Nepal removes disputed map from one rupee coin

Nepal approves minting of a new one rupee coin without the controversial map.

Nepal government has approved minting a newly designed one rupee coin. The coin will remove the controversial map that included Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani. Instead, it will feature an image of a monastery. However, there has been no official confirmation from the Nepal government regarding this.

The Nepal government claims that Lipulekh and Kalapani are part of its territory, while India asserts that these areas belong to it. In May 2020, the then Prime Minister K.P. Oli-led Nepali government included these areas, including Kalapani and Lipulekh, in its official map. Sources have stated that on Thursday, the Council of Ministers approved Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) to mint newly designed one rupee and two rupee coins. However, there has been no official confirmation from the Nepal government regarding this.

Deccan Herald reports that according to the Cabinet decision, the new one rupee coin will remove Nepal's new political map. The newly designed one rupee coin will replace the controversial map of Nepal (which included Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani) with an image of the 'Lo Ghyakar Monastery' located in Marang village of Mustang. This monastery is considered one of the oldest in Nepal.

However, according to Cabinet sources, the map printed on the two rupee coin will remain unchanged. Senior leader of the Nepali Communist Party, Bhim Rawal, criticized the government's decision to remove the new political map from the one rupee coin, calling it a serious step against Nepal's territorial integrity.

Rawal demanded that the government and the ruling National Independent Party immediately clarify their position on this matter. Rawal said,

"If the government led by Prime Minister Balen Shah has indeed decided to remove Nepal's map (which included Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani) from the one rupee coin and replace it with the image of 'Lo Ghyakar Monastery', it will be another serious anti-national decision and a blow to Nepal's territorial integrity."

The bank's spokesperson, Guru Prasad Paudel, stated that Nepal Rastra Bank proposed the new design to reduce the size and weight of the coins. He mentioned that the weight of the new coins will decrease from 4 grams to 3.2 grams for the one rupee coin and from 5 grams to 3.8 grams for the two rupee coin. Additionally, these coins will be made of steel instead of mixed metals and will have a steel-like white color instead of yellow.