Greater Nepal is a cinematic exploration of the identity of a nation and its people through the eyes of an insider.
The setting is of the film is the Anglo-Nepal war that occurred in 1814-15 A. D. and which resulted in the humiliating Treaty of Sugauli. As a result, Nepal had to lose more than one-third of its territory to the East India Company, who was ruling India during the time.
The protagonist of the film has not forgotten this bitter history, and he has a deep urge to explore the great Nepal that once was. Moreover, inspired by the glorious stories of bravery and heroism exhibited by his ancestors in he war against the British, he sets out on a journey to the places where they had actually taken place, (though they are no longer within his country's territory) and to those territories that had been inalienable part of his country.
But, in the process, he comes across a surprisingly new truth: Humiliating past that his nation already had, he discovers that the present too is not very different. It is then that he comes to realize that something more profound is at stake: the way in which his people perceive themselves as a nation. Thus, by the end, a film about the lost territories of a country, turns out to be a statement about the identity of a nation and its people.
The unification process initiated by king Prithivi Narayan Shah of Gorkha extended Nepal from Tista in the east and Sutluj in the west. In the west, the Gorkhali Sena had reached upto Kangada. But it lost the battle with Ranjit Singh and returned to Sutluj.
But then, the East India Company began to eye Nepal. It lay claims on Butwal and Suwraj, which was originally a Magadh state but was ruled by Nepal. Nepal did not submit to the former's claims and eventually the British troops attacked Nepal from five different points: Morang, Parsa, Butwal, Deharadun and Sutluj in 1814 A.D.
Nepal defeated the Brits in three places (Morang, Parsa and Butwal) but lost in two in the far west. Because of the defeat in two major places in the far west, Nepal had no option other than to sign the humiliating Sugauli Treaty in 1815 A.D. As a result, Nepal had to give up more than one third of its territory to the East India Company. After the treaty, Nepal 's territory was limited to Mechi in the east and Mahakali in the west (i.e. to the present state) But what is significant is that when the British left India after 1947 A. D., it did not specify as to who should own those territories. So those territories were relegated to India by default.
The film argues that the territories seized by the East India Company lawfully belongs to Nepal and should be rightfully returned to Nepal.
http://www.greaternepal.com/
