Posted by: Prakash_Ji September 27, 2006
Greater Nepal
Login in to Rate this Post:     0       ?        
Recenlty I was trying to figure out borders between Nepal and India. I found an article,that gives details on each aspect of the relation. It is a long article and here is the part of text I was interested. For full text please go to http://newsblaze.com/story/20060606130709nnnn.nb/topstory.html Greater Nepal The Nepali territory prior to the Sugauli Treaty (called the border problem of greater Nepal) had to be returned to Nepal. Because of the Sugauli Treaty of 1815/16, Nepal had to condense its larger territory to a smaller one. It was extended up to Tista River on the East, to Kangara across Sutlej River in the west, to the confluence of Ganga and Jumuna River in the south, touching the present day Bangladesh in the east. The area of the Bishal Nepal is reduced from 2, 04,917 to 1, 47,141 square kilometer. India yet has to return 57,776 sq. km. to Nepal after 1950 treaty of friendship. Nepal contributed a lot in the World Wars to make the English an empire. However, the British constantly betrayed Nepali people. They sliced a greater part of Nepal and annexed it in India. They also insincerely and treacherously departed without returning Nepali land to Nepal. The Sugauli Treaty of the time of the British is the only base for determining border which the 1950 treaties with India and Britain cancels all prior agreements including Sugauly Treaty. It means Nepal has right to occupy all areas before Sugauli treaty. It is not a begging but a legal right, if an understanding is made between the three countries, the real Nepal before Sugauli Treaty, is the real Nepal. As soon India knew the practices of Four Finger Theory.16, it absorbed Sikkim against the norms and values of treaty, agreement, Act, morality and good neighborhood. Hence, it is necessary to reanalyze and interpret the Sugauli Treaty of 1815 ratified in 1816 and 1950's Amity Treaty to get lost territory back from the grip of India. India as in the case of Kalapani to these days absorbed the Bagdogra - Galgalia lying between Nepal and Bangladesh by deploying its troop, fearing that Nepal will take back. Nepali Congress Government rejected Ghising's proposal of greater Gurkha Empire, instead, Nepal's Counselor General in Kolkotta conveyed statement to West Bengal's Government.17 Land has been kept haughtily by India as done by Iraq to the case of Kuwait calling it its 19th state. One needs to analyse the history of Nepal and India and the treaties and understandings held between the two countries to understand how the above- mentioned land absorbed by India belongs to Nepal. Nepal has abundant historical evidences to claim greater Nepal. For instance, in 1959, Mr. Nehru, the former Prime Minister of India, paid his visit to Nepal and agreed to amend trade treaty of 1950. He also agreed to remove Indian check post from Nepal. Nehru quotes, "Dehradun, Kumau and Nainital, Simla are the territories of Nepal which were once captured by the British." Author E.C. Kojl in "Brief Dictionary of Darjeeling" writes, "All these territories belonged to Nepal.18 British-India forced Nepal to sign the Sugauli Treaty, fearing that hill area war trained Nepali troops would expand their kingdom from the Brahmaputra River in the east to Pamir in the west. The objective of the Sugauli Treaty was to discourage Nepalis to make war so that they could not expand their kingdom the east of Tista and the west of Satlaj. The Section 8 of the 1950 treaty has cancelled all the treaties, letters, and letter of agreement before the Sugauli Treaty. The dismissal of this treaty suggests that the territory before the Sugauli Treaty customarily belongs to Nepal. The British signed the Sugauli Treaty evasively to prevent Nepal from galvanizing Sikkim, Assam and other states. The section 6 shows that the eastern border of Nepal is the Tista River before or after the agreement on the Sugauli Treaty. The Section 6 was included in the treaty to preserve Sikkim from the encroachment of Nepal. The Titaliya Treaty between East India Company and Sikkim, the letters of treaty between British-India and Nepal regarding the return of the western Terai have justified that Darjeeling is inseparable area of Nepal. Similarly, the treaty held between East India Company and Bhutan on April 4, 1779 and the latest treaty of August 8, 1849 also justify that the territory from Mechi to Tisti lies in Nepal. Hence, Indian in accordance with the Article 1 (3) (C) of its constitution had not included this area including Darjeeling in India. The 1947's Darjeeling Committee of the then Unified Indian Communist Party (ICP) had provided the Indian Constitutional Assembly with the decision of constituting independent 'Gorkhasthan Nation' by integrating Darjeeling, and Sikkim in Nepal. This document elucidates the article 1 and 8 of the above-mentioned 1950 Peace Treaty. The Section 2 of the treaty India should have gradually returned the lost territory to Nepal. The section says, "The British Government declares that the whole low lands lying between Gorakhpur district and the Rapti River, and the whole low lands lying between the Kali and the Rapti river belonging to the Rajahs of Nepal prior to the Sugauli treaty and later to the British Government will be returned to be the sovereignty of the Royal of Nepal". India had made decision to return the territories to Nepal on November 1, 1860. The Sugauli Treaty was not ratified even after the ratification of the treaty with Sikkim. Without the ratification of the understandings and treaties held are naturally invalid. India's not giving validity to every treaty without ratification but the Sugawli Treaty is itself paradoxical. The Section (8) of 1950 amity and peace treaty nullified the Sugauli Treaty. Therefore, Nepal has right over Darjeeling and other lost territories before the Sugauli Treaty whether there had been the Section 8 of 1950's treaty or the treaty itself. The lost territories of Nepal were on lease as to the case of Britain, which as had taken Hongkong on lease with China. The phrase 'in perpetuity' was mentioned in the Hongkong Treaty signed between Britain and China. The term 'in perpetuity' is also included in the Sugauli Treaty. It gives the sense of the expiry of the treaty between two agreed countries after one hundred years. Company Government had promised to pay yearly a tributes of two lakh rupees in return for the land taken on lease in accordance with the Section (4) of the Treaty. According to the section 9 of the same treaty, India in perpetuity gave the possession of its Praganna district (Now called Vijayapur district) to Nepal; India took back the territory, taken under the same provision. The chief motive of signing treaty between Nepal and UK on October 30, 1950 A.D. was to give back the Nepali territory annexed into India. It is written on the preface that the Kathmandu Treaty of December 21, 1823 is not applicable because of the recent establishment of the two independent states India and Pakistan. Both Nepal and Britain signed new treaty and agreed on the following section.19 Therefore, the proposal of the restoration of greater Nepal is neither new nor unusual nor against international laws, treaties and agreements. In addition, the undecided question of greater Nepal is necessary to analyze and identify the absurdities created by open border.
Read Full Discussion Thread for this article