Nepal’s revised map now in textbooks

Kathmandu, September 18

Nepal has introduced new textbooks in the school curriculum that include the country's revised political map showing three strategically-important Indian areas as part of its territory amid a border dispute with New Delhi.

India has already termed as untenable the "artificial enlargement" of the territorial claims by Nepal after its Parliament unanimously approved the new political map of the country featuring the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas, which India maintains belongs to it.

The Curriculum Development Centre, under the Ministry of Education, recently published the books with the revised map, information officer at the centre Ganesh Bhattarai said.

The new books titled “Nepal's territory and reading materials for border issues” for classes IX and XII have a preface written by Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel.

Nepal in May released the revised political and administrative map of the country laying claim over the three strategically important areas in Uttarakhand, more than six months after India published a new map in November 2019.

Following the endorsement of the new map by the Nepal Cabinet, then government spokesperson and Finance Minister Yuvaraj Khatiwada told the media that the government had decided to update the schedule of the Constitution and school curriculum incorporating the new political map. India, in its response, said it had already made its position clear on it.

"This artificial enlargement of claims is not based on historical fact or evidence and is not tenable. It is also violative of our current understanding to hold talks on outstanding boundary issues," Ministry of External Affairs Anurag Srivastava had said. The Nepal government has also decided to issue coins with the inclusion of Kalapani.

The government has instructed the Nepal Rastra Bank to mint the coins with the revised map. An official at the bank, however, said they had no immediate plan to mint the coin, though preparations are on to issue coins worth

Re 1 and Rs 2 with the inclusion of the new map within a year.

The India-Nepal ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8. — PTI

The trigger

• The India-Nepal ties came under strain after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated an 80-km strategically crucial road connecting the Lipulekh Pass with Dharchula in Uttarakhand on May 8.
• Nepal reacted sharply to the inauguration of the road, claiming that it passed through the Nepalese territory. India rejected the claim, asserting that the road lies completely within its territory.

Accordingly, Bank told to mint new coins

• India has termed as untenable the “artificial enlargement” of the territorial claims by Nepal after its Parliament unanimously approved the new political map of the country featuring the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura areas, which India maintains belongs to it.
• The new books titled “Nepal's territory and reading materials for border issues” for classes IX and XII have a preface written by Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel.
• The Nepal government has instructed the Nepal Rastra Bank to mint the coins with the revised map.