India-Nepal Relations
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India gifts 80 Mahindra Scorpio to Nepal. Here is why
India has provided more than 200 vehicles, including these Mahindra Scorpio pickup trucks, to the Election Commission of Nepal.
auto.hindustantimes.com
Concerns over Chinese contractors holds up expansion of Nepal-India power trade for the region
India doesn’t buy power from Nepal’s largest Upper Tamakoshi project, with officials citing the participation of a Chinese contractor
New dispute emerges between Nepal, India over embankment construction
Nepal and India have engaged in a new diplomatic row after Nepali citizens pelted stones at Indian nationals on the order side of the border over the embankment construction by the Indian side.The incident on Sunday led to the injuries of four Nepali nationals, including a minor.
The locals at Khalanga, the district headquarters of Darchula on the Nepali side, had sternly protested against India's unilateral construction of an embankment to divert the flow of the Mahakali River.
The irate locals fear that their settlement could be at risk due to the embankment.
They had demanded that the construction work be halted immediately.
In Kathmandu, the Ministry of Home Affairs has written a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs urging them to take up the matter with the Indian side regarding the incident.
The Indian side has taken up the matter saying that some of the citizens were also injured during the course of stone pelting and urged to take action against the perpetrators.
"Mahakali is a border river. If the structure made on the border affects the other side, such unilateral works should be stopped immediately," said Rajan Bhattarai, head of the CPN-UML's international relations department.
"What is happening in Mahakali should be stopped immediately and find an agreement through bilateral talks in this matter so that the bank of the river would not be changed. Since this is a federal government issue, the Centre should take the initiative," Bhattarai said.
On Monday, officials of Nepal and India discussed Sunday's incident.
According to the Chief District Officer (CDO) of Darchula Dirgha Raj Upadhyay, both sides have agreed not to construct the embankment in such a way that incurs a loss to both sides.
"The two sides agreed not to construct an embankment immediately at the place where the dispute ensued and construct only in the place where there was no dispute," said Assistant CDO Hemanti Saud.
Present in the meeting were chiefs of the security agencies and representatives of political parties from the Nepal side while the talk team of the Indian side included Additional District Magistrates and Sub-Divisional Magistrates.
The Indian side has installed a gabion net some 7 to 10 meters from the site where the embankment was under-construction.
The Nepali side requested the Indian side to remove it immediately.
--IANS
New dispute emerges between Nepal, India over embankment construction
Nepal and India have engaged in a new diplomatic row after Nepali citizens pelted stones at Indian nationals on the order side of the border over the embankment construction by the Indian side
Stone pelting at India-Nepal border: Indian traders stage protest, block bridge
The villagers, who blocked the border bridge of river Kali said, they were upset with the lathi charging of some Indian traders on the Nepal side on Sunday
Nepal Supreme Court rejects letter calling CJ impeachment ‘not valid’
The letter had come in the wake of Rana’s suspension from the post, following the registration of the impeachment motion in February.
indianexpress.com
Opinion | Nepal needs to play catch-up
India is talking a new global language, where technology is a matter of national security.
It would be better to have basic information before stating one's opinion as it helps in having clearer understanding.
Kalapani is a land parcel located near junction of Indo-China-Nepal border. India and China both same position on border marker. It's the Nepal which only claims the land parcel under administration of India. Why the dispute? Border was marked at river watershed during British India times since 1865. Nepal disputes since 1990s that it includes not only the current river border but also the headwaters of the river are included in the boundary while India continue to claim the border as administered since the independence which again followed the border set by British colonial empire.
Why now? The Nepalese protests regarding the Kalapani territory started in 1997, after India and China agreed to reopen the Lipulekh pass, a border connectivity closed by India post 1962 war which it was already administering since independence.
Whats the latest claim?
On 20 May 2020, Nepal released a new map of its own territory that expanded its claim an additional 335 square kilometres up to the Kuthi Yankti river, including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. Major basis of claim by Nepal rests on the 25 year rule over the land extending to most of Uttarakhand state of India, evicted by British India forces in 1815 from Garhwal and Kumaon across the Kali River which formed the boundary continuing till now. Nepal kind refused British India peace terms which again resulted in war, ultimately resulting in treaty of Sugauli Treaty.
