India-Nepal border dispute: Kathmandu says 1816 treaty records missing

New Delhi: Nepal has asserted that it cannot confirm whether it still possesses the original 1816 Sugauli Treaty, a revelation that could further complicate the long-running India-Nepal dispute over Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani.

A parliamentary committee's searches across archives, ministries and museums reportedly failed to locate the treaty's original document. The treaty, which followed the 1814–16 Anglo-Nepal War, was signed in December 1815 and ratified in March 1816, establishing the basis for the boundary between British India and Nepal.

Nepal argues that the Kali River originates at Limpiyadhura, placing Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh east of the river and therefore within Nepal. India disputes this interpretation, maintaining that the Kali originates from springs below the Lipulekh area and citing historical administrative and revenue records that place Kalapani within Pithoragarh district, now in Uttarakhand.

Nepal's Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal told Parliament that records relating to the Sugauli Treaty exist in national archives, but their authenticity as original treaty copies cannot be established. Nepal also possesses documents relating to the 1950 India-Nepal Peace and Friendship Treaty, although its original was reportedly unavailable when revision discussions began in 2016.

The dispute sharply escalated in 2020 after India inaugurated a road to Lipulekh, prompting Nepal to issue a new political map incorporating the disputed areas. India rejected Nepal's claims as historically unsupported.

Nepal has recently protested India and China's plans to resume trade through Lipulekh. Against this backdrop, uncertainty about the original document of the Sugauli Treaty has added another contentious layer to the border dispute.