Saudi Arabia's independent Kashmir banknote infuriates India

Indian foreign ministry asks Saudi authorities to take 'corrective steps'

NEW DELHI:

India has complained to Saudi Arabia over a banknote that shows Occupied Kashmir as a separate country, in the latest protest over maps of the disputed region that have also targeted foreign media outlets and a social media giant.

The foreign ministry in New Delhi said it expressed "serious concern" over a new 20 Riyal note issued to mark Saudi Arabia's presidency of the powerful G-20 bloc of countries, which includes India.

The world map on the note's background shows it as a separate country, including the part of the territory under illegal Indian rule.

The Himalayan region has been fighting the Indian rule for more than 70 years and has seen decades of unrest that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The ministry said Thursday it had asked Saudi authorities to take "corrective steps". Saudi authorities have yet to publicly respond.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is still expected to address a virtual G-20 summit in November.

India has become increasingly assertive in expressing its custodianship of the former princely state, a part of which was liberated in 1947 when the two countries were partitioned.

Tens of thousands have died in freedom movement going on for three decades on the Indian side.

The Indian government this week warned social media giant Twitter over geo-tagging data that showed Ladakh region —also under illegal Indian rule — as belonging to China.

Three years ago India ushered in new laws that made erroneous depictions of the country's map a criminal act, punishable by a three-year prison sentence.

New Delhi banned broadcaster Al-Jazeera in 2015 for nearly a week after it published an Indian map that excluded Occupied Kashmir.

It has also regularly censored The Economist magazine for showing Occupied Kashmir as a disputed region.