An explanation for India's weird cartographic laws is in order. India has a ceasefire line with Pakistan as a border and significant claims held by the Pakistani's. Moreover with China it has an undefined border, where China is not even exchanging maps showing their claims.Published maps are taken as proof of 'facts on ground', during negotiations and arbitration. Combine this with a big bureaucracy and you have these laws. I wish we could not have these laws but given the present scenarios and an unfriendly giant neighbor, these laws are justified.