TheLipulekh Pass(Chinese:Phổ liệt khắc sơn khẩu) is aHimalayanpasson the border betweenUttarakhand,Indiaand theTibetregion of China,[2]near theirtrijunctionwithNepal.Nepal has had ongoing claims to the southern side of the pass, calledKalapani territory,which has been under Indian administration since around 1960, but this issue is often downplayed by the Indian government.[3][4]The pass is near the trading town of Taklakot (Purang) inTibetand has been used since ancient times by traders, mendicants and pilgrims transiting between India and Tibet. It is also used by pilgrims toKailasandManasarovar.
| Lipu-Lekh Pass | |
|---|---|
    | |
| Elevation | 16,780 ft (5,115 m)[1] |
| Location | Border betweenUttarakhand,India andTibet,China[2] |
| Range | Himalayas |
| Coordinates | 30°14′03″N81°01′44″E/ 30.234080°N 81.028805°E |
| Lipulekh Pass | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | Phổ liệt khắc sơn khẩu | ||
| Traditional Chinese | Phổ liệt khắc sơn khẩu | ||
| |||
Tourism
editThis pass links thePithoragarh districtIndia with theTibet Autonomous RegionofChina,and forms the last territorial point in India's territory. TheKailash Mansarovar Yatra,a Hinduism pilgrimage toMount KailashandLake Manasarovar,traverses this pass. Lipulekh pass is connected to Chang Lobochahela, near the old trading town ofPurang(Taklakot), inTibet.
In 2024, Uttarakhand government has identified a viewpoint on the western shoulder of the pass, which it termed "Old Lipulekh Pass" (30°14′56″N81°01′25″E/ 30.2488°N 81.0237°E), from whereMount Kailashcan be seen.[5]
Transportation
editThe Lipulekh Pass is reached from the Indian side via thePithoragarh-Lipulekh Pass Highway(PLPH).[5]
Nepalese claims
edit
The Nepalese claims to the southern side of the pass, calledKalapani territory,are based on 1816 Sagauli Treaty between BritishEast India Companyand Nepal. The treaty delimited the boundary along theKali River(also called the Sharda River and Mahakali River). India claims that the river begins at the Kalapani village as this is where all its tributaries merge. But Nepal claims that it begins from the Lipulekh Pass.[6] The historical record shows that, some time around 1865, the British shifted the border near Kalapani to thewatershedof the Kalapani river instead of the river itself, thereby claiming the area now called the Kalapani territory.[7]This is consistent with the British position that the Kali River begins only from the Kalapani springs,[8]which meant that the agreement of Sugauli did not apply to the region above the springs.[9]
After the Indian prime minister's visit to China in 2015, India and China agreed to open a trading post in Lipulekh, raising objections from Nepal.[3][4]The Nepalese parliament stated that 'it violates Nepal's sovereign rights over the disputed territory'.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Walton, Almora District Gazetteer (1911),p. 229.
- ^ab Ling, L.H.M.; Abdenur, Adriana Erthal; Banerjee, Payal (19 September 2016).India China: Rethinking Borders and Security.University of Michigan Press. pp. 49–50.ISBN978-0-472-13006-1.
- ^ab "Resolve Lipu-Lekh Pass dispute: House panel to govt",Republica,28 June 2018, archived fromthe originalon 28 June 2018
- ^ab Lipulekh dispute: UCPN (M) writes to PM Koirala, Indian PM Modi & Chinese Prez Xi,The Kathmandu Post, 9 July 2015.
- ^abHow Uttarakhand Is Providing "Closer Darshan" To Kailash-Mansarovar Pilgrims,NDTV News, 29 June 2023.
- ^India, Nepal and the Kalapani issue,Decan Herald, 19 November 2019.
- ^
Manandhar, Mangal Siddhi; Koirala, Hriday Lal (June 2001),"Nepal-India Boundary Issue: River Kali as International Boundary",Tribhuvan University Journal,23(1): 3–4,
The map 'District Almora' published by the Survey of India [during 1865–1869] for the first time shifted the boundary further east beyond even the Lipu Khola (Map-5). The new boundary moving away from Lipu Khola follows the southern divide of Pankhagadh Khola and then moves north along the ridge.
- ^ Atkinson, Edwin Thomas (1981) [first published 1884],The Himalayan Gazetteer, Volume 3, Part 2,Cosmo Publications, pp. 381–382 – via archive.org:"The drainage area of the Kalapani lieswholly within British territory,but a short way below the springs the Kali forms the boundary with Nepal. "(Emphasis added)
- ^ Gupta, Alok Kumar (2009), "The Context of New-Nepal: Challenges and Opportunities for India",Indian Journal of Asian Affairs,22(1/2): 57–73,JSTOR41950496:"India holds that the river Kali begins from the meeting point of the Lipu Gad with the stream from Kalapani springs." (p. 63); See alsoKalapani: A Bone of Contention Between India and Nepal,Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, 2000
- ^Nepal objects to India-China trade pact via Lipu-Lekh Pass,The Economic Times, 9 June 2015.
Bibliography
edit- Walton, H. G., ed. (1911),Almora: A Gazetteer,District Gazetteers of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, vol. 35, Government Press, United Provinces – via archive.org