ISAS Working Papers

For the second time in seven months, India and Nepal have been drawn into a diplomatic standoff over their Himalayan border. The roots of India-Nepal border tensions lay in the Sugauli Treaty of 1816 and a number of successive maps produced in British India. The current tension sparked off after India’s Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh, inaugurated a newly-completed road link from Dharchula to Lipulekh via video-conferencing. While Nepal has accused India of “encroachment” into its territory, India has refuted the charge and is ready to schedule foreign secretary-level talks after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides.