AS the first Wiki conference in India began on Friday on the University of Mumbais (MU) Fort Campus,the Bhartiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha (youth wing) protested outside the venue alleging that Wikipedia had wrongly depicted the map of India. As many as 21 protesters were arrested and later released on bail. Hundreds of BJP Yuva Morcha activists gathered outside the varsity campus and staged a protest against Wikipedia and its founder Jimmy Wales,who was in the city for the conference. They demanded that the wrong map be immediately removed and called for legal proceedings against the founders. The map on Wikipedia shows Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir in green colour and Arunachal Pradesh in red,implying that these regions are not a part of India. This is wrong and they must correct this immediately, said Ameet Satam,Mumbai president of BJP Yuva Morcha. It is a criminal offence under the Criminal Law Amendment Act,1961,which states that publishing maps of India not in conformity with the ones published by the country is a criminal offence with imprisonment of six months. Inspector Stephen Anthony of Azad Maidan police said the 21 activists who were arrested had been booked under various sections of the Bombay Police Act,1951. They had not taken permission for gathering and protesting outside the campus, he said. Addressing the Wiki Conference,Wales said the representation of maps on the free encyclopedia was in accordance with the ideas of its readers and editors and that the founders were not the only ones to control the content. A press note from the conference said in India the Wikimedia Chapter is an independent organisation that supports and promotes Wikimedia projects within the country. It is an autonomous entity that does not have any editorial control over content on Wikipedia and its related projects. The chapter does not have access to the servers hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation in the US. Further,no individual or organisation has control over content on Wikipedia and its related projects and this content is only subject to the US laws. We try to maintain a neutral point of view in all fields. Be it science or politics,people from all over the world contribute to the content of Wikipedia and it displays only the views of a large number of them, said Wales. The three day conference will offer Wiki editors,users and developers of Wikimedia products an opportunity to interact and exchange ideas,discuss issues and also collaborate for future products. In a keynote addressed to the press and Wikipedians,Wales spoke about the Wiki experience in local languages. He stressed that Wikipedia editors and contributors should abide by the local laws. Around 700 people turned up from various Wiki communities,on which Wales said it was one of the largest national Wiki Conferences. On day one,a live editathon session and a hackathon was conducted. A session was also dedicated to Marathi Wikipedia and improving its content.