"The king of Nepal renounces for himself, his heirs, and successors, all claims to and connexion with the countries lying to the West of the River Kali, and engages never to have any concern with those countries or the inhabitants thereof."
Treaty link :
Even though the Article was meant to set Kali River as the boundary of Nepal, initially the British administrators retained control of the entire Byans region both to the east and west of the Kali/Kalapani river, stating that it had been traditionally part of Kumaon. In 1817, the Nepalese made a representation to the British, claiming that they were entitled to the areas to the east of Kali. After consideration, the British governor-general in council accepted the demand. The Byans region to the east of Kali was transferred to Nepal, dividing the Byans pargana across the two countries.
Not being satisfied with this, the Nepalese also extended a claim to the Kuthi valley further west, stating that the Kuthi Yankti stream, the western branch of the head waters, should be considered the main Kali River. Surveyor W. J. Webb and other British officials showed that the lesser stream flowing from the Kalapani springs "had always been recognised as the main branch of the Kali" and "had in fact given its name to the river". Consequently, the British Indian government retained the Kuthi valley.
The China–Nepal boundary agreement signed on 5 October 1961 states:
So the trijunction of the India–China–Nepal borders was at the meeting point of the watersheds of Karnali, Kali and Tinkar rivers, which lies just to the west of Tinkar Pass. Tinkar Pass is where the Border Pillar number 1 of the China–Nepal border was placed, and still remains.
Nepal has laid claim to all the areas east of the Lipu Gad/Kalapani River, their contention being that the Lipu Gad was in fact the Kali River up to its source. They wanted the western border shifted 5.5 km westwards so as to include the Lipulekh Pass. Indian officials responded that the administrative records dating back to 1830s show that the Kalapani area had been administered as part of the Pithoragarh district (then a part of the Almora district). India also denied the Nepalese contention that Lipu Gad was the Kali River. In the Indian view, the Kali River begins only after Lipu Gad is joined by other streams arising from the Kalapani springs. Therefore, the Indian border leaves the midstream of river near Kalapani and follows the high watershed of the streams that join it.
Nepal Denies Ex PM's "Allowing India Proposal... Betrayal Of China" Charge
Kathmandu:The Government of Nepal has refuted allegations made by former PM KP Sharma Oli about the establishment of a Buddhist University in Mustang District with Indian aid.
Issuing a release, the Government Spokesperson stated that the allegations made by ex-PM Oli were false and denied that the government has given any permission for the establishment of a Buddhist University in an area that is close to the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
"Claims about government permitting a varsity in Mustang's Baragung Muktikshetra Village Council is delusional. We hereby also announce that the Government of Nepal hasn't made any such decisions," Rekha Sharma, the Minister for Communication and Information Technology stated in a release.
Former Prime Minister and chairman of CPN-UML (Communist Party of Nepal- Unified Marxist Leninist) Oli on Saturday claimed that the government is planning to allow India to establish a Buddhist University in the area where the Khampa rebellions had settled after fleeing Tibet in the 20th Century.
"In order to turn the country into a playground for foreigners, the government is allowing India to open a Buddhist college in Mustang. This plan is an attack on the country's sovereignty," the former Prime Minister claimed.
While criticizing, the former PM also accused the incumbent Premier of betraying China by accepting India's proposal to open a Buddhist college in the Himalayan region.
Local media at the end week of February reported about the government's preparation to allow India to set up a Buddhist college in the restricted area of Mustang, which borders Tibet, China.
As per the report, the Indian government has planned to spend over 700 million to set up Buddhist colleges in the restricted territory of the Upper Mustang. The Barha Gaun Mukti Chettra Rural Municipality- the local body of the restricted area had sent the request to Indian Government via the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu for the funds to construct the Buddhist University.
In response to the allegation, the Government Spokesperson, Rekha Sharma in Sunday's statement refuted Oli's claim stating the proposal was forwarded to the government of India at the request of the local Barha Gaun Mukti Chettra Rural Municipality, and yet no final decision has been taken.
It is to be noted that the Mustang Sakya Buddha Sangh took the initiative to open the college, arranged land for it and then requested the Indian side via the government of Nepal.
While addressing a party event, Oli alleged, "Establishing a Buddhist college in Mustang to placate foreigners is an assault on our nationality and betrayal of China, which is our friendly nation.
He also lambasted at incumbent Prime Minister claiming a plan to set up the Buddhist college in Mustang, a reminder of the Tibetan rebellion in the district in the early 1970s.
