ZURICH, Switzerland (Diya TV) — Swiss International Air Lines has published a map on its official social media depicting India’s northern boundary around Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh differently from the country’s official map, raising questions over how the politically sensitive graphic was produced and approved.
The graphic was published by SWISS, Switzerland’s flag carrier, as part of a travel-themed social media post. Its depiction of India’s northern boundary does not conform with the official boundary published by the Survey of India, which depicts the entirety of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh within India. India maintains that Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of the country.
The discrepancy is particularly notable because Switzerland’s own federal government currently identifies “Jammu & Kashmir (UT)” and “Ladakh (UT)” within the geographic responsibilities of the Embassy of Switzerland in India. The Embassy’s official website, published by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, places both alongside Indian states and union territories serviced from New Delhi.
The German-language version of the Swiss government website uses the same designation, listing both “Jammu & Kashmir (UT)” and “Ladakh (UT)” within the Swiss Embassy’s India responsibilities. The Italian-language version does the same.
Switzerland’s official visa guidance similarly directs residents of Jammu and Kashmir to the Embassy of Switzerland in New Delhi for Swiss Schengen visa services.
The federal government’s administrative treatment does not by itself constitute a formal declaration resolving competing territorial claims. It does, however, make the SWISS graphic difficult to explain simply as a reflection of how Swiss institutions ordinarily organize the territory: Switzerland’s own embassy treats Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh as areas falling under its diplomatic and consular representation in India.
SWISS has also maintained extensive commercial ties with India as the flag carrier of a country that describes India as one of its principal partners in Asia. The Swiss government says India is Switzerland’s fourth-largest trading partner in Asia and its largest in South Asia. The India-European Free Trade Association Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force on Oct. 1, 2025.
Questions remain over who produced the graphic.
SWISS selected Zurich-based thjnk as its lead creative agency beginning in January 2024 following a competitive selection process. SWISS marketing leadership said at the time that thjnk would lead the airline’s marketing communications. Diya TV has not established that thjnk produced this particular map and is seeking confirmation from both companies regarding who created the artwork and what geographic data were used.
SWISS’s current media operation is headed by Anja Beeler, Head of Media Relations, and the airline maintains a dedicated media-relations office for journalists.
India maintains specific rules governing publication of its external boundary. Survey of India currently publishes an official boundary map and maintains a public-awareness section specifically addressing the “Punishment on Wrong Depiction of External Boundary of India on Map,” alongside the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1990.
Survey of India also operates a Boundary Verification Wing responsible for scrutinizing and certifying depictions of India’s external boundary. Its current instructions state that when an error is found in the alignment of India’s external boundary on a submitted map, the publisher is supplied with the correct boundary for incorporation into the map.
Diya TV has sought comment from India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Survey of India on whether the SWISS graphic constitutes an incorrect depiction of India’s boundary and whether authorities will seek its correction.
The issue also comes against a sensitive recent backdrop in Swiss-Indian relations. During heightened India-Pakistan tensions in May 2025, Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs publicly called on both countries to exercise restraint and welcomed the subsequent ceasefire. Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis spoke separately with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during the crisis.
Switzerland nevertheless describes its broader relationship with India as “close and dynamic,” encompassing trade, finance, science, education, aviation and other fields. The two countries established diplomatic relations shortly after Indian independence and marked 75 years of their Treaty of Friendship in 2023.
The immediate question now rests with the airline: where did SWISS obtain the map, who approved it, and will the company correct it?
Diya TV has sought comment from SWISS, its creative agency thjnk, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Switzerland in India, India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Survey of India. The article will be updated with any responses.
