India backs UN world map resolution, draws firm line on Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh

Having voted in favour of the world map with equal-area projections, India said Sunday that the United Nations-initiated proposed world map must depict the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in accordance with the country's official map, and any "inaccurate" or "misleading" representation will be unacceptable.

New Delhi's statement came two days after it voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution aimed at correcting the world map to promote a more accurate representation of continental landmasses. The resolution titled 'Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World's Regions, Particularly Africa' was adopted on September 4.

The Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India highlighted that the resolution does not constitute the endorsement of any specific map, projection, or depiction of national boundaries. "India voted in favour of the resolution and also made an explanation of the vote stressing on the underlying principle of promoting equal-area cartographic representation," he said.

"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," he said. "Our position on India's sovereignty and territorial integrity is clear, consistent and non-negotiable," he noted.

Jaiswal said the purpose of the UN resolution is "to encourage the use of equal-area map projections that preserve the relative sizes of continental landmasses". "The resolution neither adopts nor authenticates any particular world map, nor does it address political cartography, including international boundaries, disputed territories or place names," he said.

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 27 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting and writing explainers and analysis on foreign affairs for about 19 years now.

Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016.

He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He won the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award, 2023, for the second time for his reporting of the Oct 7 attacks on Israel and the war in Gaza.

He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021.

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