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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Is India's Internet Control Rules Final?

Our babus bungled it. They had all the opportunities of showing to the world what a democratic country we are and how we value freedom of expression. Instead they have gone and made things difficult for us internet intermediaries - the bleary eyed persons who keep awake all night to blog on their favourite subjects because no newspaper would touch those subjects with the end of a long pole. Shall I call it the revenge of the babus? It also shows how we happily accept what is foisted on us without complaint.

Reading Nikhil Pahwa's article India's Internet Control Rules Finalized sent a shiver down my spine. I couldn't believe it. I thought I am living in the most vibrant democracy this side of the Suez. Not that all countries this side of the Suez believe in anything democratic. Most of them are dictatorships of a few or oligarchies at the best.

Now it seems I could be acted upon for blasphemy. Oh, God! Is it Saudi Arabia or Pakistan where the religious police can cane a person in public for blasphemy? With the number of religions we have how can we find a common thread for the very term blasphemy? Doesn't this leave things more muddled than before.

Hm. Need more introspection.
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1 comment:

  1. RakeshSaturday, May 21, 2011 11:13:00 pm

    Dear Sir

    This law is a reprieve for individuals like myself who have been targets of the media.

    In 2008, a jealous neighbour filed a false police complaint against me for something very minor. The whole issue should have never blown out of proportions. The complainant in a bid to spoil my name further paid reporters in DNA, ToI and Mid Day to publish this news.

    Fast Forward 2010: The court acquitted me considering that the offence was minor and the charges were false. No one reported it.

    Its all over on Google - those news links. Now I can use these laws to get them removed. If drawn up, I shall use this to hammer back at the media. Free speech doesnt mean that one goes around spoiling others lives and livelihoods.

    ReplyDelete

Hi, thanks for your sweetness and consideration to comment on my post. However, I have disabled anonymous comment for obvious reasons. Leave a honest comment and we can discuss it, toss it back and forth like a ball across a tennis court!