Geographies of India-Nepal contestation
The commentary looks at how physiography and cartography can explain the ensuing tiff between India and Nepal. These geographies when deconstructed through critical cartography and critical hydropolitics present us with a new vantage point. The Kali River that marks the boundary between India and Nepal when reading through critical hydropolitics provides us with a new angle of vision. Secondly, we read the maps and story behind them to unearth the historico-political meanings. Thereby, reflecting on how India’s cartographic censorship is contested with counter-mapping by Nepal. Lastly, the cartographic rhetoric is uncovered that circulates in Nepal and the meanings and implications it holds for the relation between the two countries. The rhetoric has a broader vision through conceptualisation of space based on history. The paper contributes to understanding the existing geographies of contestation while providing ways for its resolution in the coming times.