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Important Boundary Lines of the World

A compact, tabular revision of the world's named international boundary lines and India's frontier lines, the countries they separate and their significance, for CAPF geography and internal security

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At a glance
SubjectGeography
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One screen per section. Cover the right column and test yourself. Named boundary lines recur in both geography and the CAPF-distinctive internal security questions, so master the line to the pair of countries. India's own frontier lines carry an added security and human-rights dimension, covered in depth in border management of india.

India's frontier lines

Line Between Note
Radcliffe Line India and Pakistan; India and Bangladesh Drawn 1947 by Sir Cyril Radcliffe at Partition
Durand Line Pakistan and Afghanistan Drawn 1893; disputed by Afghanistan
McMahon Line India and China (in the eastern sector, Arunachal Pradesh) Drawn 1914 (Simla Convention); rejected by China
Line of Actual Control (LAC) India and China De facto military line; not formally demarcated
Line of Control (LoC) India and Pakistan (in Jammu and Kashmir) Ceasefire line of 1949, renamed LoC by the Simla Agreement 1972
Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) India and Pakistan (Siachen sector) Beyond grid point NJ9842

Named lines around the world

Line Between
Hindenburg Line German defensive line on the Western Front in France (First World War; German name Siegfriedstellung)
Maginot Line France and Germany (French inter-war fortifications)
Siegfried Line Germany's western fortified frontier (facing France)
Oder-Neisse Line Germany and Poland (post-Second World War)
Mannerheim Line Finland and Russia (Finnish fortifications)
38th Parallel North Korea and South Korea
17th Parallel Former North Vietnam and South Vietnam
49th Parallel United States and Canada (much of the boundary)
24th Parallel A line claimed by Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch dispute with India
Mason-Dixon Line Historic line between northern and southern United States

Maritime and demographic lines

Line Significance
International Date Line Roughly along the 180-degree meridian; crossing it changes the calendar day
Equator (0°) Divides Northern and Southern Hemispheres
Tropic of Cancer 23.5° North; passes through eight Indian States
Tropic of Capricorn 23.5° South
Prime Meridian (Greenwich) 0° longitude; basis of GMT
Indian Standard Time meridian 82.5° East, passing near Mirzapur (Uttar Pradesh)

India's bordering neighbours and the longest borders

Neighbour Approximate border length Forces / note
Bangladesh About 4,096 km; India's longest land border Guarded by the BSF
China About 3,488 km along the LAC Guarded by the ITBP
Pakistan About 3,323 km Guarded by the BSF
Nepal About 1,751 km; open border Guarded by the SSB
Myanmar About 1,643 km Guarded by Assam Rifles
Bhutan About 699 km Guarded by the SSB
Afghanistan About 106 km (across Pakistan-occupied territory) Notional

For the forces and their mandates see the five capfs quick facts and the five capfs in depth.

Cross-references

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