Nepal objects to India over pilgrimage route through disputed border area
Adam Hancock
Nepal has formally protested India's decision to reopen a religious pilgrimage route through the Lipulekh Pass, a disputed border area in the Himalayas. The Nepalese government insists the area is sovereign territory based on an 1816 treaty, while India dismisses the claims as unfounded.
Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 18 sent a protest note to India, criticizing the decision to resume a religious pilgrimage route through the Lipulekh Pass, a disputed border area between the two countries in the Himalayas.
In the note, Nepal's Foreign Ministry affirmed that the Limpiadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani areas are part of Nepal's territory, emphasizing that "the Nepalese government's stance on this issue is clear and firm."
The Lipulekh Pass lies at the tri-junction of Nepal, India, and Tibet (China). Nepal claims sovereignty over the area based on the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli signed with British colonial authorities, which delineated Nepal's western border.
The dispute flared up again after India announced on June 15 that it had agreed with China to resume the Kailash Manasarovar pilgrimage route through the Lipulekh Pass, which had been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the plan, 500 Hindu devotees will travel through Uttarakhand state (northern India) to China via the Lipulekh Pass, while others will go through Sikkim state (northeastern India).
In response, India's Ministry of External Affairs asserted that Lipulekh has been used by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and followers of the Bon religion for pilgrimage since 1954. An Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson emphasized: "This is not a new development. India has always held that such claims of sovereignty lack historical basis and are inconsistent with factual evidence. Unilateral territorial expansion through artificial claims is unacceptable."
