The NCERT has decided to replace a map of East and South East Asia in a class 12 Political Science textbook which depicted Aksai Chin as a disputed area.
The decision was taken following several posts on social media highlighting the issue in the textbook titled 'Contemporary World Politics', which was published in 2007, and has not been revised since then, but only reprinted.
According to the NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training), the map was prepared by the University of Texas and comes with a disclaimer that the boundary representation is not necessarily authoritative.
"The Chapter 4, 'Alternative Centres of Power', focuses on the European Union, ASEAN and China. The map which figures on page 56 is not a map of India, but a map of East and South East Asia," it said.
Aksai Chin has been under the unlawful occupation of China. In the map, the border between India and China, near Aksai Chin, is marked with dotted lines to indicate the dispute. The Indian claim over the area is mentioned.
In the map, the border between India and China, near Aksai Chin is marked in dotted lines to indicate the dispute. Indian claim over Aksai Chin is clearly mentioned.
"Later in this chapter, the topic under the heading 'India - China Relations' refers to competing territorial claims in Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin.
Aksai Chin is shown as an integral part of India in the map of India and its neighbours on page 149 of the textbook. However, NCERT has come under major fire for showing Aksai Chin coloured in the same yellow as China.
It's been used to explain the South East Asian region as an alternative power centre. The Indian claim to Aksai Chin was based on an internal British Indian survey, the Johnson Line.
After the Sino-India war of 1962 resulted in a humiliating defeat for India, the Chinese declared a unilateral ceasefire, withdrawing from Arunachal Pradesh, but not Aksai Chin.
Aksai Chin has since become the dragon's bargaining chip, keeping India militarily insecure and engaged. India has continued to call Chinese administration of the region 'illegal occupation', and the Indian version of the map marks it under the Ladakh district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir
"Aksai Chin is shown as an integral part of India in the map of India and its neighbours on page 149. However, the map on page 56 will be replaced with a map of Southeast Asia in the reprint edition," NCERT added in a statement.
