India Issues Stern Warning To Twitter

India has issued stern warning to micro-blogging platform Twitter Inc. CEO Jack Dorsey, conveying its strong disapproval over misrepresentation of the Indian map, and asserted that any attempt by his organisation to disrespect the country’s sovereignty and integrity is totally unacceptable.

The government’s warning to Twitter comes amid the tense standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir are “integral and inalienable parts of India governed by the Constitution of India”, the government told Twitter after the social media platform’s location settings showed Leh as part of China, government sources said. Leh is the largest town in Ladakh.

Indian and Chinese soldiers have been in a standoff at the LAC, or the de-facto border between the countries, in Ladakh since May.

In the letter, the government also asked the company to “respect sensitivities of Indian citizens”, sources said.

The government, sources added, conveyed to Twitter that any attempt by the social media giant to “disrespect sovereignty and integrity of India, which is also reflected by the maps, is totally unacceptable” and “unlawful”.

Ladakh was carved out from Jammu and Kashmir and granted the union territory status on August 5 last year when the centre scrapped the special status and split it into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.