Indian road block on bloggers' path

By John Cheeran
The Indian governments' move to block bloggers platforms such as blogspot.com and typepad.com is a thoughtless act.
It has been expalined that the move has come in the wake of serial blasts in suburban trains in Mumbai and the goverment is concerned that terrorists are using the blogs as their messageboard.
May be terrorists are using the blogs to their advantage. I do not deny that. Not only the blogs. The democratisation of technology has ensured that even a suburban Bombay terrorist can wield communication gizmos Pentagon would like to have a monopoly on.
But when you are banning such popular platforms like blogspot.com the free flow of information among the non-Jihadis is also affected. The free flow of information, comments and rants dry up. This is just not fair.
I do not welcome such a situation. This move should be resisted and the government has to be convinced that though their intention is good, the path they have taken is a wrong one.
Terrorists are also using Instant Messengers, SMSs and GPS phones to their advantage.
In all these cases, including even in the use of cell phones, there must be systems to track back and forth the information flow and zero in on who exactly is using these and saying what. All these information combing operation can be a highly tedious and perilous process.
The investigating agencies should do their work but that should not beby resorting to such inane ideas as blocking the blogs. It is a matter of concern that how long the blockade will be on..
If the governement insists on blocking a platform, more others will spring up. The ban on blogs in India is on from last Friday and it has evoked a global reaction. It is not just Indian newspapers who have written stories on the ban on Tuesday and Wednesday. Even New York Times and Washington Post have devoted space to the curbs put on the freedom of expression by Indian government.
All the same I should admit and put it on the record that for all the rage and fuss in the media, you can hardly sense the impact of blocking the blogs in India. It is estimated that there are more than 40,000 Indian bloggers on the net.
What's the profile of an average Indian blogger? To be sure, blogging is a middle class itch. I must say that there is some great blogging by Indians, but for most of them it is an afterthought. In fact blogging by its nature is an afterthought.
Most of the prominent bloggers have their careers going in the media and it is a diversion from the boredom of desk and the possibility of limitless space has sprouted the sublime and the ridiculous.
Sensorship cannot rein in the blogging phenomenon in this digital age, there are countless ways to beat the block and there are many platform options available so that you can still upload your thoughts.
Meanwhile, I hope Indian government will get down to the serious business ofhunting down the terror sympathisers.