IT Ministry Summons Wikipedia Executives After Arshdeep’s Page Entry Shows ‘Khalistan’ Link

Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh received flak from the cricket fans on social media for dropping a sitter in the Super 4 clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday. The missed opportunity took the game away from India’s hold, resulting in a 5-wicket defeat at Dubai International Stadium.

Arshdeep was brutally trolled by the netizens for the mistake he committed in a pressure situation. The 23-year-old was subjected to abuse while his page entry was changed to reflect the Khalistan association.

On Monday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology summoned Wikipedia executives in India to seek an explanation over the matter. According to an India Today report, the central government is of the opinion that the changes made to Arshdeep’s Wikipedia bio could cause disharmony in India.

The report also claimed that the entries read that Arshdeep was selected to play for the ‘Khalistani national cricket team’. later, the page was restored.

What were the changes?

According to Hindustan Times, an anonymous user made the changes minutes after India were beaten by Pakistan. It has been learned that the word ‘India’ was replaced with ‘Khalistan’ at several locations on the page. Also, the name of the cricketer was changed twice while several changes were made to his cricket stats.

The report further disclosed the user’s IP address, citing the version history for Singh’s page, which was allocated to the Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), Pakistan’s national telecoms provider (the equivalent of India’s BSNL). The address mentioned is – ‘39.41.171.125’.

About Wikipedia

It’s a collaborative database or service where the content can be added or edited by anyone. However, the service follows a strict logging mechanism.

Arshdeep had a forgettable night on Sunday as he dropped a crucial catch of Asil Ali in the 18th over which completely changed the momentum in Pakistan’s favour. Chasing the tricky 182-run target, Pakistan were 148/4 at the start of the 17th over. On the third ball of Ravi Bishnoi’s over, the Pakistan batter edged the ball in the air and Arshdeep who was standing at short third man dropped a sitter.