Nepal gave the contract of printing currency to a Chinese company
Nepal’s central bank ‘Nepal Rashtra Bank’ has given a contract to a Chinese company to print new Nepalese notes of Rs 100. According to news agency PTI, the map on these notes shows India’s Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani areas as part of Nepal. There has been a dispute between India and Nepal for about 35 years over this area.
According to the report, China’s ‘Bank Note Printing and Minting Corporation’ company has got the contract to print notes. The Chinese company will print 30 crore copies of the Nepalese note. It will cost around 75 crore Indian rupees. That is, the cost of printing 1 Nepalese note of Rs 100 will be around 2.50 Indian rupees.
The Nepal government approved the change in May. In Nepal, the Nepal Rashtra Bank has the right to change the design of the notes. However, for this they have to get approval from the government. The Cabinet of Nepal approved the change in the design of this note in May this year.
Then Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda was the Prime Minister in Nepal. KP Sharma Oli was supporting this government. On July 12, Oli withdrew support from the Prachanda government. Now he is the PM of Nepal. He is being supported by Nepali Congress leader and former PM Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Nepal released the new political map of the country on 18 June 2020. In this, Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani were shown as part of Nepal. For this, the Constitution of Nepal was also amended. Then the Indian government opposed this move of Nepal, calling it unilateral.
India-Nepal border decided by two rivers In this area bordering India, Nepal and China, there is a valley formed by the Himalayan rivers, which is the origin of the Kali or Mahakali river flowing in Nepal and India. This area is also called Kalapani. Lipulekh Pass is also here. From here, there is another pass at some distance towards the north-west, which is called Limpiyadhura.
The Sugauli Agreement between the British and the Gorkha King of Nepal in 1816 fixed the border between India and Nepal through the Kali River. Under the agreement, the western region of the Kali River was considered India’s territory, while the area lying to the east of the river became Nepal’s.
There has been a dispute between the two countries regarding the origin of the Kali River, i.e. where it originates first. India considers the eastern stream to be the origin of the Kali River. Nepal considers the western stream to be the origin stream and on this basis both the countries make their respective claims on the area of Kalapani.
The Mansarovar Yatra passes through the Lipulekh Pass, monitoring the Chinese army is also easy
- Limpiyadhura-Kalapani-Lipulekh are part of Pithoragarh district in the Kumaon division of Uttarakhand. These three areas are spread over 370 square km. The people living here have Indian citizenship and they pay taxes in India.
- Kalapani, located in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, is at the tri-junction between India, Tibet and Nepal. Therefore, it is a strategically very important place. From Kalapani, India can very easily keep an eye on the Chinese army.
- India first deployed the army here in the 1962 war. Given the importance of the area, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) is deployed here these days.
- At the same time, the Lipulekh Pass connects Uttarakhand to Tibet. Pilgrims going to Mansarovar from India pass through the Lipulekh Pass. India closed the Lipulekh Pass after the Chinese attack in 1962.
It was reopened in 2015 to facilitate trade with China and Mansarovar Yatra
- In May 2020, India inaugurated a new 80 km long road from Pithoragarh to Lipulekh Pass to facilitate the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, over which Nepal expressed displeasure.
- Nepal’s claim on the Limpiyadhura Pass area stems from its claim on Kalapani. It is adjacent to India near the Ngari border of Tibet.
- China’s hand behind provoking Nepal There was no dispute over this area for about 100 years after the treaty with the British. India even deployed its army in this area in 1962 to stop the Chinese invasion. Even now the Indian Army is deployed in many parts of this area.
As soon as Nepal moved from monarchy to democracy in 1990, voices of protest started rising over this area
- This dispute deepened in 2015 when communist leader KP Oli became the Prime Minister of Nepal. Oli grew closer to China instead of Nepal’s traditional friend India.
- In return, China poured billions of dollars into various projects in Nepal, but the real intention behind China doing so was to provoke Nepal, which has been close to India for centuries, against India.
- Last year, the country’s Army Chief MM Naravane had said that Nepal is doing this under someone else’s influence. Naravane was referring to China.
- Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also said after Nepal’s objection to India’s road construction in Lipulekh that Nepal has been misled on this issue.
