Students stage protest, burn Indian map outside Indian Embassy

KATHMANDU, Nov 8: Students affiliated to All Nepal National Free Students Union, a sister wing of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP),  staged a demonstration outside the Indian Embassy at Lainchour in Kathmandu on Friday, protesting the inclusion of the disputed territory of Kalapani in the new political map of India released a week ago.

They chanted slogans “Kalapani belongs to us”, “Lipulekh is ours” and burned the map of India in protest against the border encroachment.

Students of Pashupati Multiple Campus also organized a protest rally demanding correction in India’s new map.

Kathmandu District Committee of Nepal Student Union, a student wing of main opposition party Nepali Congress led the rally which started from Mitrapark and ended at Pashupati Campus.

The Indian government unveiled a new Indian political map on Nov 2 reflecting the newly formed Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh following the move to rescind the special status accorded to Jammu and Kashmir under the Article 370 of the Constitution of India, which also places Kalapani and Lipulekh, both claimed by Nepal, inside its border.

Nepal has objected to the new Indian map saying the territory “clearly” belonged to Nepal and ‘any unilateral decision to change border demarcation would be unacceptable”.

On the other hand, India has said the map has accurately depicted the sovereign territory of India while claiming the new map has not revised the boundary.

Photo: Riwaj Rai/Facebook