Internet curbs: Rajeev Chandrasekhar's letter to PM

BANGALORE, INDIA: Internet censorship has become a buzzword these days. As the Centre is seemingly hell-bent on imposing stringent restrictions on the Internet, activist groups of different hues and orientations have been up in arms, protesting such moves tooth and nail.

On May 17, there was the case of blocking file-sharing websites in the country, which came up at the Madras High Court that witnessed an order against some torrent websites being passed. The move led to many Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including Airtel and Reliance, blocking their own set of websites.

It was later revoked following protests and an appeal from ISPs to unblock those restricted sites. Anonymous, a hacktivist group, took to the streets across several cities in India and brought about awareness among citizens on the burning issue.

In this background, Rajya Sabha MP from Bangalore Urban district, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 15 with regards to India's proposal to the United Nations (UN) for control of the Internet through a 50-member, inter-governmental body.

Also read: How users unblock torrent sites

The proposal, in his words, is an assault on our citizens' freedom of speech. "India's statement in the UN in October 2011 regarding government control through a United Nations Committee on Internet Related Policies (CIRP) over the Internet is inherently against the open, democratic, inclusive and unhindered growth of the Internet," states Chandrasekhar.

"It harms India's reputation, has been submitted without a prior public consultation with multi-stakeholder groups, and therefore needs to be withdrawn."

Later, in a letter dated June 1, 2012 addressed to the PM again, the MP expresses his regret over India not withdrawing its proposal at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and the Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) in Geneva.

Chandrasekhar's argument is that India's refusal to withdraw "yielded the worst possible results, wherein countries with dubious record on human rights and democracy have publicly aligned their positions to that of India during the review of the implementation of the outcome of WSIS in Geneva".

In his latest letter, he has stated that contrary to India's statement in the UN in October, 2005 and at WSIS, the proposal for inter-governmental oversight of the Internet is against the letter and spirit of the Tunis Agenda, 2005, in which then Communications & IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran issued a statement.

The Rajya Sabha MP has also pointed out that Brazil, over the last four months, has taken a more enlightened stand than India and South Africa.

To read the full text of Rajeev Chandrasekhar's last letter to the PM on Internet censorship and India's stance, click here: http://bit.ly/QhY9AL.