Readers of my posts would have realised by now that nothing raises my hackles more than how we languish vis a vis China. Although I cannot grudge the Chinese their progress, which is enviable, I cannot fathom our politicians’ servility on issues concerning the dragon and how it has increasingly made us look like idiots in comparison.

But this post is not on China vs India, but on Google, the company that is having a row with the Chinese over censorship and allegations that the dragon nation used gmail to hack into important networks outside China. And no, I am not defending Google in its fight against the Chinese censorship. As long as it is not my nation, I am not bothered by how another nation handles its censorship issues. If, for its security, it needs to take harsh measures that appear draconian, so be it. At least they would not regret later.

Let me bring my focus back on Google. China, with the largest internet users’ base, is an important market for any Internet company. Google is no exception. And in its business interests, the company does all that is necessary to be good to the country it operates in. Hence, Google, bluntly put, makes a fool of both Indians and Chinese. Take a look at the map of Arunachal Pradesh on Google maps. For the uninitiated, Arunachal is a disputed territory between the two nations, with both laying claim to its territory, notwithstanding India’s greater claim to it given the fact that it has a democratically elected government in place for years now.

If you open the Google maps’ China edition available at http://ditu.google.com, Arunachal would show itself as an undisputed part of China, the whole of it.

However, what throws up when one opens Google India on http://maps.google.co.in, is politically correct and our fellow citizens from Arunachal Pradesh can, thankfully, still call themselves Indians.

The fun begins when it comes to opening the map available on the international edition at http://maps.google.com. Arunachal is shown as a disputed territory.

I think we have a right to demand that Google, since it operates from India and has considerable business interests here, make changes and not try to pretend to keep everyone happy when in reality is making a fool of everyone.

We should ask the US based company to ensure that Arunachal Pradesh which has a democratically elected government is shown as an undisputed part of India irrespective of where their map is opened. Anything less than that should be unacceptable.