In a colour-coded map of countries, on the basis of the latest pandemic numbers, the World Health Organisation has depicted Union Territories - Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as separate from the Indian mainland, a move that has angered many Indians.
The global health body has maintained, however, that it followed all guidelines set by the United Nations, according to a report by The Times of India.
The map shows India as navy blue, whereas Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been coloured grey as a separate region. The contentious border of the Aksai Chin has been marked grey with blue stripes of the same shade as the China region.
Nandini Singh of the diaspora group Reach India (UK) believes that the UN is “in nexus” with China. “Instead of thanking India for what it has done to fight Covid-19, this is a deliberate attempt to hurt India. WHO needs to apologise to India and correct the error,” she told TOI.
India has had tussles with Pakistan and Nepal recently regarding discrepancies depicted in maps. New Delhi was furious with Nepal when the country had unveiled a new map earlier in 2020 showing within its territory an area of nearly 400 sq km claimed by India.
Similarly, Pakistan PM Imran Khan’s government had published in August 2019 a map that showed, not just contentious geographical areas of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir within its area, but also Gujarat’s Junagadh as its own territory.
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