The Sugauli Treaty (also spelled Segowlee) was signed on December 2, 1815 and ratified by March 4, 1816, between the British East India Company and The Kingdom of Nepal, ending the second British invasion of the Himalayan kingdom during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–16). The signatory for Nepal was Raj Guru Gajaraj Mishra aided by Chandra Sekher Upadhyaya; Lieutenant-Colonel Paris Bradshaw signed for the Company.
The treaty called for territorial concessions on the part of Nepal, the establishment of a British representative in Kathmandu, and allowed Britain to recruit Gurkhas for military service. Nepal also lost the right to deploy any American or European employee in her service (earlier several French commanders had been deployed to train the Nepali army).
Under the treaty, about one-third of Nepalese territory was lost, including Sikkim (whose Chogyals supported Britain in the Anglo-Nepalese War); territory to west of the Maha Kali River like Kumaon (present Indian state of Uttaranchal), Garhwal (present Indian state of Himachal); some territories to the west of the Sutluj River like Kangra; and much of the Terai Region. Some of the Terai Region was restored to Nepal in 1816 under a revision of the treaty and more territory was returned in 1865 to thank Nepal for helping to suppress the Sepoy Rebellion.
The British representative in Kathmandu was the first Westerner allowed to live in the kingdom. The first representative was Edward Gardner, who was installed at a compound north of Kathmandu. That site is now home to the British and Indian embassies.
The Sugauli Treaty was superceded in December 1923 by a "treaty of perpetual peace and friendship," which upgraded the British resident to an envoy. A separate treaty was signed with India (independent by now) in 1950 which restored fresh relations between the two as independent countries.
The SugauliTreaty (also spelled Segowlee) was signed on December 2, 1815 and ratified by March 4, 1816, between the British East India Company and The Kingdom of Nepal, ending the second British invasion of the Himalayan kingdom during the Anglo-Nepalese War (1814-1816).
The SugauliTreaty was superseded in December 1923 by a "treaty of perpetual peace and friendship," which upgraded the British resident to an envoy.
A separate treaty was signed with India (independent by now) in 1950 which restored fresh relations between the two as independent countries.
A ‘forensic’ deconstruction of the Mahakali Treaty of 1996 between Nepal and India reveals the larger neighbour as bulldozer and the smaller one as hapless and internally divided.
The initialling of the treaty, the circumstances that preceded, attended and followed it, its ratification followed by nearly immediate descent into disgrace and the limbo it has since lapsed into are part of a larger saga that has its roots in history.
This treaty transferred 4000 acres on the eastern bank of the Mahakali to India to build the Sarada Barrage in exchange for 4000 acres of forested land in areas further to the east as well as Rs.
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