Nepal has acknowledged that it cannot confirm whether it possesses the original copy of the 1816 Sugauli Treaty, a document central to its territorial claims over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura along the India-Nepal border.
Nepal's Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal told Parliament that while records related to the treaty are held in the country's National Archives, the government cannot establish whether they are the original documents.
The revelation comes as the long-running border dispute between India and Nepal remains unresolved. Nepal claims that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura fall within its territory, while India maintains that the areas are part of Uttarakhand.
The Sugauli Treaty was signed following the Anglo-Nepal War of 1814-16 and established the boundary between Nepal and British India. Signed in December 1815 and ratified in March 1816, the treaty remains central to the competing interpretations of the border.
A key provision states that Nepal renounced its claims to territories west of the Kali River. The dispute largely centres on the location of the river's source.
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Nepal maintains that the Kali originates at Limpiyadhura. Based on this interpretation, it claims that Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura lie within Nepal. India, however, maintains that the river originates from springs in the Lipulekh region and cites historical administrative and revenue records to support its claim.
The absence of the original treaty has previously been acknowledged in Nepal. A parliamentary inquiry searched government offices, archives, museums and other repositories but could not locate the original documents. Officials have said copies of the treaty exist, though their authenticity as original documents has not been conclusively established.
The dispute intensified in 2020 after Nepal published a revised political map incorporating the three areas and subsequently amended its Constitution to reflect the claim. India rejected the move, calling it an "artificial enlargement" of Nepal's territorial claims.
The issue resurfaced recently after India and China agreed to resume trade through Lipulekh, prompting renewed objections from Kathmandu.
With the original treaty documents still untraceable, historical maps, administrative records and other archival evidence remain crucial to the competing claims.
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