed as futile initiation taken just to be proved nationalist and to face save from the widespread criticism.
The leaders of the main opposition Nepali Congress (NC) and the Samajwadi Party-Nepal (SPN), a major ally of the incumbent government, have publicly alleged the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli for failing to counter the neighboring India for border encroachment in Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura of Kanchanpur and Susta of Nawlparasi district.
Addressing an election gathering in Pokhara, NC president Sher Bahadur Deuba had alleged the Prime Minister Oli for betraying the nation by handing over Kalapani and Lipulekh to India. India would have unveiled the new political map placing Nepali territories inside Indian borders in Kalapani only after receiving consent from Prime Minister Oli, NC President Deuba, who is also the leader of the main opposition party and forth time Prime Minister of the country, said.
As the government has failed even to publish its political map to give counter to the controversial political map published by the India, the people in general have also been raising questions marks over the motive and intention of the government for dillydallying to hold talks with the Indian government.
Not only the NC president Deuba but also the NSP Chair person Dr. Baburam Bhattrai, who is also the former Prime Minister, has also argued that Prime Ministr Oli’s response to the recent border encroachment by India has exposed his stand on nationalism.
Addressing the program at Pokhara on Monday Bhattrai alleged the government from the past to recent one of trading Nepali territories with foreign powers by colluding with them.
The statements, regardless of NC president Deuba or NSP Chair Bhattrai, sound like the old tactics of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders particularly the Primer Oli to score political points exploiting the nationalist sentiment by pointing fingers to others.
As NCP leaders have also begun to intensify a counteroffensive measures, it is likely that relations between the political parties, particularly the government head NCP and the main opposition NC, would reach miles away on the name of establishing their nationalist credential by dismissing others as pro-Indians or anti nationalists.
As India unveiled a new political map incorporating some Nepali territories including Kalapani on November 2, the government should have taken immediate initiation through the high level political as well as diplomatic channel rather than opting ritual styles of making statements just to be proved nationalist.
As India has given the geographic importance of the region in Kalapani, Lipulek and Limpuwadhura of Nepal, a tri-junction including China, Indian forces have occupied the Nepali territory across the Kali River since the 1960s even describing a lesser-known man made stream of the headwaters of the Mahakali River as the origin of the river and borderline.
Many evidences including the Sugauli Treaty signed between Nepal and the East India Company, and treaties signed later with Independent India acknowledge the Mahakali River as the boundary between the two countries but not the lesser-known man made stream.
Meanwhile civil society members have unveiled a new political map of Nepal comprising Limpiadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani in a bid to exert pressure on the government to issue a fresh political map placing these territories inside Nepali borders.
Though the government has failed even to unveil Nepal’s political map on the basis of historical evidence, the civil society leaders have come up with the new political map of Nepal denoting that Limpidhura as the origin of Mahakali River which demarcates the border between the two countries as mentioned in the Sugauli Treaty.
Considering to the huge public uproar across the country against of the political map of India, the government and the political parties, particularly the government head NCP should dear to take firm position in favor of the nation rather than indulging on the counterattacking the critics by delivering futile statements just to be proved as nationalists.
