The 1950 Treaty: Why India-Nepal Border Remains Open Without Visas Or Passports? | World News
India and Nepal have a boundaries of 1,751 kilometers, India Uttarand states shares a limit with Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Cikkim and West Bengal Nepal. In addition to geographical proximity, the two countries allow tremendous trade and there is no restriction on the movement of citizens and goods without a visa. This open border and free movement policy was legally established in the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship. Let’s see how this 75 -year -old treaty provides peace and private relationships between India and Nepal.
Foundations of Friendship: 1950 Treaty
On July 31, 1950, India and Nepal entered the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which constitutes the pole of bilateral relations. The treaty embodies the intervention in the regions of each country as well as the values of peace, friendship and sovereignty of the two countries.
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Logic behind open boundaries
India’s non -visa border policy is the result of centuries of religious, cultural and kinship relations between India and Nepal. Nepal is largely dependent on business and employment in India, thousands of Nepal and Indians in India are doing business in Nepal. Nepal is a buffer state for India, a friendly neighbor between India and China.
In accordance with this treaty, Nepal should consult India when it provides weapons from any nation except India. The Treaty also gives both countries the right to “national treatment” against each other, an extended provision to industrial and economic progress. This gives the citizens of both countries the right to property, trade, residence and movement in each other’s country. For example, a Nepal citizen can have property in India and vice versa. A citizen of Indian can stay anywhere in Nepal and a Nepal citizen has similar rights to staying in India under national treatment.
Nepal’s Calls for Revision of Treaty
The 1950 Treaty was asked to revise several times. Nepal first complained that the Treaty was signed with a non -popular Rana ruler who accused India of taking advantage of the situation. Some groups in Nepal said that the signing of the treaty as a sub -state, not Equal, India’s Nepal.
Nepal has repeatedly protested Articles 2, 6 and 7 of the agreement.
ARTICLE 2 foresee that both governments inform each other about any serious friction or misunderstanding with any limit state that may disrupt friendship relations between the two governments. Nepal implied that he should inform India before starting new relations or negotiations with a third nation (China, Pakistan, USA, etc.). Nepal perceived this as a limitation on its independent foreign policy.
Articles 6 and 7 provide equal rights to India and Nepal citizens in terms of economic effort, employment, residence and property ownership. In 1994, UML won on an anti -Indian platform. Since then, the allegations that the Sloganism against India and the 1950 Treaty of India has unjust benefit has become the preferred strategy of a political party.
1988 Weapon Import Incident
While Nepal imported weapons from China in 1988, India wrote that it sees it as a violation of the 1950 Treaty and that there are unilateral restrictions on the transit points between India and Nepal. This embargo has damaged Nepal, affected the job, and provoked serious economic and security problems.
Nepal argued that importing Chinese arms is not against Article 5, which is directly related to the import of weapons from the Indian territory or the Indian region. Since 1988 imports did not come from India and India, he claimed that it was not compulsory to inform Nepal India or to consult India. However, India closed Nepal’s transit roads for 17 months and underlined the complexity of the treaty.
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