I view any attempts at this kind of action by government in the name of regulation as an attack on democracy and vote to fight it.
Let us not assume the Government is free from defects - far from it, in recent times they seem to be the ones riddled with the most. I would advise that the community take an absolutely clear stand that they oppose it in this matter. I do not think this matter is something where neutrality is an option - it would be akin to being neutral about pollution.
Let us remember that regulation in the name of patriotism / nanny-like defending of the population is exactly what successive repressive regimes in human history started out with. The path to hell is paved with good intentions. Let us not make the fatal mistake of blindly trusting any authority or assuming any hubris that India is not susceptible to falling to tyranny. And it's not like we'd be alone in taking a stand against government policy - we will have the company of each and every human rights organization and NGO and the press and every concerned netizen in the country, not to mention all of the same from all around the world. There really is nothing to fear here but fear itself.
Wikipedia's existence in itself is a proof that it pays to not give in to any authority. It has actually helped bring about social change at many places, please watch this TED Talk for the corelation: http://www.ted.com/talks/wael_ghonim_inside_the_egyptian_revolution.html
Cheers, Nikhil Sheth +91-966-583-1250 Pune, India Teach For India http://www.teachforindia.org/ Fellow, 2011-13 www.nikhilsheth.tk Find me on: Twitter http://twitter.com/nikhiljs | Facebookhttp://www.facebook.com/nikjs| LinkedIn http://in.linkedin.com/in/nikhiljs | Google http://www.google.com/profiles/nikhil.js| RangDehttp://www.rangde.org/investor/nikhilsheth Join me on: Pune Documentary Clubhttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=138497769525636| Let's Do it Pune http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lets-do-it-Pune/103857326346659 | Toastmasters in Punehttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Toastmasters-in-Pune/148767611833746| Wikipedia For Schools projecthttp://education.wikia.com/wiki/Wikipedia_For_Schools_Offline_Edition
On Wed, Mar 9, 2011 at 12:50 PM, Gautam John gautam@prathambooks.orgwrote:
A few additional data points:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/bloggers-call-content-regu...
And CIS's RTI on the ban last week: http://www.cis-india.org/advocacy/igov/blog/rtis-on-website-blocking
A question: Should/could we as a community have an opinion on this?
Thank you.
Best,
Gautam ________ http://social.prathambooks.org/
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