Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A newly released United Nations world map has depicted Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as separate regions positioned between the respective “claim lines” of India and China. New Delhi considers Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of its territory and maintains that Aksai Chin is part of Ladakh.
The Ministry of External Affairs has taken up the “anomalies” with the concerned persons. The move comes days after India voted for a UN General Assembly resolution aimed at promoting equal-area maps, with New Delhi stressing that its support for the resolution should not be interpreted as approval of any specific map.
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WHY INDIA SUPPORTED THE UN RESOLUTION
The UN General Assembly adopted the African Union-backed “Correct the Map” resolution on September 4. The initiative calls for greater use of equal-area projections, which are designed to show the relative size of countries and continents more accurately.
India supported the resolution because of its emphasis on this cartographic principle. At the same time, New Delhi recorded an explanation of its vote, making clear that the resolution did not validate individual maps or determine how territorial disputes should be portrayed.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that position during a press briefing on Tuesday.
“We favoured the resolution and voted in favour of the resolution. When the resolution was adopted in the UN General Assembly, we also made a statement where we clarified our position…The resolution is focused on the principle of equal-area maps. It does not endorse any map of any private party or any particular entity,” he said.
Jaiswal said the objective was to give greater importance to maps that preserve the proportional size of major land masses.
“The resolution is focused on the principle of having, giving weightage or giving credence to equal-area maps, so that, as we have said, the equal-area maps project or preserve the relative sizes of continental landmarks.”
The map was initially released on July 1, as the UN discussions on the resolution were under way. In the map, Arunachal Pradesh is shown without its boundary with Nagaland and appears as a separate region, with Assam and China shown on either side. Aksai Chin is similarly displayed as a separate region. India regards the territory as part of Ladakh.
The UN has not offered an explanation for these specific depictions.
The map also uses a dotted line to mark the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan. A note alongside the map says the “dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir agreed upon by India and Pakistan” and adds that the final status of Jammu and Kashmir has not been agreed upon by the parties.
MEA SAYS VOTE DID NOT APPROVE ANY MAP
India had sought to draw a firm distinction between the UN resolution and the political depiction of borders.
“The resolution neither adopts nor authenticates any particular world map, nor does it address political cartography, including international boundaries, disputed territories or place names,” Jaiswal said.
The ministry had also described India’s support as being based on “the underlying principle of promoting equal-area cartographic representation”. That clarification is significant in the context of the latest UN map. A resolution encouraging a particular type of map projection does not, in India’s view, give that map authority to alter or reinterpret the country’s territorial boundaries.
Jaiswal said India would not accept representations that it considers inconsistent with its territorial position.
“India’s sovereign territory, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India’s official map. Any inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable. Our position on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable,” he said.
THE MAP DEBATE BEHIND THE RESOLUTION
The push for equal-area maps stems from concerns over distortions created by traditional world-map projections.
The Mercator projection, first developed in 1569, was created mainly for navigation because it preserves directions and angles. One of its drawbacks is that areas farther from the equator can appear substantially larger than their actual relative size.
The Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, was designed to address that problem by maintaining the proportional area of land masses while keeping their shapes recognisable.
The “Correct the Map” resolution, led by Togo and backed by the African Union, particularly focuses on improving the visual representation of Africa. It encourages the use of equal-area projections for education, public communication and other purposes where comparing the size of regions matters. It does not legally redraw national boundaries, settle competing territorial claims or force governments and mapmakers to abandon existing projections.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