After some Tibetans waged military action against China from Nepali soil, the Nepal government had in 1974 peacefully disarmed the Khampas and settled them in various parts of the country.
"This is tantamount to the rejection of the country's sovereignty and independence," Oli said as he criticized Dahal who had betrayed him in wake of the Presidential Election slated for later this week.
Further, Oli questioned, "Why do you need a Buddhist college in a place where no one lives?"
"Gey Wangdi was the Khampa leader at that time (of the Khampa uprising). The Khampas were stationed near Marfa village. Now efforts are on to set up a Buddhist college in Lo Manthang, which is part of Upper Mustang where no one lives," Oli said.
"Only a handful of people with vested interests live there. This is a dangerous plan that we should oppose and confront."
The Government spokesperson also stated that an investigation would be carried out on the one raised by the former PM Oli, maintaining that no such decisions have been made to date.
Nepal Denies Ex PM's "Allowing India Proposal... Betrayal Of China" Charge
Former Prime Minister Oli had claimed that the government is planning to allow India to establish a Buddhist University in the area.
www.ndtv.com
No, their entire claim rests on 25 year blitkrig advance in currently known as Sikkim & Uttarakhand region. How much will a country go back to claim the land or sea area? Nepal didn't rule or administered for long long time in those regions.
Anyways some point of view and claims from Nepal side for their perspective on how they view these lands to what land area will they go claiming as theirs.
Beginning of the end of the Gorkha Empire
From Nalapani to Kalapani Part 1
Nepali Times reporter Alisha Sijapati spent a month retracing the Gorkha expansion beyond the Mahakali River more than 200 years ago. The goal was to extend up to Kashmir a new unified Himalayan nation by annexing Kumaon, Garhwal, and Punjab.
The Gorkha Empire was on a warpath, and the British East India Company saw it as a threat to its own expansionist ambitions. This five-part series looks at the bravery of the Gorkhali troops under its legendary generals to defend the newly-conquered territory, but also the historical memory of an oppressive rule.
On 30 January 2015, Colonel M N Rai was killed in a firefight along the Line of Control between India and Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir. When his body was brought to Delhi Cantonment for his cremation, his daughter Alka joined the crowd of mourners in crying out: “Jai Mahakali, Ayo Gorkhali”.
This ancient battle cry is now heard wherever soldiers from Nepal serve and fight: in India, Britain, Singapore, Brunei, Oman, and in their own country. It harks back to the forces under the command of the descendants of Nepal’s founding king Prithvi Narayan Shah crossing the Mahakali River in their westward conquests.
Bahadur Shah was the prince regent in Kathmandu when his troops were on a blitzkrieg, moving rapidly across what is now the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh to the Sutlej River on the border with Punjab. The Gorkhalis held the territory for less than 25 years before finally being defeated in the Anglo-Nepal War of 1814-16.
The legacy of that occupation is still strong here: in Nepali soldiers still fighting and dying for India, in the collective memory of Gorkhali rule remembered mostly for its pillage and plunder, and in migrant workers from western Nepal who can be seen waiting for day jobs in hill stations today.
Nepal lost one-third of its territory to the East India Company after signing the Sugauli Treaty in 1816, but even before that, Nepali soldiers (mainly conscripts from Kumaon and Garhwal) started defecting to the British side after the fall of the Malaun Fort. And after the war, more Nepali soldiers were recruited into the Nusseeree Battalion, the first of many subsequent Gurkha brigades in the British Army, and later the Indian Army.
In the 1915 Gurkhas: Handbooks for the Indian Army by Lieutenant-Colonel Eden Vansittart, 2nd/10th Gurkha Rifles and revised by Major B.U. Nicolay of 1st/4th Gurkha Rifles, the authors note: ‘After the war of 1816, Sir D. Ochterlony expressed an opinion confidentially to Lord Francis Hastings that the company’s soldiers then Hindustanis could never be brought to resist the stock of these energetic mountaineers on the ground.’
In fact, it was because David Ochterlony of the East India Company was so impressed by the fighting spirit of his enemy during the Anglo-Nepal war that he formed the first Nusseeree Battalion on 24 April 1815, which is now the 1st/1st Gurkha Rifles of the Indian Army, also called the Malaun Regiment. The Battalion was named after Ochterlony who was also known as Naseer Sahib, the title of ‘Naseer-ud-daulah’ conferred by Shah Alam II, the 17th Mughal emperor.
