Google shows PoK as part of Pakistan, Government issues notice

New Delhi: Government on Saturday said it has issued a notice to Internet search giant Google for depicting Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir as part of Pakistan.

“Any wrongful depiction of Indian map and its boundaries is liable for action under the India Information Technology Act. Google has been asked to immediately correct this inaccuracy,” Minister of state for telecom and IT Sachin Pilot said.

Google Insights for Search, a tool which shows search volume patterns across specific regions, had shown a map of India as part of Pakistan.

Google Insights for Search is a service by Google which provides a visual representation of regional interest on a country’s map.

When contacted, Google said the product group has been asked to correct it immediately. Pilot also said the IT Department has been asked to survey all such companies showing inaccurate maps.

He said the government will wait for Google to respond and then take “appropiate action at an appropriate time”. In 2005, Google Earth made headlines over its political map of the sub-continent which showed PoK as part of Pakistan.

Last year, Google’s satellite maps had showed parts of Arunachal Pradesh appear as if they were part of China.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam had expressed concern over the availability of high-resolution pictures of sensitive locations in India. Google subsequently agreed to censor such sites.