How many Indian states share their land boundaries directly with Nepal?

Introduction / Context:
India shares international borders with several neighbouring countries, and exam questions often ask how many states share boundaries with a particular neighbour. Nepal lies to the north of the plains of northern India and has a long land frontier with India. This question checks whether you know exactly how many Indian states touch the border with Nepal and can recall their names in order to count them correctly.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- The neighbour in question is Nepal, a landlocked country north of the Indo Gangetic plains.

- The options give various possible counts of Indian states that share a boundary with Nepal: 3, 4, 8, 5 and 6.

- It is assumed that you can list the border states and then count them.

- Union territories are not to be counted, only states.

Concept / Approach:
The India Nepal border extends from the western Himalayas to the eastern edge of the Indo Gangetic plain. Starting from the west, Nepal shares boundaries with Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. These five are all states of India. There are no union territories or additional states directly between these. Therefore, the correct count is five states. A careful state by state listing is the safest approach to avoid confusion with other northern neighbours like China and Bhutan.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Visualise the India Nepal border on a map, starting from the western side near the Himalayas. Step 2: Identify Uttarakhand as the first Indian state to share a border with Nepal in the west. Step 3: Move eastwards and list Uttar Pradesh as the next state sharing a long stretch of the Indo Nepal border. Step 4: Continue east to Bihar, which also lies along the border with Nepal. Step 5: Further east, identify West Bengal as another state touching Nepal in its northern region. Step 6: Finally, note that Sikkim shares a short but important border with Nepal to the west of Sikkim. Step 7: Count these states: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim, giving a total of five states.

Verification / Alternative Check:
To verify, you can contrast this with the list of states that share borders with Bhutan or China. For example, Bhutan shares boundaries with Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, which is a different set. China shares borders with Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh. When you compare these lists, you will see that only the five states mentioned earlier match for Nepal. Multiple sources such as atlases and exam guides confirm that five Indian states share a border with Nepal.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Three and four are too few because simply listing Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar already gives three, without yet adding West Bengal and Sikkim. Eight is too many and would require including states that do not touch Nepal at all, such as Assam or Arunachal Pradesh. Six would also be incorrect because there is no sixth state on the Indo Nepal boundary; after Sikkim, the border connects to other countries, not to another Indian state.

Common Pitfalls:
A frequent error is to mix up the lists for different Himalayan neighbours, especially Bhutan and Nepal, which share some of the same Indian border states. Another mistake is forgetting that Sikkim and West Bengal both touch Nepal, so some students undercount. To avoid this, practise writing the names in order from west to east several times so that the sequence becomes automatic. This will help you answer any variant of such border counting questions quickly and accurately.

Final Answer:
India has five states that share their land boundaries directly with Nepal.