Tensions in relations between Nepal and India after agreement on religious pilgrimage
A long-running border dispute between Nepal and India has returned to the spotlight after New Delhi announced the resumption of a religious pilgrimage through a contested Himalayan pass. Last Sunday, Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs lodged a formal protest with India, criticizing the decision to reopen the pilgrimage.
The Lipulekh Pass, which marks the junction of Nepal, India and Tibet, is claimed by Nepal on the basis of the 1816 Treaty of Sugauli, signed with India’s British colonial rulers, which defined its western borders. In its complaint, the Nepalese government stressed that the territories of Limpiadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani belong to Nepal, reaffirming its position clearly and firmly.
In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs argued that the Lipulekh Pass has been used by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and followers of the Bon religion for pilgrimages to Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar in Tibet since 1954. A ministry spokesperson said: “This is not a new development. India has always maintained that such claims are neither justified nor based on historical facts and evidence. This unilateral, artificial enlargement of territorial claims is untenable.”
The controversy was reignited when India announced last Thursday that it had reached an agreement with China to resume the pilgrimage via Lipulekh, which had been suspended in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the plan, 500 Hindu pilgrims will travel through the Indian state of Uttarakhand before crossing into China via the Lipulekh Pass. Other pilgrims will take an alternative route through the Indian state of Sikkim.