“For us of non-Nepali origins, to be a part of the Gorkha regiment was a badge of honour, particularly, holding the khukri. That’s how the world knows that we are Gorkhas,” retired Indian Army Major Vijay Singh Mankotia told Nepali Times in an interview in his comfortable home in Dharamshala. Mankotia was also a former union minister of Himachal Pradesh and recalls his fondness for the soldiers from Nepal.
Here in the mountains that were the farthest west that the Nepali forces had reached, the Gorkha connection is still so strong that till today even families who are not descendants of the soldiers celebrate Dasain, Tihar and other Nepali festivals. Mankotia himself keeps his connection with his army colleagues, and speaks affectionately about their camaraderie and friendship.
“I had always wanted to be part of the Gorkha regiment. From all the others, it was the 1/1 Gurkha Rifles that I was eager to enlist in because of its historic significance, and I was fortunate to have been selected. You don’t embrace the Gorkha, they embrace you,” says Mankotia.
Indeed, the continued presence of Nepali nationals in the Indian Army, the atrocities committed by the occupying Nepali forces in this part of India, the presence of so many migrant workers from Nepal here, right up to the current border dispute over Kalapani — all feed into the love-hate relationship between India and Nepal and complicate bilateral relations to this day.
After India’s independence in 1947 and under a Tripartite Agreement between Britain, Nepal and India, the original ten British Gurkha regiments consisting of 20 battalions before World War II were split between the British Army and the Indian Army.
Six Gurkha regiments were transferred to the post-independence Indian Army, while four remained with the British. It was decided that 1/1 Gurkha Rifles (the Malaun Regiment) would go to India and the first British officers had to transfer or make a choice to join the Gurkha regiments, the 2nd, 6th, 7th, or 10th Gurkha Rifles.
The Indian Army prefers to call its regiments with Nepali soldiers ‘Gorkha’, while the British have always referred to them as ‘Gurkha’. The term is derived from the historic town in central Nepal ruled by the Shah kings, and does not denote an ethnic group. The Gorkha/Gurkha regiments used to consist mainly of Gurung, Magar, Rai, or Limbu recruits from Nepal, although that has now changed.
During the brief Gorkha occupation of Kumaon and Gharwal, Nepal was not yet called ‘Nepal’. Which is the reason why descendants of Nepali soldiers and even Indian Nepalis here usually refer to themselves as ‘Gorkhalis’, and those agitating for greater autonomy in Darjeeling called their territory ‘Gorkhaland’.
It was only after 1947 that Indian citizens were also allowed to join the Gorkha regiments. To this day, chiefs of the Nepal Army are honorary generals in the Indian Army, and vice versa. In 1953, King Tribhuvan was appointed the Honorary Colonel of the 1st Gurkha Rifles.
Jyoti Thapa Mani is herself a descendant of a warrior in the Gorkha army in 1790, and whose sons later served in the Malaun Regiment. Her great-great-grandfather was in the ‘66th Ghoorkhas’ and her great-grandfather Kaluram Thapa belonged to the 1st Gurkha Rifles.
Thapa Mani is the author of The Khukri Braves that recounts extensively the history of the Gorkha conquests of which her ancestors were a part. She retraces their steps, and describes the battles of Nalapani, Khalanga, Jythuck and Kangra –- names that have been etched in modern Nepal’s history for the bravery of the soldiers who defended them against the East Indian Company.
“The Gorkhalis who stayed back after the Anglo-Nepal war like my forefathers associate themselves more with Gorkha, rather than being called Nepali, since ‘Nepal’ was not even a country’s name when the Gorkhalis crossed the Mahakali River to annex the hill states, which are now part of India,” says Thapa Mani, who is a graphic designer and lives in New Delhi.
She took more than seven years to complete The Khukri Braves, and says it was part of her personal quest to retrace the history of her forebears. “At one point, people called me mad for my obsessive passion,” she laughs. “I have climbed places where only goats could go, but I was compelled by the need to find my family’s roots which are so intertwined with the history of Nepal and India.”
