In the wake of a notice by the Government of India for showing Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir instead of the Union Territory of Ladakh, United States-headquartered micro-blogging platform Twitter has sought time till November end to resolve the issue, The Hindu has learnt.
On November 9, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) sent a notice to Twitter global vice president on the issue, stating, “showing Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir is a deliberate attempt by Twitter to undermine the will of sovereign Parliament of India which had declared Ladakh as a Union Territory of India with its headquarter in Leh,” government sources said.
The Ministry directed Twitter to explain within five working days as to why legal action should not be initiated against the company and its representatives “for disrespecting the territorial integrity of India by showing incorrect map”.
In an emailed statement, a Twitter spokesperson said the company remained committed to partnering with the Government of India and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to serve the public conversation. “We have duly responded to the letter and, as part of our correspondence, shared a comprehensive update with the latest developments regarding the geo-tag issue,” the spokesperson stated.
According to a source, the company in its response provided detailed information on the geo-tagging issue along with a date towards the end of November to resolve the issue.
“Leh in China”
The issue comes close to the heels of a warning issued by the Government of India to Twitter after its location setting that showed Leh in China. It stated that any disrespect of the country’s sovereignty and integrity was totally unacceptable. Following this, IT Secretary sent off a strong letter to Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey, raising objections.
However, “Twitter has not yet corrected the map to show Leh as part of Union Territory of Ladakh. It is still showing Leh as part of Jammu and Kashmir, which is against the official position of the Government of India,” the government source said.
