Mapping conflict

Territorial dispute will test Indo-Nepal diplomacy

The unanimous approval by Nepal’s lower House of Parliament to change the country’s map to include territory claimed by India represents a failure of the Indian diplomatic establishment. This issue has been a festering, if low-intensity, dispute since the 1990s but the proximate reason for the current flare-up dates back to November last year. That is when India issued a map showing how the former state of Jammu & Kashmir had been split into two Union Territories included Kalapani. Nepal objected, claiming Kalapani as its own territory but sought talks. In May, Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the 75.54-km