McMahon Line

The McMahon Line marks boundary between Chinese-held and Indian-held territory in the eastern Himalayan region. The line was the focus of a brief war in 1962, when Indian and Chinese forces struggled to control a disputed area (shown in red), much of which is a high altitude wasteland.

The McMahon Line is a demarcation line drawn on a map referred to in the Simla Convention, a treaty between Britain and Tibet signed in 1914.

It is named after Henry McMahon, a diplomat who signed the agreement.

After India became independent from Britain in 1947 and China invaded Tibet in 1950, the line became the border of India and China. Some people disagree, but it is now part of the real boundary between China and India (called the Line of Actual Control).

This disagreement was a reason for a war between China and India in 1962 (the Sino-Indian War).

Map of the whole China-India border with McMahon line labelled to the east (right), 1963.

McMahon Line Media

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  The western portion of the McMahon line drawn on Map 1, that was shared by the British and the Tibetan delegates at the Simla Conference, 1914

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  The eastern portion of the McMahon line drawn on Map 2, that was shared by the British and the Tibetan delegates at the Simla Conference, 1914

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  Painting of Henry McMahon, either taken in 1901or 1915 according to conflicting sources

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  Map of the British Indian Empire from the Imperial Gazetteer of India, 1909 showing the Outer Line as the border of Assam.

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  1907 map of East Bengal and Assam from the Imperial Gazetteer of India showing the Outer Line as the border

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  Map of "The Indian Empire and surrounding countries", from Imperial Gazetteer of India, shows the "Outer line" as the boundary between the British India and the Chinese Empire.

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  The northeast section of the 1947 political map of India, showing the McMahon Line as the boundary

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  McMahon Line Simla Accord Treaty 1914 Map1.jpg

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  McMahon Line, Simla Accord,treaty signed in 1914, Map 2

Related pages

• Arunachal Pradesh
• Durand Line
• Radcliffe Line

Further reading

• GlobalSecurity.org, India-China Border Dispute
• Kawaguchi, Yuki. "Arunachal Pradesh Territorial Dispute between India and China," Archived 2010-10-01 at the Wayback Machine ICE Case Studies (US). No. 161, November, 2005.