Nepal’s ‘border man’ Shrestha receives Raymond Milefsky Award 2024

Kathmandu / Dec 24: A university from the United Kingdom (UK) has felicitated Buddhi Narayan Shrestha, also known as the ‘Border man of Nepal’, with an award recognizing his contributions to border research.

The International Border Research Unit (IBRU) of Durham University’s Center for Borders Research, awarded its seventh annual Raymond Milefsky Award to border expert Shrestha.

Shrestha has been known to utilize his background in surveying to build a career devoted to interpreting and communicating borders in South Asia’s mountainous, contested terrain.

In 1992, following his tenure of five years as Director General of Survey Department, Shrestha began a second career as the self-styled ‘Border Man of Nepal’. After educating himself on legal issues in border management and boundary recovery, he set out to apply his surveying background to broader issues in border studies, becoming an expert in boundary delimitation, advising governments on the intricacies of historic treaty maps and their implication for contemporary dispute resolution, and publishing 14 books on the topic.

In granting the award, IBRU Director Philip Steinberg noted, “Buddhi Narayan Shrestha has chosen to devote himself to borders out of a desire to support his country but also to bring about the peace and stability that requires an environment of agreed boundaries. He has made an important contribution to boundary-making, in Nepal and beyond, and we are proud to recognise this with the Milefsky Award.”

The Milefsky Award is made possible by a bequest from the estate of Raymond Milefsky, a long-time borders expert with the US Department of State who was a frequent tutor at IBRU training workshops. The award includes a cash prize of £745 (around Rs 125,000).

The Milefsky Award is made annually to an individual or organization that has advanced boundary-making or cross-border cooperation. Nominations for the 2025 award will open in January 2025.