India
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India backs UNGA map resolution passed with 164 votes
The Hindu BusinessLine··5 Sept
India voted for a UN General Assembly resolution calling for more accurate cartographic representation of continental landmasses. The 193-member assembly adopted the Togo-sponsored text with 164 votes in favour. Six countries abstained and the United States cast the lone vote against. Indian diplomat Raghoo Puri said India welcomes the aim but does not endorse any single map projection.
Prism
What It Means For You
- The resolution urges wider use of equal-area map projections in education, media and official materials.
- India said the text is not an endorsement of the Equal Earth projection specifically.
- Puri said maps shape how societies understand relative geographic scale.
What's Happening
- The resolution is titled in part around rebalancing global cartographic representation, especially for Africa.
- It criticises continued reliance on the Mercator projection designed in the 16th century.
- Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine abstained.
Why Mercator Is Contested
- The resolution says Mercator distorts landmasses far from the equator.
- It argues that distortion minimises the perceived size of Africa, Latin America and South Asia.
- India framed its yes vote as support for more representative cartographic practice.
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