Clashes Erupt at Susta Along India-Nepal Border

Clashes erupted between Nepali villagers and Indian border security personnel on August 2 in Susta, a geographically and politically sensitive section of the Nepal-India border. The incident reportedly began when Indian border security personnel allegedly crossed into Nepali territory and dismantled an under-construction embankment built by local residents to prevent flooding. Nepal’s Armed Police Force intervened to prevent further escalation. According to Nepali media, a similar incident occurred in June when India’s Border Security Force personnel entered an embankment construction site in Susta Municipality-5 and pressured workers to halt the project, part of ongoing efforts to protect flood-prone settlements. India has yet to officially respond to these allegations. India and Nepal share an 1,800-km-long open border. Susta in southern Nepal and the Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh area to Nepal’s west are disputed territories. The shifting course of the Gandak (also known as Narayani) river, the midstream of which formed the boundary under the Treaty of Sugauli of 1816, has further complicated the border problem in Susta. Nepali media, citing official sources from Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported that the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi raised the clashes with India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). India’s position, according to this source, was that the construction violates the “status quo” as the area is disputed. Nepali parliamentarians denounced the alleged actions of Indian security forces and demanded an investigation and diplomatic dialogue to “immediately stop the encroachment and threats.” Such incidents are not uncommon. In 2020, Nepal’s parliament passed a constitutional amendment to include a new political map depicting the disputed Kalapani-Limpiyadhura-Lipulekh region as part of Nepal’s sovereign territory, which India rejected. In May this year, Nepal objected to India and China’s plan to conduct the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and restart border trade via the Lipulekh Pass, which traverses the disputed territory. New Delhi dismissed these claims as “unjustified.” While India and Nepal have settled almost 98 percent of their border, disputes over Susta and Kalapani have proven difficult to resolve. The Boundary Working Group (BWG) has met several times, but no dedicated meeting at the foreign secretary level for boundary resolution has taken place in the past 12 years. Notably, while the BWG has met several times — most recently in July 2025 — no dedicated meeting at the foreign secretary level as part of the boundary resolution mechanism has taken place in the past 12 years. In August 2025, Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Nepal. However, the focus of the visit was on development cooperation. There was no mention of discussions on the border dispute in press statements released after Misri’s visit. Similarly, following Nepali Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal’s visit to India in June this year, statements issued by the Nepal embassy in Delhi and India’s MEA made no reference to discussions on the boundary dispute or any border-related issues. Nevertheless, beyond being a permanent political irritant in bilateral ties, the boundary dispute has not significantly derailed ties. Successful operational coordination between Indian security forces and their Nepali counterparts and strong bilateral ties across multiple domains spanning trade, development cooperation, civilizational links, etc., have largely averted border disputes from escalating into major diplomatic crises. In fact, the exceptionally open nature of the border with minimal fencing on both sides — unlike India’s heavily militarized borders with Pakistan and China — is widely regarded as symbolic of the special relationship shared by the two countries. The current status quo on the border privileges India, which has a strong security presence of security personnel to protect its borders. However, the damage caused by the repeated flare-ups of the border dispute — which has even resulted in deaths on the Nepali side — percolates to the grassroots level, aggravating strong anti-India sentiments in Nepal. This bodes negatively for India’s influence in South Asia at large, which rests heavily on its close civilizational and people-to-people links with its smaller neighbors. More dangerously, it opens space for third countries such as China to exploit and build their political clout to challenge Indian dominance in the region. The border dispute is unlikely to snowball into a geopolitical regional flashpoint due to the asymmetrical relationship between the two countries, given Nepal’s strong economic dependence on India and much smaller size. However, if New Delhi continues to stall and brush Kathmandu’s concerns under the rug, it is likely to cause damage to its interests and influence in the region, especially at a time when relations with other neighbors are in peril. Political trust and diplomatic dialogue are the way forward. What is missing is a sense of urgency to resolve the dispute, especially from New Delhi. Nepal Prime Minister Balen Shah’s upcoming visit to India provides New Delhi with an opportunity to address long-standing issues and redefine its relationship with one of its closest neighbors. Information Source: The Diplomat Indonesia