She travelled from one Gorkha fort to another in the Indian Himalaya north of Delhi. From the Mahakali River to Pithoragarh, Almora, Nainital, Haridwar, Khalanga, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Nahan along roads and trails that the Gorkha conquerors walked on – 1,000km away from Kathmandu across rugged mountains.
Following the same trails this monsoon, there are still many vivid reminders of the Gorkhali presence here. We start in Kangra Fort, and travel eastwards to Dharamshala, Shimla, Subathu, Nalapani, Dehradun, Nainital, and Almora, and every step of the way, we meet the descendants of Gorkha soldiers who are proud of their Nepali heritage, many still speak Nepali, and observe the festivals of their ancestors.
There are an estimated 60,000 members of Gorkha families in Himachal Pradesh alone, with another 70,000 in Kumaon and Gharwal. But there are 3 million Nepali-speaking Indians, who live here and in Darjeeling, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya and the northeastern states.
The contribution of many descendants of Gorkhalis continues to go unnoticed, and is not appreciated. This includes Ram Chand Thakur from the 1st Gorkha Rifles from Kangra in Himachal, a bandmaster who composed many martial songs, including the famous Kadam Kadam Badaye Ja which is sung in the Indian military.
Ravinder Rana, the chair of the Himachal Gorkhali Association in Dharamshala says modern Indian descendants of Gorkhalis may not call themselves Nepali, but are proud of their heritage.
“The Gorkhalis in these regions speak Nepali, they breathe Nepali, they take pride in the fact that their ancestors were war heroes, that they were the Gorkhas,” explains Rana. “But there is also a sense that they belong to India now.”
The territorial dispute over the Kalapani region in Kumaon between India and Nepal flared up in 2020 after India built a road in what Nepal considers its land. The government of Prime Minister K P Oli stoked nationalist fervour in Kathmandu and retaliated by publishing a new official map of Nepal that included Lipulekh, Limpyadhura, and Kalapani within its borders.
As bilateral relations soured, and the Indian media turned hostile, and Indians of Nepali descent bore the brunt of the fallout, suddenly being seen by other Indians as ‘foreigners’.
“In all the years that our ancestors have lived here, we have never faced any discrimination. Now, due to the border dispute and all the Nepali migrant workers flocking in for work, we have had to face prejudice from government officers in our own country,” says Rana. “This is especially disheartening for families who have lost their sons in the Indian Army defending India today.”
Rana says the animosity between Nepal and India on the border dispute has now become personal, and the governments of both countries should be mindful not to rock the boat. “We may be Gorkhalis, but we are Indians now. It is unfortunate that we still have to wait for our governments to validate us and our existence,” he adds.
There has always been an undercurrent of hostility towards people of Nepali descent here, and that has its roots in the historical memory of the atrocities of the Gorkha conquest more than 200 years ago. But it has been accentuated lately after the Kalapani dispute.
It surfaces unexpectedly in a chance conversation when a reporter mentions to an Indian Air Force pilot in a cafe in McLeodganj that she is from Nepal. The pilot’s previously affable demeanour changes abruptly, and he warns: “You Nepalis should not act too big for your boots and cross the border into our territory. You have become Chinese puppets.”
There are currently 28,000 Nepali nationals in the seven Gurkha regiments of the Indian Army. These regiments have 39 battalions with a 50-60% representation from Nepal. Every year, some 2,000 Nepali youth are selected to join the Indian Army.
The Indian Army’s Gorkha troops are held in high regard, and tales of their bravery in battle either on the Pakistan or China border resonate with often-quoted remarks like this one by the former chief of the Indian Army Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw: “If a man says he is not afraid of dying, he is either lying or he’s a Gurkha.”
But with the border dispute, Nepalis and Gorkhalis here feel like they are regarded with new suspicion. When this reporter reached Almora to visit the oldest Gorkha fort in Kumaon which is now a part of the 13th Battalion of the Sikh Regiment, she was denied entry solely on grounds that she was a Nepali.
Although descendants of Gorkhalis here prefer not to be called ‘Nepali’, that is not the case in Darjeeling and Sikkim. The reason for that could be because those regions have more recent Nepali migrants, and were not militarily conquered by the Gorkha Empire.
“The threat of the Anglo-Nepal war never reached Darjeeling and Sikkim, which is why Nepalis there have a slightly different self-identity,” explains historian Dinesh Raj Panta in Kathmandu.
