A video of Indian diplomat Pooja Kumari pulling up a speaker over an incorrect map of India during a seminar in Bangladesh has gone viral, with social media users on Saturday heaping praise on her for swiftly flagging the error and firmly restating New Delhi’s long-held stance that Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India.
The moment unfolded during a seminar titled ‘Rebuilding Trust, Renewing Regional Integration — Pathways for Revitalising SAARC’, held at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka on Friday.
The trouble began when former Bangladesh High Commissioner to India, Ahmed Tariq Karim, displayed a map during his presentation that showed Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan.
Pooja Kumari Jha, Second Secretary at the Indian High Commission in Dhaka, wasted no time stepping in. “Sir, this is an incorrect map. Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India,” she said.
Karim brushed off the objection at first, explaining that the map had been used “for representational purposes only” and “doesn’t project actual boundaries.”
Jha wasn’t willing to let it go that easily. “I understand, sir, but Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India, and it is misrepresented here. So I wanted to point it out,” she said, standing her ground.
Karim then turned the question back on her, asking whether she was from India, to which she confirmed she was an officer with the Indian High Commission. “Point noted,” he replied, before carrying on with his presentation.
According to Indian officials, the objection was raised specifically to reassert India’s position that Jammu and Kashmir remains an integral and inalienable part of the country, and to push back against the inaccurate portrayal of its territorial boundaries.
The exchange has since taken on a life of its own online, with many commending the diplomat for speaking up in the moment and publicly setting the record straight in front of the room.
The seminar was attended by Bangladesh’s State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shama Obaed, as chief guest. In her address, she stressed the need for deeper regional cooperation across South Asia and called for closing the gap between the region’s potential and its actual performance.
“The organisation needs stronger implementation capacity, greater financial strength, more effective specialised mechanisms and a practical culture of follow-up,” Obaed said, laying out steps to revive the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
She added that Bangladesh was weighing confidence-building measures in consultation with SAARC member states, including talks with SAARC envoys based in Dhaka and discussions with the SAARC Secretariat in Kathmandu on holding a meeting of senior officials, as well as exploring the possibility of a special session of the Council of Ministers.
(With IANS inputs)
