India has backed a United Nations General Assembly resolution promoting more accurate representation of continental landmasses on world maps but made it clear that any incorrect or misleading depiction of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh would be “unacceptable”. The clarification came from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Sunday, two days after India joined 163 other countries in voting for the resolution aimed at encouraging the use of equal-area map projections, which seek to address distortions in the relative sizes of continents on conventional maps.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had voted in favour of the resolution while stressing the underlying principle of promoting equal-area cartographic representation. New Delhi, however, emphasised that its vote should not be interpreted as approval of any particular world map or representation of international boundaries.
India draws red line
“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,” Jaiswal said, adding that India's position on its sovereignty and territorial integrity was “clear, consistent and non-negotiable”.
The MEA said the UN resolution neither adopts nor authenticates a particular world map nor deals with political cartography, including international boundaries, disputed territories or place names.
India had made a similar distinction while explaining its vote at the UN General Assembly. Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri said New Delhi supported the broader use and consideration of equal-area projections rather than endorsement of the Equal Earth projection or any other specific cartographic system.
India argued that the approach should remain technologically and methodologically neutral, allowing countries, institutions and cartographers to choose projections according to their requirements.
Why UN wants change
The resolution, titled “Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa”, was sponsored by Togo and backed by African Union countries. It was adopted Friday with 164 votes in favour. The United States was the only country to vote against it, while six countries — Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine — abstained.
At the centre of the debate is the Mercator projection, developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 primarily for maritime navigation. While useful for preserving direction, the projection significantly exaggerates the size of territories closer to the poles while making regions nearer the Equator appear relatively smaller.
Africa is frequently cited as the clearest example. On a conventional Mercator map, Greenland can appear roughly comparable in size to Africa, although Africa is actually about 14 times larger.
The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018, seeks to preserve the relative surface areas of continents and provide a more proportionate representation of regions including Africa, South Asia and Latin America.
No mandatory new map
The UN resolution does not ban the Mercator projection or require countries to adopt Equal Earth as an official replacement. Instead, it encourages governments, educational institutions, international organisations and technology companies to consider equal-area projections when accurate representation of relative landmass size is important.
For India, that distinction is crucial. While New Delhi supports correcting distortions in how continents are represented, it has made clear that the initiative cannot be interpreted as altering or endorsing representations of India's territorial boundaries.
The MEA said India's vote was therefore confined to the principle of encouraging equal-area approaches, while its position on the depiction of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh remains unchanged.