Probe initiated into editing of Nehru's profile on Wikipedia

A probe has been initiated to determine the source behind the editing of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's profile with objectionable comments on popular internet site Wikipedia, the government said on Wednesday.

On July 1, it was published in various media reports that Nehru's Wikipedia profile was edited with some objectionable comments. Wikipedia had subsequently reverted the changes as per their policy.

"Actions have been initiated to investigate into the incident and determine the source of edit," Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.

The minister was responding to a query regarding action taken by the government on this issue. Prasad said as per the information published on Wikipedia website, it is a multilingual, web-based, free-content encyclopedia project supported by 'Wikimedia Foundation' based on a model of openly editable content.

It is a US-based non profit organisation that operates Wikipedia and other free knowledge projects. Wikipedia provides an open platform for anonymous volunteers to write articles on any subject.

"Further, the articles available on the Wikipedia website can be edited by any user having Internet access, expect in limited cases where editing is restricted to prevent disruption or vandalism," Prasad said.

Thus, users can contribute anonymously hiding their identity, unless the users choose to use their real names, he added.

Earlier, the Congress has demanded a "full enquiry" and lodging of a criminal case into the reported changes made from a central government IP address on Wikipedia pages on Nehru.