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Treaties & agreements · 1856

Treaty of Thapathaliथापाथली सन्धि

FriendshipSuperseded

The treaty that ended the third Nepal–Tibet War of 1855–56 under Jang Bahadur Rana. Tibet agreed to pay Nepal Rs 10,000 a year and granted Nepali merchants duty-free trade and a resident agent in Lhasa with extraterritorial powers — a regime that governed trans-Himalayan relations for exactly a century, until the 1956 Nepal–China agreement dissolved it.

Signed

1856

March 1856 (24 March per the US State Department boundary study)

Parties

2

Nepal (Gorkha Government) · Tibet (Bhot Government)

Category

Friendship

Classified as a friendship instrument

Status

Superseded

The provisions

What the agreement says

The substantive terms, article by article where the structure allows.

  • Tibet agreed to pay Nepal an annuity of Rs 10,000 — bargained down from Nepal's original demand of a one-crore (10 million) rupee indemnity.

  • Nepal pledged to assist Tibet if it were invaded by a foreign power.

  • Both governments, in the Tibetan-language text translated by Charles Bell, agreed to continue to regard the Chinese Emperor 'with respect' — a clause Chinese and Nepali historiography read in opposite ways.

  • Tibet exempted Nepali merchants and subjects from customs, road and other taxes, and Nepal was allowed to open trading shops in Lhasa dealing in gems, jewellery, clothing, grain and provisions.

  • Nepal was entitled to station a high officer or agent at Lhasa with extraterritorial jurisdiction over Nepali subjects, with joint hearings for mixed Nepali–Tibetan disputes.

  • Nepal withdrew its troops from occupied Tibetan territory — the Kerong (Kyirong), Kuti (Nyalam), Junga, Taglakhar, Chewur and Dhakling areas — and both sides returned prisoners, weapons and livestock, with mutual extradition of fugitives and amnesty for collaborators.

The full story

How it came about — and what it means

The 1855–56 war was Jang Bahadur's bid to reverse the humiliating outcome of the 1791–92 Nepal–Tibet/China war, after which Nepal had been forced into quinquennial tribute missions to Peking. Gorkhali forces took the border towns of Kuti and Kerong, but extended supply lines, Tibetan counterattacks and the cost of occupation pushed both sides to negotiate. The treaty Jang Bahadur extracted at his Thapathali palace was, on paper, highly favourable: an annual payment in perpetuity, a duty-free trading regime, and a resident Nepali agent in Lhasa with judge-like powers over Nepali subjects — a package resembling, in miniature, the 'unequal treaty' privileges European powers were imposing on Qing China in the same decade.

The treaty governed trans-Himalayan relations for exactly a century. Its ambiguities — especially the clause about both states regarding the Chinese Emperor 'with respect', which Chinese historiography reads as Nepal acknowledging Qing suzerainty and Nepali historiography reads as polite formula — became live diplomatic questions in the 1950s when the People's Republic of China asserted control of Tibet. Tibetan tribute missions to Kathmandu continued as late as 1953, but Beijing progressively curtailed Nepali traders' privileges. The 1956 Nepal–China agreement on Tibet, concluded in the spirit of Panchsheel, formally dissolved the Thapathali order: Nepal surrendered extraterritoriality and the Rs 10,000 annuity, and recognised Tibet as a region of China — the legal foundation on which the 1960–61 boundary settlement was built.

Thapathali matters today for two reasons. It marks the last time Nepal fought an external war and the high-water mark of Rana-era assertiveness; and the towns it names — Kyirong/Kerong and Kuti/Nyalam — are precisely today's two main Nepal–China trade corridors, Rasuwagadhi–Kyirong and Tatopani–Zhangmu: a reminder that the geography of Himalayan exchange has barely moved in 170 years.

What followed

Consequences & legacy

  • The Rs 10,000 annuity, duty-free trade and the Nepali agent's extraterritorial position in Lhasa lasted a century, ending only when the 1956 Nepal–China agreement abrogated all previous treaties between Nepal and China/Tibet — its Article III reads: 'All treaties and documents which existed in the past between Nepal and China including those between Nepal and the Tibet Region of China are hereby abrogated.'

  • Recognition of Tibet as a region of China in 1956 cleared the legal ground for the Sino-Nepal boundary settlement of 1960–63.

  • The treaty's trade towns, Kyirong and Kuti, remain the two main Nepal–China trade corridors (Rasuwagadhi–Kyirong and Tatopani–Zhangmu) today.

Where sources disagree

  • The Tibet Justice Center texts date the treaty simply to March 1856 (the Tibetan version uses 'the 18th day of the 2nd month of the Fire-Dragon year'); the US State Department boundary study gives 24 March 1856.
  • The digitised US State Department study prints the abrogating Nepal–China agreement's date as 'September 20, 1950' — an evident error, since Nepal–PRC relations were only established on 1 August 1955; the standard year in the literature is 1956, with the exact day needing the original text.

Amarnepal states discrepancies openly rather than silently choosing one source's version.

← Earlier agreementTreaty of Sugauli1816Later agreement →Nepal–Britain Treaty of Friendship, 19231923
Common questions

Treaty of Thapathali: FAQ

When was the Treaty of Thapathali signed?+

The Treaty of Thapathali was signed on March 1856 (24 March per the US State Department boundary study).

Who were the parties to the Treaty of Thapathali?+

The parties were Nepal (Gorkha Government) and Tibet (Bhot Government).

What did the Treaty of Thapathali establish?+

The treaty that ended the third Nepal–Tibet War of 1855–56 under Jang Bahadur Rana. Tibet agreed to pay Nepal Rs 10,000 a year and granted Nepali merchants duty-free trade and a resident agent in Lhasa with extraterritorial powers — a regime that governed trans-Himalayan relations for exactly a century, until the 1956 Nepal–China agreement dissolved it. A core provision: Tibet agreed to pay Nepal an annuity of Rs 10,000 — bargained down from Nepal's original demand of a one-crore (10 million) rupee indemnity.

Is the Treaty of Thapathali still in force today?+

The Treaty of Thapathali is classed as "Superseded". The treaty's trade towns, Kyirong and Kuti, remain the two main Nepal–China trade corridors (Rasuwagadhi–Kyirong and Tatopani–Zhangmu) today.

Sources & data note

Dates, terms and figures for the Treaty of Thapathali as documented by the listed sources. Where credible sources disagree, the discrepancy is stated on this page rather than silently resolved.