The Office of the Minister of Education of Nepal Giriraj Mani Pokharel confirmed to TOI that the book ‘Nepalko Bhubhaag Ra Seemasambandhi Swadhyay Samagri (The Geography and Territorial Boundary of Nepal)’ was presented for upper secondary students. The preface has been written by Pokharel. The book includes the disputed area of Kalapani in Uttarakhand as the territory of Nepal. One source said that it mentions that Nepal has a geographical area of 1,47,641.28 square kilometers, of which 460 square kilometers is the Kalapani area.
On the same day, the Nepalese cabinet, headed by Prime Minister KP Oli, also gave permission to the country’s central bank, Nepal Rastra Bank, to mint new coins of one rupee and two rupee denominations with the new political map.
The sources said this was announced by the Nepalese government spokesman and Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali. In all likelihood, the sources added, the new coins will be in circulation by Dussehra (Dashain, as it is called there), which is celebrated as a major holiday in the neighboring country.
In November last year, Nepal had protested against the inauguration of a key Lipulekh road in Pithoragarh by Union Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, claiming that part of the section passed through the territory of Nepal. After a renewed dispute over three areas – Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh and Kalapani – the Nepalese parliament voted unanimously to amend the Constitution to update the map of the country to include them as part of its territory. Then the government announced that all documents will start using the new map.
So now, a source said, the introduction of the map into school books and coins is “totally legal” because it follows what is a regular course of action. “The government has started the process of issuing the new maps to the Nepalese embassies and is also introducing them into government bulletins,” added the source.
Meanwhile, many in Nepal said that the need for a resolution is increasingly important. “There have been misunderstandings between the two nations in recent months. However, to present a new map of Nepal is a sovereign decision of the country, ”Khadga KC, head of the department of international relations and diplomacy at Tribhuvan University, told TOI. “But I think problems must be solved through dialogue and a solution must be found.”
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