Nepal Protests India's Resumption of Pilgrimage Through Contested Lipulekh Pass

Nepal has officially protested India's decision to resume a religious pilgrimage through the Lipulekh Pass, a strategically vital Himalayan territory that Kathmandu claims as its own. The Nepalese Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a strong complaint on Sunday, criticizing New Delhi for proceeding with the pilgrimage without addressing Nepal's long-standing territorial claims.

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This is not a new development.

Nepal's position, rooted in the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli signed with British India, asserts that the territories of Limpiadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani are integral parts of Nepal. The government has reiterated its firm stance on this matter, viewing India's unilateral actions as a violation of its sovereignty.

India, however, has rejected Nepal's claims, asserting that the Lipulekh Pass has been a traditional route for Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Bon followers to reach Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet since 1954. New Delhi argues that Nepal's territorial claims are neither historically nor factually justified. The dispute has been reignited by the agreement between India and China to allow the pilgrimage, which had been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to resume through the contested pass.

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Such claims are neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence. Such unilateral artificial enlargement of territorial claims is untenable.

From Nepal's perspective, this issue is not merely about a border dispute; it touches upon national pride and historical rights. While international media might focus on the geopolitical implications or the India-China angle, for Nepal, it is about reclaiming and defending territory that it believes was unjustly demarcated during the colonial era. The resumption of the pilgrimage without a resolution is seen as a disregard for Nepal's concerns and a potential encroachment on its sovereign territory.

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the territories of Limpiadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani are part of Nepal, “a position on which the government remains clear and firm”.