India-Nepal Border row: BRM stages unique postage stamp protest along border

India-Nepal border gains momentum as some groups find novel yet creative ways to protest against Nepalese claims. Last Thursday, on July 9, members of the Bharat Raksha Manch, who identify themselves as a non-political organisation protested along the Indian border armed with postage stamps.

The group claimed that the postage stamps printed and released by the Himalayan nation in 1954 do not show any of the areas which they are claiming to be theirs in their map and that the areas of dispute, in fact, belong to India. 

The Bharat Raksha Manch, which was founded in 2010, reportedly sent a letter with the stamp as proof to the 59-member strong Nepalese National Assembly as well as Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

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Speaking to PTI, the organisation's National Secretary and noted Philatelist, Anil Dhir said, 'Since 1954, Nepal has issued 29 postage stamps in which the nation's map has always been depicted as claimed by India.'

"They have never shown Kalapani as their territory or a disputed area. Those areas were never included in official maps of the Nepal government and the maps in school atlases," asserted Dhir, an expert on philately who has four books to his name.

According to news agency PTI, an additional copy of the letter along with the map stamp of 1954 was also sent to the Nepalese High Commissioner to India, the Nepalese Philatelic Society president and other relevant figures of authority in the country.

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Notably, the ties between both countries came under a strain after a strategically important 80-km road connecting Lipu Lekh pass with Uttarakhand's Dharchula was inaugurated by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on May 8. 

Nepal sharply criticised the inauguration of the road claiming that it passed through its territory, and in retaliation released new maps that now include territories that never belonged to them. The updation of the political and administrative map angered India which swiftly prompted its neighbour not to resort to any 'artificial enlargement' of its territory and 'refrain from any unjust cartographic assertion.'

While Nepal claims Lipu Lekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura as theirs, official stamps released by the tiny Himalayan nation shows otherwise. And the only explanation to Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's behaviour is his newfound favour with China and its globally disliked and distrusted CPC (Communist Party of China).

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On Sunday, Nepal had sent a Note Verbale to India, urging New Delhi to take steps against the broadcast of materials what it called "fake, baseless and insensitive as well as abusive" to the country and its leadership by a section of the Indian media.

The move came days after Nepal on Thursday stopped the transmission of all Indian private news channels except Doordarshan, accusing them of airing reports hurting the country's national sentiment and India has not responded to the request yet.

The Note also mentioned that 'Such materials are not only misleading and misinforming but also impair the sense of minimum public decency,” the ministry said in the note.'

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