Tulu Wikipedia promoted by Karavali Wikimedians User Group will enter into its fifth year on August 6.
About eight years after its launch and in incubation it had gone live on August 6, 2016 at the Wikiconference India, 2016 at Chandigarh. Katherine Maher, executive director, Wikmedia Foundation, U.S., had announced about it going live.
It can be accessed at http://tcy.wikipedia.org.
Its mentors U.B. Pavanaja, Vishwanath Badikana and Kishore Kumar Rai told The Hindu that Tulu was the 23rd Indian language Wikipedia to go live.
According to Mr. Pavanaja, an IT expert, a columnist and secretary of Karavali Wikimedians User Group, Wikipedia is now available in 24 Indian languages with Santali being the 24th to become live.
Mr. Badikana, president, Karavali Wikimedians User Group, said that Tulu Wikipedia presently has 1,382 articles on 6,375 pages. It has 3,766 registered users and 22 active editors. The content pages have 4.05 lakh words.
The user group recently organised two online workshops of two-hour duration each to train interested persons on writing for Tulu Wikipedia. About 25 persons took part in it, he said.
On the occasion of the Wikipedia completing four years, a webinar on Tulu has been organised on August 6 from 4.15 p.m. to 5.30 p.m. Tulu and Kannada scholars B. A. Vivek Rai, Purushottama Bilimale, Amruta Someshwara, and Paltady Ramakrishna Achar will speak..
Mr. Pavanaja said that a live Tulu Wikipedia will only help to bring pressure on the government to include Tulu in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
If Tulu is included in the Eighth Schedule, it would get recognition from the Sahitya Akademi. Then, it could get Tulu books translated into other recognised Indian languages. Members of Parliament and MLAs could ask questions in Tulu in Parliament and State Assembly respectively. Candidates could write All-India competitive examinations in Tulu. It would prompt more people to write books in Tulu as they would earn recognition. Tulu would also get recognition at the international level.
