| Kuti Valley | |
|---|---|
| Kuti | |
| Length | 30 km (19 mi) |
| Geography | |
| Country | India Nepal |
| State | Uttrakhand Sudurpashchim Province |
| Region | Dharchula Darchula |
| District | Pithoragarh Darchula |
| Coordinates | 30°19′N80°46′E / 30.31°N 80.76°E /30.31; 80.76 |
 | |
Kuti Valley is aHimalayan valley, an area administered by India and also claimed by Nepal, is situated in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand state of India. It is the last valley before the border withTibet. It runs along the Limpiyadhura Pass &Adi Kailash in northwest toGunji in southeast axis, formed by the riverKuti Yankti, which is one of the headwaters of theKali River. It is reached by thePithoragagh-Lipulekh Pass Highway (PLPH).
This valley is mainly dominated byByansis, one of the fourBhotiya communities of Kumaon, with the others beingJohar,Darmiya andChaudansi.[1][2] In May 2020, Nepal laid claim to the northeastern half of the valley, claiming that Kuthi Yanki represented the Kali River and it was meant to be Nepal's border as per the 1816Sugauli Treaty.
Kuthi Yankti is one of the two headwaters of theKali River, the other being theKalapani River that flows down from theLipulekh Pass.[3]
Kuthi Yankti emerges from slopes near Wilsha, below the Limpiyadhura range, and passes Lake Jolingkong at an altitude of 4,630 m, to the Kuti village. It flows southeast to merge with theKalapani River near theGunji village to form theKali River (or Sharada River). High Himalayan passes ofMangsha Dhura (5,490 m) andLimpiya Dhura (5,530 m) are situated along the northern border of the Kuthi valley joining it with Tibet. Shin La pass and Nama pass joinDarma Valley to Kuthi valley from the south. Jolingkong and Parvati are main alpine lakes.[4]Sangthang Peak is the highest along the line of peaks forming the northern boundary of the valley with Tibet. Among the peaks forming the southern boundary of the valley, notable peaks areBrammah Parvat (6,321 m), Cheepaydang (6,220 m) and Adi Kailash (5,945 m).
Kuthi Yankti is part of the Byans ethnographic region, which comprises Kuthi valley as well as the Kali River valley within its vicinity and theTinkar valley in Nepal. The people of this region are calledByansis, who speak a distinctiveByangsi language. There are five Byans villages in the Kuthi valley (Gunji, Nabi, Rongkang, Napalchu and Kuti), two along the Kali River (Budi and Garbyang) and two in the Tinkar valley (Chhangru and Tinkar). In later times, two new villages were founded in Nepal (Rapla and Sitaula).[5] Kuti is the last village in the Kuthi valley, at an elevation of 12,300 feet (3,700 m). Garbyang, at the junction of Tinkar River with Kali, is the largest.[6]
The Byans region was originally part of Kumaon and the whole of Kumaon was under rule of Nepal (Gorkha) for 25 years. After theAnglo-Nepalese War and the ensuingTreaty of Sugauli, the Kali River was agreed as the border between Kumaon and Nepal. In 1817, the Nepal Darbar claimed the villages of Tinkar and Chhangru as per the terms of the treaty, and theBritish Governor General acquiesced. The Nepalese then made the further claim that the Kuthi valley also belonged to them on the grounds that Kuthi Yankti was the main headwater of Kali. This claim was rejected by the British on the grounds that, by tradition and convention, the Kali River is taken to begin at the Kalapani village, where the dark-coloured springs flowing into the river give it the name "Kali". ("Kali" means black in Hindi.)[7]
The claim to the Kuthi Valley was revived by the Nepalese geographerBuddhi Narayan Shrestha in 1999, who, after studying old maps of the early 19th century, came to the conclusion that "the origin of Mahakali River lies almost 16 kilometres northwest of Kalapani at Limpiyadhura".[8] In May 2020, the Nepalese government made the claim official by endorsing a new map of Nepal that shows the Kuthi Valley as part of Nepal. The Prime Minister K. P. Oli declared that the country would "reclaim" it.[9] India responded that it was a unilateral act that was "not based on historical facts and evidence".[10]