Greater Nepal

Greater Nepal is a concept of Nepal extending beyond its present boundaries to include present day Indian territories.

Official position of Nepal government and political parties

The former kings of Nepal, prime ministers of Kingdoms of Nepal and later prime ministers of Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal have not discussed or approved of the concept of "Greater Nepal", though Nepalese at large view the occupation of these territories by present day Indian government as both illegal and immoral. They argue that a nation called India in its present form or shape, never existed in history and it was only the British who created it. They also hold the view that lines drawn by colonial powers should not be a basis for division of brotherly people of Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kumaon, Garhwal, Nainital and Nepal who share common language, culture, history and identity. Nepalese in general hold the Sugauli Treaty as document for Partition of Nepal.

However much to the disappointment of Nepalese citizens at large, much of the territories of Greater Nepal has been indianized, some believe, to the point of no return. For example in places like Kumaon and Garhwal there are now more Hindi-speakers than ethnic Nepali speaking people. Furthermore, late Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala told journalists in Jalapa that the Greater Nepal idea is "a product of unstable minds". He also had said that 'The ethnic cleansing of Nepalese speaking people from Indian state of Meghalaya and Bhutan' were internal affairs of those countries and people of Nepal should not sympathize with their cause. Girija is often accused by Nepalese inside and outside Nepal as being a traitor for not doing anything to end the Indian occupation of Nepalese territories like Kalapani, Susta and Tankapur which were occupied by India after 1962.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the chairperson of Maoist party, who spent 10 years of his life in India after being declared a terrorist by the Nepalese government, after becoming PM of Nepal said in an interview with Times of India in 2005 that Greater Nepal was a "media-created stunt".

See also

• Nepal portal
• East India Company
• British Raj
• History of Nepal
• Kingdom of Nepal
• History of India
• History of Sikkim
• Politics of Nepal
• 1950 Indo-Nepal Treaty of Peace and Friendship

External links

• Bellinfosys.com (important dates in the history of Garhwal.)
• Bordernepal.com
• The Gurkhas origin exploration and expansion