The demand for ‘Gorkhaland’ has dominated the politics of Darjeeling and Kalimpong for decades, and is an expression of a hankering for autonomy from the rule of West Bengal in faraway Kolkata. In fact, the name Gorkhaland appears more appropriate for Kumaon and Garwhal on the other side of Nepal, since that is where the real descendants of the Gorkhalis live.
While author Jyoti Thapa Mani and other Gorkhalis take pride in their ancestry, many in Kumaon, Garhwal, and Himachal do not acknowledge the conquest of their land by the invading Gorkha army.
Historian Shekhar Pathak in Nainital says that the very word ‘Gorkhali’ has become synonymous with oppression and cruelty in the local Garhwali and Kumaoni dialects.
“Gorkhyo jaise banna hai?” (You want to become like a Gorkhali?) is often used as a warning not to be too aggressive. Gorkhalis are referred to as Gorkhyani, Gorkhyo, or Gorakhchayani.
The brutality of the Gorkha conquerors is not as well known in Nepal, where it is glossed over in history books. But here it is a part of historic lore and legend, passed down over the generations in Garhwal and Kumaon.
However, Garhwali historian Shiva Dabrawal in his book, Gorkhyani I and II, says that even official Indian history books do not delve into the cruelty of Gorkha rule, and it has only been passed down orally.
In Kathmandu, Dinesh Raj Panta says: “Enough time has passed, we must revisit our past, our common history between India and Nepal, and discuss both the good and the bad sides of the conquest. As a general rule, nobody likes conquerors.”
Accidents of history
The ultimate downfall of the Gorkha Empire was a given. The supply lines and communication with faraway Kathmandu were stretched to the limit, and it would take a month for even the fastest military units to reach Kangra from Kathmandu on horseback.
But the history of the Gorkha conquest could have taken a dramatically different turn if the Nepali general (Bada Kaji) Amar Singh Thapa had not fallen into Katoch ruler Sansar Chand II’s trap and avoided the battle for Kangra Fort. This and other accidents of battle contributed to the eventual Gorkhali retreat despite early gains against the forces of the East India Company in 1815.
Sansar Chand II’s ploy did not just alert the powerful Khalsa Maharaja of Punjab Ranjit Singh and his troops, but also tipped the war in favour of the East India Company after the Gorkha army had reached its farthest point to the west.
Similarly, had Amar Singh Thapa not been weakened by infighting and rivalries within the court back in Kathmandu that interfered with his battle plans, the Anglo-Nepal War and the Kangra siege may have seen a different outcome.
After the death of Prithvi Narayan Shah, there was intense power struggle between members of the royal family, increasing the influence of courtiers from the Thapa, Pande and Basnet clans, who themselves were also in competition for power. The differences stretched over the next few decades, weakening the kingdom, ultimately leading to the rise of Jung Bahadur Rana in 1847, and 104 years of the Rana rule in Nepal.
After Prithvi Narayan Shah, the Gorkha army was so encouraged by its rapid and relatively easy westward advance that it had become ambitious enough to see the possibility of the conquest of Kashmir. But the Sutlej was a river too far.
The Gorkhali generals were first outsmarted by Sansar Chand II of Kangra, then Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab, and eventually the East India Company which saw the expansionist Gorkha Empire as a threat to its own colonial project against the Mughal rule in India. The Company also needed control of the high Himalayan passes for access to Tibet, and its riches.
The Anglo-Nepal war of 1814 was actually the second time Gorkhali troops had clashed with the East India Company. After the Malla king of Kathmandu sent an urgent message to Kolkata to ask for help to repel a Gorkha invasion of the Valley, the Company sent an expeditionary force in 1795. The British forces were repelled after the battle of Sindhuli Garhi, east of Kathmandu.
In 1804, when Amar Singh Thapa (father of Commander-General Bhimsen Thapa) took over Palpa, he expected rent from Butwal, which is near Gorakhpur. But by then the Nawab of Oudh had handed over Gorakhpur to the East India Company.
The generals of the East India Company warned the Gorkha kingdom to keep out of their land, which did not sit well with the rulers in Kathmandu. This eventually led Governor General Francis Hastings, also known as Lord Moira, to declare war against the Gorkha Empire which led to the beginning of the end of the Gorkha rule over territorial conquests in the west.
