Kolkata Protesters Carry Out Anti-China Rally with US Map, Twitter Suggests Geography Lessons

Days after videos of BJP workers in West Bengal went viral for mistaking North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for Chinese leader Xi Jinping, an image of anti-China protesters demonstrating in Kolkata with an incorrect map of China has surfaced on the internet.

While the protesters were demonstrating against China's alleged incursion in Galwan Valley, Ladakh which killed 20 Indian Army personnel, the map they used to signify China was actually that of the United States.

The geographical faux pas seems to have taken place on Friday, June 19, when protests were held across Bengal against the Indo-China border violence that occurred on June 15.

In photos that went viral on social media, unidentified protesters can be seen leading an anti-China rally but with one flaw - instead of China's map, their banner carried the map of USA. Though landmass was painted red and given the five yellow stars that adorn the Chinese national flag to signify the landmass as China, there was no mistaking it.

READ: Anti-China Protests: Siliguri's Hong Kong Market to Change Name, Stop Selling Chinese Products

An effigy of China's Xi Jinping was also held aloft behind the poster, ready to be set on fire.

The image, which was clicked by photographer Sumit Sanyal for Getty Images, was widely shared on social media with eagle-eyed netizens quick to point out the glaring error.

According to Twitter user and member of CPI(M)'s student wing SFI, Mayukh Biswas, the protesters were "BJP activists". CPI(M) leader and former MP Md Salim also insinuated the same.

While the identity of the protesters remains unverified, the photo did not fail raise eyebrows on Twitter with many making fun of the failed map.

The image came days after a video of BJP workers from Bengal's Asansol participating in an anti-China protest where confused party workers burnt the effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and also named him as the Chinese premier instead of Xi Jinping.

READ: Angry With China, Confused BJP Workers in Asansol Took Out a Rally to Burn Kim Jong's Effigy

Anti-China protests erupted in various parts of West Bengal on Thursday (June 18) as people took to the streets in large numbers calling for boycott of Chinese products.

Chinese flags and posters of Chinese President Xi Jinping were burnt in various parts of the state, amid slogans hailing the sacrifice of the Indian soldiers.

Political parties and their student wings also took to the streets with the likes of Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad seeking holding demonstrations outside the Chinese Consulate on June 17.

Not just the BJP, the state unit of Shiv Sena took out a protest march outside the Chinese consulate in Kolkata's Salt Lake area and destroyed Chinese products including mobile phones. Congress workers also staged protests across the city in the past week.

(With inputs from PTI)