Risk of conflict between Nepal and India over currency note design

Nepal by announcing a new 100 rupee currency note India has angered the US by showing the territory claimed by its South Asian neighbour.

The note has reignited a long-standing border dispute that has soured relations between the two countries in recent years.

Competing claims over the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Lumpiyadhura areas erupted into a bitter dispute in 2020 when India, eyeing China, built a road to connect its northern state of Uttarakhand to the strategic Lipulekh mountain pass.

When Kathmandu responded by publishing a new map, showing the disputed areas as being within Nepal’s borders, New Delhi protested that the ‘artificial expansion’ of Nepal’s claims was not based on historical facts or evidence. Therefore, it is not acceptable.

In the new map, 335 square kilometers have been added to the land of Nepal.

Nepal, which unlike its neighbors has never been under European colonial rule, bases its claims on Lumpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh on the Sogoli Treaty of 1816 with the British Raj.

However, since the 1962 war with China, these areas are under Indian control.

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Information and Communication Minister of Nepal Rekha Sharma said that the new Currency The decision to print the notes was taken in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Thursday.

Rekha Sharma said that the Council of Ministers meeting chaired by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Parchand’ decided to print a new map of Nepal, including Lipulekh, Lumpiyadhura and Kalapani in the 100 Nepali rupee banknotes. has gone.’

The minister said approval has been given to ‘redesign the 100 Nepali rupee banknote’ to ‘replace the old map hidden on the back of the banknote’.

The cabinet’s decision will be communicated to the country’s central bank, Rastra Bank, which may take up to a year to print and issue the new notes.

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar criticized the ‘unilateral’ move by Kathmandu despite ongoing diplomatic talks to resolve the issue.

Asked about this recent development, the Parandan minister said, ‘Our position is very clear. With Nepal we are discussing our border issues through a fixed platform. In the meantime, he has unilaterally taken some steps on his behalf.’