Jammu & Kashmir

India asks Wikipedia to remove ‘incorrect’ map of Kashmir, says ‘violates sovereignty’

New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology of Government of India has asked Wikipedia to remove a link from its platform that has shown an “incorrect map” of Jammu and Kashmir as it “violates” the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.

Quoting sources, a report by news agency PTI, said that the Ministry issued an order under Section 69A of the IT Act, 2000 directing Wikipedia to remove the link.

Asking the government authorities to take action against the misinformation, a Twitter user brought he matter on notice and highlighted the Wikipedia page on India-Bhutan relationship incorrectly depicting the map of the erstwhile state.

On November 27, the ministry, according to the report, issued an order on November 27, 2020, directing Wikipedia to remove the map as it violated the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.

The report quoting sources further said that the government can take legal action against the company, including blocking access to the entire platform, in case it does not make the changes.

Earlier in November, the notice was sent to microblogging platform Twitter for showing Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir instead of the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Meanwhile, a report by Hindustan Times quoting sources said that since the map violates the territorial integrity of India, it could lead to Wikipedia being blocked in the country under section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act if the error isn’t fixed.

“The secretary has satisfied himself that the map has been wrongly depicted,” the report quoted sources as saying,

However, the government has not yet issued a deadline for when the map should be taken down; however,  if it is not removed in a ‘timely fashion’ there are chances that government could invoke section 69A to block access to the website in India or even go as far as to initiate action under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, which can result in the imprisonment, the report mentioned.

 

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