An advertisement by Santa Monica Tours and Travels, a travel agency based in Kerala, published on the front page of Malayala Manorama, one of Kerala’s leading newspapers on 29 November 2024. The advert featured a world map that misrepresented India’s territorial boundaries by depicting Kashmir as a separate entity. This has raised questions on the intentions of the advertiser and the publisher, as such distortions are regarded as a violation of Indian law and an affront to the country’s sovereignty.
The advert shows a world map with each country highlighted specifically and also shows India and Kashmir as separate countries to say the least.
The issue was first brought to light by the Tatwamayi News TV channel. In the video, the grave nature of the map’s misrepresentation is highlighted, citing its implications as not just an oversight but a potential anti-national act. According to Section 79(3)(B) of the IT Act and provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1990, any such misrepresentation is deemed illegal.
It is alleged that Santa Monica Tours and Travels did not respond with a positive attitude when questioned about the fallacy of the advertisement and attributed the advertisement’s design to an external media agency and refrained from taking immediate corrective action. Despite being informed of the error, the company neither issued a public apology nor retracted the advertisement in subsequent editions of Malayala Manorama.
This incident echoes a similar controversy involving the DMK’s NRI wing last month, where a map also portrayed Kashmir incorrectly, leading to widespread public and governmental backlash. In that case, following public backlash, the incorrect image was deleted, and the correct map was shared once again.
Many foreign news channels and brands have repeatedly used the distorted map of India, showing the PoK region as part of Pakistan. But this coming from an Indian firm that, too, shows the entire Jammu and Kashmir region as Kashmir and as a separate entity in itself drives one to question the intentions of the company that put forth the advertisement and of Malayala Manorama, which published the advertisement albeit unquestioningly.
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