Beginning of the end of the Gorkha Empire
Nepal-India Foreign Secretary Level Meeting Concluded, Agreement To Strengthen Economic And Development Partnership
Feb 13, Kathmandu- The Foreign Secretary level meeting between Nepal and India has ended. In a meeting held at Hotel Yak and Yeti on Monday, the Indian Embassy said on Twitter that it was agreed to further strengthen the economic and development partnership for the benefit of the two countries and the region as a whole.Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Indian counterpart Vinay Mohan Kwatra led the delegations of Nepal and India respectively. Indian Foreign Secretary Kwatra arrived in Kathmandu on Monday morning during a two-day official visit. He came on an Indian Airlines flight.
Along with Kwatra, officials including Anurag Srivaswa, Joint Secretary of Nepal and Bhutan Division of the Ministry of External Affairs of India have also come. Officials including Ram Prasad Subedi, Head of the South Asia Division of Foreign Affairs participated in the meeting.
Kwatra met President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Foreign Minister Dr. Vimala Rai Paudyal, Deputy Prime Minister and Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Narayankaji Shrestha, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Deputy Prime Minister and Energy Minister Rajendra Lingden have been scheduled to meet.
Foreign Secretary Kwatra has come to extend a formal invitation to Prime Minister Prachanda for his official visit to India and discuss bilateral issues.
Nepal-India Foreign Secretary Level Meeting Concluded, Agreement To Strengthen Economic And Development Partnership
Nepal-India Foreign Secretary Level Meeting Concluded, Agreement To Strengthen Economic And Development Partnership
english.headlinenepal.com
India, Nepal agree to add 200 MW to Dhalkebar-Muzaffarpur transmission line
During the 10th meeting of Nepal India Energy Secretary-level JSC, "discussions were held on various important issues such as expanding the power of existing, under-construction and proposed transmission lines, Arun Third hydroelectric power, and related transmission line projects and...
Indian foreign secretary Kwatra's visit to Nepal boosts ties between the two nations | India News - Times of India
India News: KATHMANDU: The visit of Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra to Nepal from February 13 and 14 marks a significant boost in ties between the two nations, acc.
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
India, Nepal jointly inaugurate two Dharchula International Suspension bridges
District Magistrate Pithoragarh Reena Joshi and District Magistrate Darchula, Nepal Dirghraj Upadhyay jointly inaugurated two Dharchula International Suspension bridges in the border area Dharchula of Pithoragarh district.The two bridges have been built by Nepal at Malla Ghat and Garbhadhar on Lipulekh road. 1 Crore Nepalese Rupees have been spent on the construction of each bridge. The bridge will facilitate people.
District Magistrate Pithorgarh Reena Joshi said that the two international bridges constructed between India and Nepal will facilitate the people. She said that bridge will serve as a stepping stone to strengthening relations between the two countries.
“Today, two international jhula bridges between India and Nepal have been inaugurated. The bridges will be beneficial for 70,000 people living on both sides. It will help them in their commutation. Earlier, the people used to face difficulties in commutation. The bridge will serve as a stepping stone to strengthening relations between the two countries,” Reena Joshi told ANI.
Speaking to ANI, Dirghraj Upadhyay congratulated the people and stressed that the bridges will facilitate the people. He said that the bridges will strengthen the ties between the two nations.
Earlier on February 13, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra held discussions with Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on bilateral issues across various sectors, including economic and development cooperation. The meeting was held during Kwatra’s two-day visit to Kathmandu.
Indian Embassy in Nepal tweeted, “Foreign Secretary Kwatra called on Rt. Hon. PM @cmprachanda and held productive discussions on bilateral issues across various sectors, including economic and development cooperation.”
Kwatra also met with Nepal Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal and discussed strengthening bilateral relations. The two discussed various aspects of Nepal-India relations, including the power sector cooperation, trade, and transit.
“Various aspects of Nepal-India relations including the power sector cooperation, trade, transit, education, culture, healthcare, and connectivity infrastructure were discussed during the meeting,” according to Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
India, Nepal jointly inaugurate two Dharchula Suspension bridges
The two bridges have been built by Nepal at Malla Ghat and Garbhadhar on Lipulekh road.The bridge will facilitate people.
Nepal, India reach ‘milestone’ deal on trade, transmission of electricity
Nepal to be permitted to participate in real-time trade in the Indian market, an upgrade from existing day-ahead energy trade.