Political commentator falsely claims Nepal postage stamp issued in 1958 had a ‘pointy map’

South Asia Check / July 29, 2021

Writer and political commentator Saurabh speaking on the Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya program aired on AP1 television on July 20 claimed that a postage stamp issued by Nepal government in 1958 features a Nepal map with a pointed spur on the northwestern corner.

He made the claim in the context of the immediate past government issuing a new map of Nepal last year by including Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura areas within the Nepali territory. Inclusion of these areas, which are also claimed by India, has added a pointed spur on the northwestern corner of the Nepal map. Nepal adopted the map in June 2020 with the passage of a related bill by parliament.

“As far as I remember, the postage stamp issued in 2015 BS [1958-59 AD] had a pointy map [of Nepal]. But Nepal map published in the postage stamp issued after 2017 BS [1960] doesn’t have that pointy part. He [Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli] brought that pointy part back.”

Saurabh, whose real name is Dinesh Satyal, made the claim while reviewing the three and a half years term of the immediate past government led by KP Sharma Oli.

South Asia Check examined the claim.

According to the Philatelic and Postal Management Office under the Postal Services Department, two postage stamps were issued in 1958 and they do not contain the map of Nepal. One of them, Nepal’s first air mail postage stamp, has an image of a bird flying in the Kathmandu sky, and another issued to mark the International Human Rights Day has the image of Lumbini Temple. Likewise, a ticket issued in February 1959 to mark the first general elections has the national flag and Nepal map but the map does not have the pointed spur. Other postage stamps issued in the same year do not have Nepal map. In 1954, a map series of postage stamps was issued featuring the map of Nepal but none contains the pointed spur. This information is from the publication titled “Nepal Postage Stamp Catalogue 1881-2015.” We also spoke to the president of Nepal Philatelic Society, Shankar Shrestha, who corroborated the aforementioned information. Therefore, writer Saurabh’s claim that the postage stamp issued in 2015 BS featured a ‘pointy map’ of Nepal is false.

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