Next month’s global geospatial meeting will be a good occasion to ask why UN’s maps distort Arunachal and J&K. Has it caved to India’s neighbours’ cartographic aggression?
UN maps in recent years have repeatedly misrepresented India’s international boundaries, most notably by excluding large parts of Arunachal Pradesh (67,522 sq km) and J&K (185,947 sq km), including Aksai Chin (30,425 sq km). These areas are often labelled ‘sovereignty unsettled regions’, leaving what resembles a map of India without its head and left thumb. This is not a one-off cartographic oversight — it has become a pattern across multiple UN platforms, raising serious questions.