India's federal Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has posted a strongly worded letter to Wikipedia's office in the US, suggesting the online encyclopedia remove the map showing the Aksai-Chin region as part of China, India Today reports.
The sensitive subject first drew attention after a Twitter user named Chhatrasal Singh tweeted a screenshot of the Wikipedia page showing the map and tagged the official account of India's federal Home Minister Amit Shah, demanding "strict action" be taken.
Dear @HMOIndia @AmitShah ji wikipedia is showing wrong map of INDIA.
— Chhatrasal Singh (@ChhatrasalSingh) November 25, 2020
Strict action should be taken.@M_Lekhi @bhootnath pic.twitter.com/ZeW5gXNc4j
Taking note, the MeitY has directed Wikipedia to remove the link under Section 69A of the IT Act that refers to blocking public access to digital information. Wikipedia has been accused of violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India over the publication, the media reported.
On average, Wikipedia – one of the most visited websites in the world – has around 27 million registered users and it garners more than 18 billion page clicks every month.
In its own reports, Wikipedia claims it adds over 20,000 new articles per month.
At present, neither Wikipedia nor its parent organisation Wikimedia has addressed MeitY's letter or revealed its line of action in the situation.
