Revision summary
Indo-Nepal irritants sit on an open border and the 1950 Treaty, not on absence of contact. Kathmandu reads the treaty and Indian political interest as pressure on sovereignty. Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura are the live territorial row. The 2015 Constitution, Madhesi agitation, and blockade perception still poison transit trust. China’s infrastructure offer and trade imbalance complete the list.
Model answer
Introduction
India and Nepal share an open border, the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and deep people-to-people ties. Irritants sit on that intimacy: unequal-looking treaty language, maps, Madhesi politics, and a third-neighbour China option in Kathmandu.
Body
Treaty and sovereignty irritants
- The 1950 Treaty and related letters are read in Nepal as tilting security and economic space toward India, so periodic calls to recast or scrap the treaty remain a political irritant in Kathmandu.
- Perception of Indian interference in constitution-making and in coalition arithmetic feeds a sovereignty narrative even when New Delhi claims only neighbourhood interest.
Territory, Madhes, and blockade memory
- Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura remain contested; India’s map and road moves and Nepal’s counter-map turn a Himalayan trijunction into a national issue.
- The 2015 Madhesi agitation and the supply disruption that Nepal called an unofficial blockade still colour trust on transit, fuel, and the 2015 Constitution’s inclusion debate.
Economic and strategic irritants
- Trade imbalance, non-tariff barriers, and slow project delivery on Indian lines sit beside Chinese railways, ports-via-China talk, and grants that Kathmandu uses as leverage.
- Hydropower, inundation at the border, and labour-migration grievances add a daily administrative list beneath the high politics.
Why they persist
- Open-border closeness makes every local clash a bilateral headline, while unequal size makes even routine Indian acts look like pressure.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD T[1950 Treaty image] --> I[Trust deficit] M[Madhes and 2015 memory] --> I K[Kalapani Lipulekh maps] --> I C[China option] --> I
Conclusion
The main irritants are the 1950 Treaty’s unequal image, the Kalapani–Lipulekh map dispute, the 2015 blockade-and-Madhes memory, and China’s alternative. Geography binds the two states; politics keeps converting intimacy into grievance.
Quick related
Students also ask
-
Write a note on Citizen’s Charter.
Next question in the 2019 paper (Q5). View answer →
-
Is the 1950 Treaty the only problem?
No. Maps, Madhesi inclusion, trade, hydropower, and China are separate files. The treaty is the historical frame, not the whole list.
-
Does an open border remove irritants?
It reduces visa friction but raises cattle, crime, flood, and demographic anxieties that then enter high diplomacy.
PYQ trend
When UPSC asked this
Related PYQs from other years, newest first. Open a question to read it.
-
2025 · Q10 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Assess the strategic significance of the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, 2025 Declaration, in endorsing India's long-standing position on cross-border terrorism. -
2025 · Q20 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
To what extent can India's Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with various countries help mitigate the adverse effects of the US trade policies on India's exports? Critically evaluate. -
2024 · Q10 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Discuss India's regional policy towards South-East Asia. -
2024 · Q18 · UPGS2 · 12 marks
Examine the major issues of dispute between India and Bangladesh and give suggestions for improving bilateral relations. -
2023 · Q8 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
The failure of SAARC forced India to strengthen BIMSTEC. Explain. -
2023 · Q9 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Explain the rationale behind India’s involvement in QUAD.
More from this paper
Q1 · UPSC Mains 2019 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Describe the objectives and impact of Atal-Bhujal Yojana.
Indian Constitution
Atal Bhujal Yojana is a Central Sector, World Bank–assisted groundwater scheme for selected stressed blocks. Objectives are community Water Security Plans and a shift from drilling to demand management. Seven states including Uttar Pradesh are in the first design. Impact is meant as better data, less unsustainable pumping, and panchayat ownership of the aquifer. Impact stays limited if power and crop incentives still reward over-extraction.
Q2 · UPSC Mains 2019 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
Briefly state the role of National Human Rights Commission in India.
Finance Commission
NHRC is a statutory body under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. It inquires into public-servant-linked rights violations, visits jails, and reviews safeguards. It recommends compensation or action and may move a constitutional court. It cannot convict; its orders are not decrees of a trial court. Impact depends on tabling of reports and on the quality of appointments.
Q3 · UPSC Mains 2019 · UPGS2 · 8 marks
"The traditional quality of Civil Services has been Neutrality". Explain it.
Civil Services in a democracy
Neutrality means a permanent service implements any lawful government without becoming a party machine. It allows recorded dissent against illegal orders; it is not moral numbness. Article 311, UPSC, and conduct rules are the Indian locks on that tradition. Transfers and committed-officer politics are the main strains. The minister must own politics; the officer must own the file and the law.
Toppers' copies
Toppers' copies for this question will be uploaded soon.