Unsettled South Asian Borders: Nepal’s Effort to Reconcile Its Colonial and Non-colonial Borders

While it is commonly accepted that the borders in South Asia are post-colonial borders established by colonial powers, the literature often skips the discussion of the non-colonial borders of the region. Many sources do not even acknowledge the existence of non-colonial borders at all, making such borders some sort of terra incognita. This has created an academic gap which limits the understanding of the borders of the region and sometimes leads towards hasty generalisation on the nature of South Asian borders. Nepal has two types of borders—a colonial border shared with India in the south and a non-colonial border shared with China that lies in the central Himalayan massif. This has resulted in the adoption of two different border policies that do not always align with each other. To delve into the intricacies of this situation, this article focuses on two main inquiries. First, the article studies Nepal’s border policies and approaches by examining the historical context of border delimitation with India and China, as well as the characteristics of these borders. Second, the article examines the extent to which Nepal is successful in reconciling its colonial and non-colonial border policies as well as the challenges it faces in this endeavour. It concludes the discussion by exploring the potential contribution of non-colonial borders to South Asia’s border narratives.