MPPSC 2021 Prelims Paper-I · Question 14 of 100

Correct — A, India and China. The McMahon Line was drawn at the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet by Sir Henry McMahon, the British Foreign Secretary of India who chaired the talks. It runs along the crest of the eastern Himalaya and forms the boundary of the eastern sector between India (largely coinciding with Arunachal Pradesh) and China/Tibet. China has never accepted it as a legitimate international border, arguing Tibet had no authority to sign such an agreement — a dispute that remains a live flashpoint in India-China relations.

• (b)China and Afghanistan — These two countries share a short border via the narrow Wakhan Corridor, but that boundary was never demarcated by the McMahon Line.
• (c)Pakistan and India — The India-Pakistan boundary was drawn by the Radcliffe Line (1947), not the McMahon Line.
• (d)Pakistan and Afghanistan — The Pakistan-Afghanistan boundary is the Durand Line (1893), a separate colonial-era boundary unrelated to the McMahon Line.

The McMahon Line is the boundary line agreed at the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet, named after Sir Henry McMahon. It defines the eastern sector of the India-China border, running roughly along the Himalayan watershed and largely matching the northern boundary of present-day Arunachal Pradesh. China rejects the line's validity because it holds that Tibet, as part of China, had no independent authority to conclude such a boundary treaty.

Exams frequently test 'which line divides which countries' as a set — McMahon (India-China), Durand (Pakistan-Afghanistan) and Radcliffe (India-Pakistan) are the three classic colonial-era boundary lines in South Asia that get confused with each other.

• Drawn at the Simla Convention, 1914, between British India and Tibet
• Named after Sir Henry McMahon, British Foreign Secretary of India
• Forms the eastern sector of the India-China border, largely along Arunachal Pradesh
• China disputes its validity and does not recognise it as an international border

• Confusing the McMahon Line with the Durand Line or the Radcliffe Line
• Assuming China formally recognises the McMahon Line as a legitimate border

A recurring 'match the boundary line to the countries it separates' pattern (McMahon, Durand, Radcliffe, 38th Parallel) across State PCS and UPSC prelims.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Durand Line demarcates the boundary between which two countries?

  • (a)India and Pakistan
  • (b)Pakistan and Afghanistan
  • (c)India and China
  • (d)China and Afghanistan

  Answer(b) Pakistan and Afghanistan.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The McMahon Line was the outcome of which agreement?

  • (a)Simla Convention, 1914
  • (b)Radcliffe Award, 1947
  • (c)Treaty of Lahore, 1846
  • (d)Panchsheel Agreement, 1954

  Answer(a) Simla Convention, 1914.