Sahil Bhachawat, OP Jindal Global University
Page No: 417 to 423
The Treaty of Sugauli was a treaty of peace that was signed between the East India Company and the Kingdom of Nepal on March 4, 1816, following Nepal’s defeat in the Anglo – Nepalese war of 1814-1816. In essence, the treaty stipulated the following1: a) Nepal would have to cede almost 1/3d of its territories in favour of the East India Company; b) it would also seat a British representative in Nepal; and c) the British would be allowed to enlist Nepali Gurkhas in. Against these major concessions given by the Nepalese Kingdom, the East India Company only promised an annual sum of Rs.2,00,000 as indemnification for the ceded territories. It is pertinent to note that when the British left India, the territories that were received by the East India Company were transferred to Independent India and not returned to Nepal. It has been argued by many international law scholars that the terms of treaty were patently unjust and unfair to the Nepalese people, and it was signed under coercion and therefore, it must be treated as void ab initio. This research paper endeavours to analyse thevalidity of the Treaty of Sugauli from an international law viewpoint in the context of thebackground in which it was signed and other subsequent events that took place after its signing. The paper also attempts to understand the effect of the original text of the treatybeing lost in case Nepal were to ever challenge the validity of the treaty.
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