Google Maps marks Kashmir's outlines as 'disputed' when seen from outside India
Washington: Google Maps has redrawn the world's borders which look different depending upon where the user is viewing them from, with the popular search engine showing Kashmir's outlines as a dotted line acknowledging "dispute" when it is seen from outside India, a leading American daily has reported.
According to the Washington Post, "the borders on Google's online maps display Kashmir as fully under Indian control. Elsewhere, users see the region's snaking outlines as a dotted line, acknowledging the dispute".
From Pakistan, Kashmir appears disputed while from India, it appears as a part of India, the Post report said, adding that "Google Maps changes disputed borders based on what country you search from".
Responding to the Post report, a company spokesperson said: "Google has a consistent and global policy to depict disputed regions and features fairly, showing claims made by the disputed or claiming nations on its global domain.
"This does not endorse or affirm the position taken by any side. Products that have been localised to the local domain, such as maps.google.co.in, depicts that country's position as per the mandate of the local laws".
"We're committed to providing our users with the richest, most up-to-date and accurate maps possible. We do border updates based on data from our providers as new or more accurate data becomes available from authoritative sources or geopolitical conditions change. As we did for the state of Telangana in 2014," the Google official told PTI.
According to the Post report, "From Argentina to the United Kingdom to Iran, the world's borders look different depending on where you're viewing them from. That's because Google and other online mapmakers simply change them".
Google's corporate mission is "to organise the world's information", but it also bends it to its will, the Post report said, adding that with some 80 per cent market share in mobile maps and over a billion users, Google Maps has an outsize impact on people's perception of the world.
Headquartered in California, the company's decision-making on maps is often shrouded in secrecy, even to some of those who work to shape its digital atlases every day, the Post report said.
"It is influenced not just by history and local laws, but also the shifting whims of diplomats, policymakers and its own executives," the report quoted as saying people familiar with the matter on the condition of anonymity.
Launched 15 years ago, Google Maps has become one of the most-used and recognizable products for the search engine giant, it added.
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Schools in Mizoram's nine districts closed due to rain
Aizawl (PTI): All schools in nine districts of Mizoram remained closed on Tuesday due to heavy rain that has been lashing the northeastern state since the day before, an official said.
School Education Director Angela Zothanpuii said administrations of nine districts, including Aizawl, Kolasib, Lunglei and Mamit, announced school closure on Tuesday as a precautionary measure for students' safety.
However, schools in the southern districts of Hnahthial and Lawngtlai remained open following a slight improvement in weather conditions there, she said.
According to the India Meteorological Department, Serchhip recorded the highest rainfall at 70.5 mm in a 24-hour period, followed by Hnahthial 55 mm, Siaha 37.5 mm, and Aizawl 36 mm.
Khawzawl district reported 30 mm of rainfall, Mamit 25.9 mm, Kolasib 25 mm, Lawngtlai 17.5 mm, and Lunglei 2.2 mm during the same period, it said.
The weather department has forecast light to moderate rainfall with thunderstorm and lightning in Mizoram on Tuesday.
