India, Aug. 14 -- A 210-year-old treaty at the heart of the long-running India-Nepal border dispute has acquired a fresh twist after Kathmandu admitted it cannot confirm whether it possesses the original document. The 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, signed after Nepal's defeat in the Anglo-Nepal War, established the boundary between the Himalayan kingdom and British India. Its interpretation remains central to Nepal's claims over Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura. Speaking in Nepal's House of Representatives, Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal said the government did not have clear information on whether the original treaty was in its possession. He said records related to treaties were available at the National Archives, but officials could not establish whether they were the original documents. Also Read - TVK welcomes SC's stay of Madras HC ruling against jobs to kin of stampede victims The admission follows years of efforts to locate the treaty. A parliamentary inquiry searched libraries, archives and government repositories, including the Department of Archaeology, Narayanhiti Palace Museum and the Ministries of Law and Foreign Affairs. It concluded that the originals of the Sugauli Treaty and the 1950 Nepal-India Treaty of Peace and Friendship could not be traced. Nepal does have copies and other records relating to both agreements. In 2019, then Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali had said the available copies would need to be forensically verified to determine whether they were original documents.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.