Indians Slam UN Map Showing Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin Separately

NEW DELHI – A veteran police officer, foreign affairs expert and political leaders across the spectrum on September 10 criticized a new United Nations map that depicted Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as separate regions positioned between the respective “claim lines” of India and China, warning that such a depiction “won’t be tolerated.”

They called on the Indian government to lodge a protest with the UN and urged the global organization to take note of India’s position that China has “illegally occupied” Aksai Chin.

Former Jammu and Kashmir Director General of Police S.P. Vaid said India should raise the issue at the UN and formally protest the depiction.

“India should raise the issue again at the UN and file a protest. These are our territories. The entirety of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India. Aksai Chin is also part of India and has been illegally occupied by China, UN should take a note of this,” Vaid said.

Foreign affairs expert K.P. Fabian also said it was appropriate for India to protest against the map.

BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo termed the depiction “extremely objectionable,” saying Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin are integral parts of India.

“This is not a mistake. There are some kind of insane people who sometimes show Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh as separate regions and also depict Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, which is a part of India, as a part of that (Pakistan’s) country…all these three are integral parts of India. Portraying them separately won’t be tolerated,” he said.

Shah Deo also said the Ministry of External Affairs had flagged the “anomalies” in the new world map.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said the map was erroneous and undermined India’s sovereignty.

“China has its eyes on Arunachal Pradesh and a large part of Ladakh, including Aksai Chin. The map released by the UN is erroneous, and it undermines our sovereignty. We do not accept it,” Tiwari said.

He urged the Indian government to strongly oppose the move.

Samajwadi Party Maharashtra President Abu Azmi also opposed the depiction of Arunachal Pradesh as a separate region from India.

“This is a grave injustice to the country. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India…depicting it as a separate region is extremely wrong,” Azmi said. (IANS)