international boundaries of india

7/26/2019 International Boundaries of India

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International boundariesof India

An Overview


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Historical contents


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The geography of India describes thegeographic features of India, a country in South

Asia. India lies largely on the Indian Plate, thenorthern portion of the Indo-Australian Plate,whose continental crust for s the Indiansubcontinent. The country is situated north of thee!uator between "#$% and &'#(% north latitude and("#'% and )'#*+% east longitude.It is the seventh-largest country in the world, with a total area of&, ((,$ $ s!uare ilo etres

,***,++) s! i0.India easures &,* $

,))' i0 fro north to south and *,)&& ,"** i0 fro east to west. It has a land frontierof +,*11 ),$$+ i0 and a coastline of',+ ' $,(' i0.


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On the south, India pro2ects into and is bounded bythe Indian Ocean 3 in particular, by the Arabian Seaon the southwest, the 4accadive Sea to the south,and the 5ay of 5engal on the southeast. The PalStrait and 6ulf of 7annar separate India fro Sri4an a to its i ediate southeast, and the 7aldivesare so e $11 ilo etres *+1 i0 to the southwest.India%s Anda an and 8icobar Islands, so e ,*11

ilo etres '+1 i0 southeast of the ainland, shareariti e borders with 5ur a, Thailand and

Indonesia. 9anya u ari at "#$:$ ;8 and ''#&*:*";< isthe southern ost tip of the Indian ainland, while

the southern ost point in India is Indira Point on6reat 8icobar Island. India%s territorial waters e=tendinto the sea to a distance of * nautical iles

&." i> **.* 0 fro the coast baseline.


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The northern frontiers of India arede?ned largely by the Hi alayan

ountain range, where the countryborders @hina, 5hutan, and 8epal. Itswestern border with Pa istan lies in

the Pun2ab Plain and the Thar esert.In the far northeast, the @hin Hillsand 9achin Hills, deeply forested

ountainous regions, separate Indiafro 5ur a. On the east, its borderwith 5angladesh is largely de?ned bythe 9hasi Hills and 7iBo Hills, and thewatershed region of the Indo-


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The 6anges is the longest river originatingin India. The 6anges35rah aputra syste

occupies ost of northern, central, andeastern India, while the eccan Plateauoccupies ost of southern India.9angchen2unga, on the border between8epal and the Indian state of Si i , is thehighest point in India at ",+)"

*",*1) ft0 and the world%s &rd highestpea . @li ate across India ranges froe!uatorial in the far south, to alpine andtundra in the upper reaches of theHi alayas.


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Cacts of Indian 6eography

One-third the area of the Dnited States, theEepublic of India occupies ost of thesubcontinent of India in southern Asia. It borderson @hina in the northeast. Other neighbors arePa istan on the west, 8epal and 5hutan on thenorth, and 5ur a and 5angladesh on the east.

The country can be divided into three distinctgeographic regionsF the Hi alayan region in thenorth, which contains so e of the highest

ountains in the world, the 6angetic Plain, and theplateau region in the south and central part. Itsthree great river syste sGthe 6anges, the Indus,and the 5rah aputraGhave e=tensive deltas and

all rise in the Hi alayas.


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Collowing are the India Area and 5oundaries details F- India stretches &,* $ fro 8 to S *)&& fro < to . AreaF- &*,"',*(& s!. . Accounts for *.$ J of total world area and ( J of the

population

7ainland India has a coastline of (, 11 . Including the 4a shadweep andAnda an and 8icobar, the coastline easures about '+ (. In India, total land ass is

Plains F - $&.& J Plateaus F- *'.' J Hills F- ".( J 7ountainsF- 1.' J

In the south, on the eastern side, the 6ulf of 7annar the Pal Strait separateIndia fro Sri 4an a

Total land neighbours of India are ' . These are Pa istan Afghanistan @hina

8epal Sri 4an a 5hutan 5angladesh and 7yan ar

IndiaKs Islands include the Anda an 8icobar Islands in 5ay of 5angal 4a shadweep, 7inocy A indive Islands in the Arabian Sea


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India's Boundary Disputes withChina, Nepal, and Pakistan

The recent detonation of a series of nuclear devices by India and Pa istan hasincreased tension in South Asia and threatens to inLa e long-standingboundary disputes that India has with @hina, 8epal, and Pa istan. Thedisputes with @hina and Pa istan have already triggered several wars. Thenew Hindu-nationalist govern ent in 8ew elhi has reversed ove enttoward dMtente with 5ei2ing and Isla abad. The areas in contention with

@hina and Pa istan are a ong the largest land-boundary disputes in theworld. The Indo-8epali dispute over 9alapani is ore recent and involves as all area.

