China’s cartographic aggression: Implications for India’s geopolitical landscape

On 8 May, 2020, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually inaugurated a newly built 80-kilometre-road linking India's Dharchula to the LAC via the Lipulekh pass. The intent was to facilitate movement of pilgrims to the Mansoravar lake in Tibet. Lipulekh is disputed between Nepal and India. A fortnight later Nepal's Oli led government issued a new map incorporating 300 square kilometres of Indian territory including Lipulekh, Limpiyadhura and Kalapani as part of Nepal. Objections by the Oli government on the construction of the road led to anti-India protests in Kathmandu. India protested on the map. In August 2020, on the first…