KATHMANDU, Sept 19: The ‘original sketch’ of Nepal’s political map including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura released five years ago, remains safe even though the government’s administrative building was burnt by protesters during the Gen Z movement on September 9.
Sources say the original political (chuche) map, painstakingly prepared by technical staff from sketches, suffered no damage and is still secure. Technical staff reportedly used scales, projection systems, and coordinate systems to create the new map, which reflects Nepal’s territory as defined by the 1816 Sugauli Treaty. Before preparing the new map, staff visited the Nepal-India border region up to Changru.
One technical official said, “After the political map was made public, the Survey Department printed thousands of copies using printing machines. Each copy was sold at Rs 50. The maps were sent to all government offices and Nepal’s diplomatic missions abroad through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Almost all offices displayed the maps on walls. Some offices even pasted them. The September 9 movement caused some damage to the maps that were posted on walls.”
On May 18, 2020, the KP Sharma Oli-led government released Nepal’s new map, including Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura, and sent it to the United Nations. By January 2025, the government submitted the map along with relevant documents to the UN Treaty Body.
Sources say the map was included in the “Common Core Document of Nepal,” prepared by the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers’ Office.
The Parliamentary State Affairs and Good Governance Committee in November 2019 had directed the government to include the Limpiyadhura region in Nepal’s new map.
Following the committee’s direction, the government passed the new map on May 18 and publicly released it on May 20, 2020. According to the approved map, a bill to amend the seal was registered in the parliamentary secretariat. After detailed discussions, the parliament approved the new map on June 13, 2020, with all 258 members present voting in favor of the constitutional amendment bill.