THE RECENT GOVERNMENT directive to block various blog sites in India can be relevant from the point of national security, but it is at the same time strangulating the basic rights of the citizens of India.

 

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) is believed to have issued an order to the Indian ISPs to block domains like blogpost.com, typepad.com, geocities.com, bloodspot.com, hinduhumanrights.org, hinduunity.org, clickatell.com etc. following the increase in blogging activities after the Mumbai blasts of 11 July.

 

It is, however, interesting to note that any government department seeking to block any web site has to approach the Computer Emergency Response Team or CERT-IN, an oversight committee that ensures full security of the Internet in India and also supervise Internet censorship. The CERT-In then instructs the DoT to block the web site after verifying the complaint. Further, as per law, the government can only block websites containing pornographic or inflammatory material promoting hate, violence or and terrorism.

 

Additionally, every Indian has a fundamental right to express himself or herself and blogs are a perfect way to network and to raise issues of concern. Every citizen has a right to be heard and in this age of information, blogs are a perfect solution. India is the largest democratic country in the world and such directives certainly takes away the basic premise of democracy i.e. ‘by the people, of the people and for the people’. The blogger community should come together in this hour of crisis and raise their voice against the government’s directive.

 

Although, it is believed that, the government issued the directive to the ISPs by Friday evening, most of the mainline media did not carry the news extensively. Some of the conventional media did not even mention the issue at all. Only a few publications like Hindustan Times, the Business Standard, the Financial Express and websites like moneycontrol.com and Rediff.com carried the news piece. Even web sites like IBN Live, which is promoting citizen journalism in a big way, did not give any coverage to the issue.