ELECTIONS '98
COMMENTARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ARCHIVES

Indo-Nepal talks fail, Kalapani remains disputed territory

A three-day meeting of the Nepal-India technical group of survey officials has failed to determine the status of Kalapani, a disputed region on the border.

The land on which both the countries lay claim lies 475 kilometres west of Kathmandu, and has been occupied by the Indian security forces since the 1962 Sino-India conflict.

The third round of talks between the survey officials ended on July 17 -- and, as in the past, the two sides were unable to resolve the issue.

Kalapani is a strategic point near the junction between Nepal, India and Tibet.

Nepalese Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has repeatedly said Kalapani was part of his country and pledged his parliament that Nepal would not give up even an inch of it.

Nepal's contention is that Kalapani lies east of the Mahakali river which forms its western border with India. Nepal and India differ on the source of the river, with India insisting on a small tributary just east of Kalapani and Nepal holding that it is a much bigger one west of Kalapani.

Meanwhile, a joint Nepalese parliamentary supervision committee, chaired by lower house speaker Ram Chandra Pokharel, called on the government to initiate talks with India at the political level to resolve the issue. They believe a solution from the technicians was highly unlikely.

Certain sections in Nepal say the issue should be brought before the International Court of Justice at Hague as India is unlikely to give up the land.

UNI

EARLIER REPORT:
Nepal accuses India of wrongly occupying Kalapani

Tell us what you think of this report