As you may know, the hactivist group Anonymous has launched an operation called #OpIndia against the recent website blockage in India. Some ISPs have blocked major file sharing websites including The Pirate Bay along with Vimeo and Pastebin. This move has sparked controversy once again and this time, it has caught attention of Anonymous. Anonymous have started DDoSing a number of Indian websites and have temporarily disabled them. They have also threatened to attack more websites.
While Anonymous kept attacking websites and brought them down since yesterday, the Indian Media acted immaturely. While a number of sites were being DDoS'd, the Indian media was busy reporting Shahrukh Khan and IPL. Even major news channels didn't pay attention on website being attacked and more importantly, why they were being attacked. The news channel also didn't care about the ongoing internet censorship saga. While a few big entertainment companies anyhow convinces the Government to order blockage of the file sharing websites every now and then, the Indian media is keeping mum on this matter.
This is the same media which was praised for reporting and helping in some of the high-profile cases such as Jessica Lal murder case. The media was considered to be mature since then, as they helped citizens to raise their voice against the injustice. the website blocking and internet censorship also a major issue to talk about. It is also violation of human rights and free speech as citizens are forcefully stopped from what they feel, is right to do.
Since last year, Indian Government is acting weirdly regarding internet censorship. First they threatened some big social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google to make them stop their operations in India if they don't remove "questionable" content and start governing all the content on their sites. Then a few ISPs started blocking a number of file sharing sites as per Department of Telecom (DoT) orders. There was no notification made public about this order and why there were blocking the sites. ISPs kept showing messages upon visiting the blocked websites that the site was blocked as per the DoT orders. Upon being asked, they denied any site being blocked. Now once again, they have started blocking a few websites as per "court orders".
You can download the court order from here or view online here. The court order does not mention to block any website anywhere.
It seems like India is on its way of becoming the next China and Iran on internet censorship issue, and all the media is busy broadcasting useless IPL and other news. They are busy showing who scored what, what happened on the ground, how cheer leaders danced, who wore what, who attended what party etc. But they don't even consider internet censorship an even more major issue to talk about. If the internet censorship saga continues, the results would be unexpected.
The Indian Government needs to re-think about their internet censorship views. While a large part of India is not even connected with internet, and ISPs are constantly failing to provide stable and high speed internet connectivity to its customers, they are more concerned about piracy! Piracy may be an issue but while the citizens have no access to a stable internet, do you really think it is more important to think about the piracy through internet? How many of you are going to download a movie which will take five or six hours to complete on a 256 kbps (broadband!) connection? Most people buy pirated movie and music from the street vendors. These vendors are not underground, they can be seen anywhere - on any cross road, near a public garden or even movie cinemas! If the Government and entertainment industry really cared about piracy, why won't they nab those vendors and find out who is behind them?
It is true that piracy hurts economically and it is not good to "steal" ethically, but the even more important thing is to think about why piracy happens? What is the reason that leads the citizens to pirate? Why would anyone have to "steal" anything if they have access to it freely? If you wanted to watch a movie in a cinema, you would have to spend 300 to 500 RS per ticket, excluding food you may buy during a movie. While it may not seem a big amount to many of those who are living in metro cities like Mumbai, it is still a big amount for the majority of the Indian citizens. If a family of four wants to watch a movie in cinema, they would have to spend about 1500 to 2000 RS. Not everyone could afford it. Those who can't afford it, considers buying a pirated DVD from a street vendor, who have all the latest pirated movies available right after their release. A pirated DVD costs about 50 RS and people think it is far more economic. Though those pirated DVDs will never give them a good movie viewing experience, who cares about it at all?
The Indian public is the most attached to only two things - Cricket and Bollywood. They are obsessed with movie stars. They are blind by the Cricketers' and movie stars' lifestyle, the fortune they have, the hospitality, they reputation they get, the facilities they get etc. Every second teenager in India thinks about being Cricketer or movie star. This attachment leads the people to reach their destination anyway, anyhow. A large amount of people go and watch live cricket matches everyday. A large amount of people watch movies every week, or even same movie more than one time a week. People would cross any limit for cricket and movies. But those who have desires but can't watch movies just like others do, would simply turn to piracy, just like bribing someone to get tickets anyhow for a cricket match.
As I said before, they can't afford the movies due to their high cost, but at the same time , they can't refrain themselves from watching a movie. It doesn't mean that if they can't afford it then they won't watch it. They would just buy a pirated DVD and watch it with their friends and family just as they would watch in a cinema! They don't even feel what they are doing might be wrong or unethical. They just use the resources available within their reach. They have both the choices available and they go for the one they feel right.
If the Indian Government and movie industry really wants to curb piracy, they need to re-think. Make the resources available to people at a price they could afford. Encourage them to go for what is ethical. Educate them, turn them to the right way. I would have to add that watching movies and buying movie or music DVDs would be affordable for the most, but you need to think about those for whom it isn't. People need to be educated. They need to be convinced about what they are doing is wrong. They should not buy a pirated DVD even if they can't afford the original. If you simply block the file sharing websites, it won't stop piracy at all. If you ban your children from doing something, do you think they will stop? They will just find another way. Why? Because they are children. They can't spot the difference between the right and the wrong. They need to be educated about what is wrong and right. Just banning them from doing something will make them rebel. The more you tie your children, the more they try to go free. The same goes for all the citizens. Censorship would turn citizens against the Government.
Indian citizens aren't well educated about their rights. When they are stopped from speaking, they will say "It's my right to speak, I am living in a free country." The same thing apply to censorship. Being stopped from visiting a website is also the violation of your right. If you really think you are living in a free country then how could you sit duck, doing nothing about different sites being blocked every now and then? Why would the Government have to block a website and create an atmosphere like we are living in shadow of fear?
The Government needs to understand that they do not own the internet at all. It is true that they provide infrastructure for internet and make it available to public, but they take fees for it. Internet is free, but internet access isn't. The customers pay a price to access the internet. And as a customer, it is their right to have access to all the resources they are paying for. They cannot be stopped from visiting a website you don't like. Leave it up to the customer to decide what to view and what not to. And while internet has become a part of people's life all over the world including India, how could you think about censoring it instead of taking it as a big platform for people and the country itself and making it freely accessible? Every invention have two sides - good and bad. Just because some are going the "bad" side, it doesn't mean to stop all those who are going the "good" way too.
And the Government need to think that if the censorship saga continues, how many of foreign companies will be pleased to enter the Indian market? If you would keep stopping them, they would never consider entering Indian market. The Government's target should be making India a free country, not a censored one. This could help India growing even faster. India is a very big market and everyone knows it. Why not use the available resources to something more important?
Let's hope the Indian Government would re-consider its plan to censor the internet. Let's hope that the Indian media will give more attention to this censorship issue. Let's hope that India stays a free, liberal country in every manner.