India-China (Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh) In the )(* Sino-Indian ar, @hina seiBed a SwitBerland-siBed area, A sai @hin

A say!in0, and overran Arunachal Pradesh an Indian state the siBe of

Austria0. There are also other, s aller poc ets of disputed area.N The PE@withdrew fro virtually all of Arunachal Pradesh to the 4ine of Actual @ontrol4A@0, which appro=i ates the 7c7ahon 4ine that is found in a ) $

agree ent initialed by 5ritish, Tibetan, and @hinese representatives.N*@hinese and Indian forces clashed in the Su dorong @hu valley of ArunachalPradesh in )"(-"'. Eelations began to thaw in )"".


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On ' Septe ber ))&, @hina and India signed an accord to reduce tensions along their borderand to respect the 4A@. uring 8ove ber ))(, @hina and India agreed to deli it the 4A@ andinstitute con?dence-building easures @57s0 along the frontier. The agree ent pledgednonaggression, prior noti?cation of large troop ove ents, a 1- no-Ly Bone for co bataircraft, and e=change of aps to resolve disagree ents about the precise location of the [email protected] August ))' the sides rati?ed the @57 agree ent. There see s to have been littlesubstantive progress, e=cept for a series of high-level visits.N& The ost recent, on *' April,was the ?rst visit by a PE@ @hief of Sta to India. However, two wee s before the visit the newIndian efense 7inister, 6eorge Cernandes, accused the PE@ of repeated violations of Indianterritory, including the construction of a helipad on QIndianQ territory in the disputed Bone, andof aiding Pa istan%s nuclear and issile progra s. On & 7ay he publicly labeled @hina as India%snu ber one threat and alleged that the PE@ was stoc piling nuclear weapons in Tibet,e=panding naval activity o the 5ur ese coast, and conducting surveillance against India fro5ur a%s @oco Islands.N$ After the visit of 6eneral Cu Ruanyou and PE@ protests, Cernandes saidthat his characteriBation of @hina as India%s principal threat was a personal view, but he went onto pledge that the nu ber of Indian troops along the frontier with @hina would not be reduced.Such a state ent calls into !uestion part of the agreed @57s.

@hina and India have yet to address their funda ental and very large land boundary disputes.7oreover, their bilateral relations are co plicated by the issues of Tibet iBang0, Si i , and9ash ir. India plays host to the alai 4a a and a large nu ber of Tibetan refugees. Theypresent an i plicit threat to @hinese control of Tibet, which it invaded in )+1. On its aps, thePE@ continues to portray Si i , which was absorbed by India in )'$, as an independentcountry. In addition to the A sai @hin, @hina and India dispute another section of 9ash ir thearea west of A sai @hin0.


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India-Pakistan-China (Kashmir) hen India and Pa istan beca e independent of 6reat 5ritain in )$', the various princely states,

including that of a u and 9ash ir, could accede to either country. An ar ed revolt of 7uslipeasantry against the 7ahara2a of a u and 9ash ir pro pted the 7ahara2a to accede to India inorder to gain ilitary aid. Pa istan ob2ected and the countries went to war. The atter was ta en upby the D8 Security @ouncil in )$", which adopted a resolution calling for the restoration of order,the withdrawal of Pa istani forces and reduction of Indian forces, and a D8 plebiscite. India andPa istan ob2ected to various of these provisions. They went to war over 9ash ir again in )(+. In

)' India intervened in Pa istan%s civil war that led to the independence of 5angladesh. India andPa istan ca e close to war over 9ash ir in ))1. To view a ap of this area clic here .0

D8 observers onitor part of the Indo-Pa istani cease-?re line. The current line was established bythe )'* Si la accord and appro=i ately follows the )$) @ease-?re 4ine. The coordinates of theSi la line have not been published, and the line was never deli ited in the forbidding Siachin

6lacier, near the @hinese frontier, where India and Pa istan fre!uently trade artillery rounds. Ciringincidents and allegations of in?ltration are chronic along the entire cease-?re line. The Indian-controlled part of a u and 9ash ir beca e a state in )'$. The parts of 9ash ir

controlled by Pa istan, ABad 9ash ir and the 8orthern Areas, have ano alous status asad inistered territories. In )(& @hina and Pa istan deli ited a boundary that India clai s illegallygave part of 9ash ir to @hina. In )"' a Sino-Pa istani protocol for aliBed de arcation of theirboundary. The ter ination of this boundary at the 9ara ora Pass on the @hinese line of controlsuggests that Pa istan recogniBes @hinese sovereignty over A sai @hin, which is part of the for erPrincely State of 9ash ir.

