Kolkata: With its scientists compelled to withdraw a research paper from an international peer-reviewed journal, published from China, on the grounds that it could not mention Arunachal Pradesh, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has decided to take up the matter with higher authorities seeking a national advisory on usage of maps in “disputed regions”.
The move assumes significance amidst the ongoing border dispute between India and China.
“We are compiling all relevant information. We will write to the Department of Science and Technology and also principle science advisor of the Union government so that a national advisory can be issued for all scientific institutions on how these kind of incidents need to be reported and how the map needs to be used in disputed regions, including Arunachal Pradesh,” said Mukesh Thakur, ZSI scientist and lead author of the paper.
Thakur, Lalit Kumar Sharma, and Avijit Ghosh were the authors of the paper titled ‘White-Cheeked Macaque’ (Macaca leucogenys) that was withdrawn on the grounds that it could not mention Arunachal Pradesh as the sampling site. Their Chinese counterparts and editorial board members contested the inclusion of Arunachal Pradesh in the study, claiming it did not align with their defined map.
The paper ‘Two Y chromosome lineages in White-Cheeked Macaque (Macaca leucogenys)’ was accepted on February 14, 2023, and published online on April 5, 2023, in the journal ‘Wildlife Letters’.
“For Wildlife Letters, as a journal published in China, we are obligated to follow Chinese maps and use place names. Our failure not to do so could result in removal of Chinese funding for the journal and create problems for journal staff that are based in China. Our only option in the current case is that the problems are corrected or we are forced to withdraw the manuscript,” Marcel Holyoak, Co-Editor-in-Chief for Wildlife Letters wrote to Dr. Thakur in an email dated April 2023.
When the scientists accused the journal of questioning the geopolitical boundaries of India, Professor Holyoak wrote back saying that neither he nor the journal takes any position with respect to geopolitical boundaries, but “we are obliged to follow what is expected of the scientists and journal within China”.
In October 2023, Thakur wrote to the journal stating that: “The decision to withdraw it based on national regulations concerning the name of specific regions, mentioned in the article, in my view was unwarranted. I believe in the importance of scientific research and the open exchange of knowledge, and this decision contradicts those principles.” He also mentioned that he was willing to pursue legal action through an international court to ensure resolution of the matter.
The White-Cheeked Macaque was first discovered by Chinese scientists from South Eastern Tibet in 2015 and was later reported by ZSI scientists from Dibang Valley and West Siang region of Arunachal Pradesh on the basis of camera trapping and DNA analysis. These mammals are distinct from other macaques found in the region having white cheeks, long and thick hair on the neck area and a
longer tail.