IT Ministry summons Wikipedia officials over Arshdeep Singh’s bio tweak after Pakistan match

The Union IT Ministry has summoned executives of Wikipedia after cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s page on the online encyclopedia was edited following the match against Pakistan in the Asia Cup. The edit said he was linked to a Sikh separatist movement, a government source said on Monday.

Arshdeep has incurred the wrath of many social media users since Sunday when he dropped a simple catch in the closing stages of the tense India-Pakistan match.

Singh’s Wikipedia page on Sunday said the Sikh cricketer, born in Punjab, had been selected to play for Khalistan, referring to the independent Sikh state sought by some groups but which does not exist. The Wikipedia page has since been rectified since.

IT ministry intervenes

A senior government source said the Union Information Technology (IT) Ministry has summoned Wikipedia executives over the incident, without elaborating.

The IT ministry and Wikipedia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Economic Times reported earlier on Monday a government panel will question Wikipedia on how the online encyclopedia is edited and how modifications such as those made to Singh’s page could be allowed.

“The edits have been traced back to servers in the neighboring countries and can cause serious damage to the internal peace and national safety of India,” the newspaper quoted a government official as saying.

Wikipedia’s articles, written primarily by unpaid volunteers, are relied on by platforms from Google to Amazon Alexa to give their users information and context.

India prevailed in the first group match between the arch-rivals on August 28 but Pakistan swiftly exacted revenge clinching Sunday’s thriller at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.