On June 15, netizens pointed out that the Alumni section of Chandigarh University shows the wrong map of India and depicts Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) as part of Pakistan. It was first pointed out by Twitter user root3vil. He published a screenshot of the page and asked, “Hey Chandigarh University, don’t you consider POK a part of India?”
Hey @Chandigarh_uni, don’t you consider POK a part of India ? pic.twitter.com/wVOws5Phv7
— root3vil (@root3vil) June 15, 2022
Several netizens reacted to the post and demanded action. Supreme Court lawyer Shashank Shekhar Jha tagged Punjab Police and said, “Dear Punjab Police, Kindly initiate legal action against Chandigarh University for putting incomplete map of India on their website and showing parts of Ladakh and Kashmir in Pakistan.”
Dear @PunjabPoliceInd: Kindly initiate legal action against @Chandigarh_uni for putting incomplete map of India 🇮🇳 on their website and showing parts of Ladakh and Kashmir in Pakistan 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/aoW0mXVX7I
— Shashank Shekhar Jha (@shashank_ssj) June 15, 2022
Author Arin Kumar Shukla said, “Use of these kind of maps must be prohibited in the nation. This not only is anti-India, but also hurts sentiments of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters.” Shukla tagged Home Ministry and Prime Minister’s office in his tweet.
Use of these kind of maps must be prohibited in the nation. This not only is anti-India, but also hurts sentiments of our Kashmiri brothers and sisters. Take action @AmitShah @AmitShahOffice @PMOIndia https://t.co/WWBjp2pyJx
— Arin Kumar Shukla, FRAS 🇮🇳 (@arinkumarshukla) June 15, 2022
Netizen Durgesh Kumar Lath tagged Home Minister Amit Shah and said, “Can this be rectified? This happens many times, either by oversight or intent? Corporates/educational institutes/individuals must use map provided by the government.”
@AmitShah Ji can this be rectified? This happens many times, either by Oversight or intent? Corporates/educational institutes/individuals must use map provided by the government. https://t.co/7mWNiO0keP
— Durgesh Kumar lath (@durgeshlath) June 16, 2022
Twitter user Shreeniwaz said, “Have shame you Chandigarh University! DGP Chandigarh Police, Home Minister Office, Amit Shah take strict and immediate action on the culprits. Extremely irresponsible behaviour by #Chandigarh University which is responsible for shaping the young generation of this country.”
Have shame you @Chandigarh_uni ! @DgpChdPolice @HMOIndia @AmitShah take strict and immediate action on the culprits. Extremely irresponsible behaviour by #Chandigarh university which is responsible for shaping the young generation of this country..@PMOIndia @narendramodi https://t.co/0fxDBkF8xB
— श्रीनिवास🇮🇳 (@shreeniwaz) June 15, 2022
Pakistani users jumped in to take advantage of the wrong info. A Twitter user from Pakistan Aligoga said, “Even Chandigarh University knows Kashmir belongs to Pakistan.” He tagged the wrong Twitter handle in his Tweet.
Chandigarh University removed the Alumni section after outrage
After netizens pointed out the wrong map, the Alumni section disappeared from the University’s official website. When we tried to access the “search by map” page on the Alumni section, it showed a 404 error.
However, the page was available on Archive.org. From the screenshots available on Twitter and from the archived page, it is clear that the University used the wrong map of India. However, there is a catch to it.
It seems that the developer who created the website used a third-party map to embed it in the website. On the bottom-right corner of the map, it says, “Leaflet | Map tiles by Stamen Design, CC BY 3.0 — Map data © OpenStreetMap”.
OpenStreetMap is a free-to-use open map built with the help of contributors. When we checked the website OpenStreetMap, it also had the wrong map of India. As it is an open-source map and users contribute the data, it is possible that the incorrect information was fed by the contributors.
It is notable that, unlike OpenStreetMap, Google Maps (which would have cost Chandigarh University to embed) show maps according to the location of the user. For example, if someone is looking at the map from India, PoK will be shown as part of India, but if someone is looking from Pakistan, PoK will be shown as part of Pakistan. Google maps have redrawn the maps to avoid any legal challenges it may face in different countries depending on their official political maps.
Chandigarh University is not in Chandigarh, it is in Punjab
It is notable that Chandigarh University is a private university located in Punjab. It is not affiliated or linked in any way to Panjab University, which is a government-funded university located in Chandigarh. In the footnote of Panjab University, it is clearly mentioned that both Universities are different and have no affiliation with each other.
It reads, “Panjab University (Established in 1882) is a Central and State Governments Funded University located in Chandigarh. Panjab University is not related at all to Chandigarh University, which is a private university and located in Distt Mohali, Punjab about 25 Kms from Chandigarh. No official of Panjab University or Admission Cell is giving any call to the prospective candidate for seeking admission to PU or for submitting admission fee etc.”
In a recent communication, Panjab University has decided to create videos and use social media to attract admissions. During the process, the University has made sure to point out the difference between Panjab University and Chandigarh University.
PU’s dean of university instruction (DUI), Renu Vig, said, “It was discussed that departments should make videos mentioning their strengths and also highlight their alumni. At the university level, we will make videos on PU, underlining its salient features, such as being one of the oldest universities with campus spread across 550 acres in sectors 14 and 25 in Chandigarh. We will also mention various rankings, highlighting famous alumni so as to differentiate it from Chandigarh University.”
OpIndia contacted Chandigarh University via email and will update the report when and if we get a reply.
