McMahon Line - UPSC PDF Download

Introduction

McMahon Line is the effective boundary between China and India and the line is named after Sir Henry McMahon, foreign secretary of the British-run Government of India and the chief negotiator of the convention at Simla.

• When was McMahon Line drawn?
• Where is the McMahon Line?
• Who was McMahon?

What is McMahon Line?

• The McMahon Line got its significance when Indian and Tibet signed a convention at Shimla on 3rd July 1914.

Where is McMahon Line?

• The boundary extends for 550 miles (890 km) covering parts from Bhutan in the west to 160 miles (260 km) east i.e the Brahmaputra River. It largely covers the crest of the Himalayas.

As per facts, Shimla (along with the McMahon Line) was initially rejected by the Government of India as incompatible with the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention.

Interesting Facts about McMahon Line

• The McMahon Line was a negotiation between India and Tibet without the participation of the Chinese government.
• China considers the McMahon Line illegal and unacceptable claiming that Tibetan representatives who had signed the 1914 Convention held in Shimla which delineated the McMahon line on the map were not having the right to do so.
• China government assert that the Chinese delegate Ivan Chan was not an authorized member during the McMahon line negotiation.
• The last Indian village – Bishing, is closest to the McMahon Line, and it demarcates the boundary between China’s Tibet region and Arunachal Pradesh. The Memba tribe which has a population of 100 stays in that village.
• The Tawang region of Arunachal Pradesh was earlier known as South Tibet before the demarcation.
• In 1950, Tibet lost its status as an independent territory and India took control over Tawang.