India: A Totalitarian State?

Ladies and gentlemen,

For some reason, I was unable to read my blog or another blog that I commonly read since yesterday. I was unsure of what the exact reason was, perhaps Blogspot is down, I thought. It was very strange that I was able to still log on through (Blogger.com) and post as I am doing now. That was until this morning, when Mani informed me that the Indian telecom ministry has shut down the nation's blogs in wake of the 7/11 bombings.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/18/world/asia/18cnd-india.html

Can someone please pass me a copy of the newspaper where world's largest democracy became a totalitarian dictatorship like China, Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia? I seem to have missed that little tidbit of news. Excuse me for being naive, but I actually believed the following statements. They may as well have been imprints on toilet paper, I suppose. The Constitution of India says that, as of January 26, 1950:

"All citizens shall have the right-

• To freedom of speech and expression;
• To assemble peaceably and without arms;
• To form associations or unions;
• To move freely throughout the territory of India;
• To reside and settle in any part of the territory of India;
• to practise any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business."

Hmm ... so I wonder, isn't this blog a living example of my freedom of expression? Since the Indian Government has not come out with why this action has been taken, I can only try to imagine the rationale behind this decision. I suppose the government has reason to believe that the terrorist groups that may have carried out the Mumbai bombings may have used blogs on blogspot to communicate or perhaps certain blogs are fanning religious tensions. So is the answer to block all the blogs?

As the New York Times article says, the same could easily done by procuring a domain name and posting a web site. So is the Indian Government going to go the way of China and hire thousands of people whose job it is to surf the net and block objectionable sites? What about print matter? Small local, vernacular newspapers could easily either communicate information to terrorists or fan religious tensions. So is the Government going to clamp down on the press as well? How about if I hold a meeting at the center of town and address gathered people. Is the government going to clamp down on the people's right to peacefully assemble, as is guaranteed by the Constitution referenced above. The terrorists may also try to move about the country, so it's probably best to stop all trains, buses, aircraft and set up military roadblocks on the highways. If the government thinks it's legal to block blogs, it's probably legal to do all of this, right?

I personally cannot imagine how people in China, Pakistan, or Saudi Arabia can live, but after just 24 hours of experiencing a real curtailment of my constitutional freedoms and one hour after finding out about it, I am incensed beyond belief. One thing is for sure, I am not taking this lying down. I have already written a letter to the editor to the Deccan Herald, my newspaper (www.deccanherald.com) and I will try to find out of what more I can do.

Until then, everyone please pray for a speedy return of democracy in India. Thank you.