India and Pa istan have held sporadic tal s. In une ))', they agreed to eight issues for discussion,including the issue of 9ash ir and their ariti e boundary. Pa istan wants to set-up a separate tasforce on 9ash ir> India has resisted the idea. Tal s have ade little progress due to changes in therespective govern ents. The recent e orts by DS A bassador Eichardson to resolve the disputesee to have been blown out of the water by Indian and Pa istani nuclear tests.
http://blg.geosys.com/assets/images/Kashmir1.jpghttp://blg.geosys.com/assets/images/Kashmir1.jpg


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India-Nepal (Kalapani) The dispute between India and 8epal involves about '+ s! of area in

9alapani, where @hina, India, and 8epal eet. Indian forces occupied thearea in )(* after @hina and India fought their border war.N+ Three villagesare located in the disputed BoneF 9uti N9uthi, &1# )%8, "1#$(%< , 6un2i, and9nabe. India and 8epal disagree about how to interpret the " ( Sugaulitreaty between the 5ritish


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Physical Boundaries F- The sub-continent is isolated in a re ar able way

fro the rest of Asia, a ing it a geographicalunit. Cor e=a ple, barring the plateau of5aluchistan the two great ranges, na ely, theSulai an and the 9irthar, cut it o fro the west.Along the 8orth the great ountains wall for edby the Hindu 9ush, 9ara ora and theHi alayas, cut it o the countries that lie beyond

as the ountains are very high and diUcult tocross. Si ilarly, the Southward o shoots of the


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The Hi alayas and other lofty ountains-7uBtagh Ata, Aghil 9unlun 7ountains to the

north of 9ash ir and south eastern portion ofVas ar ountains to east of Hi achal Pradesh- fro India%s northern boundary, e=cept in the8epal region. She is ad2oined in the north by

@hina, 8epal and 5hutan. A series of ountainranges in the east separate India fro 5ur a.Also, in the east, lies 5angladesh bounded byIndian States of est 5engal, Assa ,7eghalaya, Tripura and 7iBora . In the north-west, Afghanistan and Pa istan border on India.

The 6ulf of 7annar and the Pal Strait separateIndia fro Srilan a.


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7a2or disputes and international treaties

. 7c7ahon line*. 4ine of @ontrol


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7c7ahon line The McMahon Line is a line agreed to by 5ritain and Tibet as part of the Si la Accord,

a treaty signed in ) $. It is the e ective boundary between @hina and India, although

its legal status is disputed by the @hinese govern ent. The line is na ed after Sir Henry 7c7ahon, foreign secretary of the 5ritish-run

6overn ent of India and the chief negotiator of the convention at Si la. It e=tends for++1 iles ")1 0 fro 5hutan in the west to (1 iles *(1 0 east of the greatbend of the 5rah aputra Eiver in the east, largely along the crest of the Hi alayas.Si la along with the 7c7ahon 4ine0 was initially re2ected by the 6overn ent of Indiaas inco patible with the )1' Anglo-Eussian @onvention. N This convention was

denounced in )* . After Si la, the 7c7ahon 4ine was forgotten until )&+, when5ritish civil service oUcer Olaf @aroe convinced the govern ent to publish the Si la@onvention and use the 7c7ahon 4ine on oUcial aps. The 7c7ahon 4ine is regardedby India as the legal national border. It is disputed by @hina. As recently as *11&, the

alai 4a a said that the disputed region was part of Tibet, but he reversed his positionin *11", ac nowledging the legiti acy of the 7c7ahon 4ine and the Indian clai to theregion.

@hina re2ects the Si la Accord, contending that the Tibetan govern ent was notsovereign and therefore did not have the power to conclude treaties. @hinese apsshow so e (+,111 s!uare ilo etres *+,111 s! i0 of the territory south of the line aspart of the Tibet Autono ous Eegion, nown as South Tibet in @hina. @hinese forcesbrieLy occupied this area during the Sino-Indian ar of )(*. @hina does recognise a4ine of Actual @ontrol which closely appro=i ates ost of the Qso called 7c7ahon lineQin the eastern part of its border with India, according to a )+) diplo atic note by Pri e7inister Vhou


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Line of Control The ter Line of Control LOC 0 nown as Asia's Berlin

wall ,refers to the ilitary control line between the Indian andPa istani-controlled parts of the for er princely state of a u

and 9ash irGa line which, to this day, does not constitute alegally recogniBed international boundary but is the de factoborder. Originally nown as the Q@ease-?re 4ineQ, it wasredesignated as the Q4ine of @ontrolQ following the Si laAgree ent, which was signed on & uly )'*. The part of thefor er princely state that is under Indian control is nown as theState of a u and 9ash ir. The two parts of the for er princelystate that are under Pa istani control are nown as 6ilgit35altistan and ABad a u and 9ash ir A 90. Its northern ostpoint is nown as the 8 )"$*.

Another cease-?re line, one that separates the Indian-controlledstate of a u and 9ash ir fro the @hinese-controlled area

nown as A sai @hin, lies further to the east and is nown as the4ine of Actual @ontrol 4A@0. It has been referred to as one of the

ost dangerous places in the world.


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Than Wou

-9aran Singh 7aan

Itallion Stallion0

international boundaries of india

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