India Strongly Raised Issue with WHO: MEA On Map Showing Jammu & Kashmir In Different Colour

In a letter to PM Narendra Modi on January 30, TMC Leader Shantanu Sen said the WHO, on its website, has shown Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan and China, and urged PM Modi to take up steps to correct the mistake.

New Delhi: Delhi has “strongly” raised the issue of the wrong depiction of India’s map on the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) website has been “raised strongly” with the United Nation’s health agency, said the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday. In a written reply to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, said that in response, WHO informed the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva that they’ve put a disclaimer on the portal.

According to the Minister, the disclaimer reads, “The designations employed and the presentation of these materials do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries and that dotted and dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.”

Disclaimer reads, "The designations employed & the presentation of these materials do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of WHO concerning the legal status of any country, territory or area or of its authorities…

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2022

Muraleedharan added, “Nevertheless, Government of India’s position on the right depiction of its boundaries has been unambiguously reiterated.”

Nevertheless, Government of India’s position on the right depiction of its boundaries has been unambiguously reiterated: MoS MEA V Muraleedharan added in a written reply to an unstarred question in Rajya Sabha

— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2022

The question was asked by Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on whether India has lodged any protest with the WHO as on its website a map of India is depicting the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in a totally different colour. The issue was answered in Parliament on February 4 last year.

The matter was once again raised by All India Trinamool Congress MP Santanu Sen in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In the letter dated January 30, Sen said the WHO, on its website, has shown Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan and China, and urged PM Modi to take up steps to correct the mistake.

.#WHO COVID https://t.co/HSTaKkj0Yc site shows map of #India with a separate colour for Jammu & Kashmir&inside that there is another small portion of a separate colour.
If they are clicked,#Covid datas of #Pakistan & #China are coming.@narendramodi must take up.@MamataOfficial pic.twitter.com/prSoZ2IsJg

— DR SANTANU SEN (@SantanuSenMP) January 30, 2022

Sharing the pictures of the wrong map of India on the WHO dashboard, Sen had tweeted, “WHO COVID http://19.int site shows map of India with a separate colour for Jammu & Kashmir & inside that there is another small portion of a separate colour. If they are clicked, Covid datas of Pakistan & China are coming.”

(With inputs from agencies)