The Modi government’s paradoxical position on selling the dream of a digital India while encroaching on the private space of citizens gets a resounding thumbs down from youth…
Post News Network
With each passing day it’s becoming increasingly clear that the mandate with which PM Narendra Modi came to power is not being properly respected by the government and is, to an extent, out of sync with the ground reality.
First, cultural guardians came up with bans on certain movies like ‘Unfreedom’, which the government thought could incite communal violence in the country. If that were to happen then would have witnessed several large-scale incidents of communal violence after movies ‘Bombay’ or ‘Kai Po Che!’ were released.
Then came up the intense debate on ‘net neutrality’ that required every end user to pay additional cost for every application used.
This meant that even after you activated your 2G or 3G data packs on your cell phones, tablets or personal computers you won’t be able to access social networking applications like Facebook, Twitter or even online shopping apps like Flipkart and Amazon.
It was recommended by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that the final consumer should incur additional costs if s/he wanted to use such services. “There is nothing like absolute freedom in society,” said one TRAI official while defending the issue in a TV news debate. What the government was thinking at that time is really unknown to the great majority of the people it governs.
It did not stop here. One fine day netizens found some pornographic sites were not opening. Another outcry in the mainstream and social media and again the government had to come up with an explanation that it was sincere on banning child porn.
The amazing part was politicians like Dr Subramanian Swamy with over a million followers on social media, mostly youth, went ahead and spoke in favour of the ban and even said in a TV news debate that one could turn maniac if s/he watched porn.
On September 20 something new reared its head. The department of electronics and information technology issued a draft proposing the new encryption policy of the government. As per the original draft the encryption policy required every message sent in whatever format via whichever media – instant messengers like WhatsApp, sms, Google hangout or even email – should be preserved for a period of 90 days and handed over to the law enforcement agencies on demand.
This was an all-encompassing policy applicable to government departments, academic institutions and private citizens and on all sorts of communications whether private or official.
The draft also required that all service providers that use encryption technology located within or outside India should register with the government.
Now the government may have its own plans for encryption technology but why should private citizens, especially youth, be asked to save their messages for 90-odd days? Even if they do would it safeguard our border from terrorists and infiltrators? What about the failure of the government, of whatever shade, to apprehend terror attacks after being alerted by foreign intelligence agencies like the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai via the sea route?
“This is an encroachment on our privacy,” said Prateek who is the cultural secretary of Xavier’s Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB).
Seconding him general secretary of the students’ council of XIMB, Rahul said, “This government has passed all sorts of extreme measures like ban on porn. In a democracy citizens are ensured the right to protest peacefully. By curbing such rights the government is actually instigating the masses to resort to violent methods. In Gujarat the state government cut off internet connection for 24 hours just because it felt insecure in the wake of the Hardik Patel protest. Are we living in China?”
Alarming part is while on one hand the PM Modi-lead NDA government sells the dream of a digital India it, rather paradoxically, wants all private messages to float in the public domain.
