The IT Rules Put ‘Democratic’ India in the League of Dictatorial Regimes – By Pamela Philipose
…. Their intention is ultimately to create a Kafkaesque criminal justice maze from which digital media practitioners may never emerge with enough stamina, physically and intellectually, to follow their actual calling – creating journalism that is of value for a democratic society.
The actions of the Ghaziabad Police have provided us with a trailer of the possible consequences. They have invoked various sections of IPC (including provocation for rioting, promoting enmity, outraging religious feelings), together with the IT Rules, to net a variety of individuals seen as inimical to government interests. Also, in the best traditions of Uttar Pradesh, all those who figure in the FIR happen to have Muslim names….
Note then how “democratic” India, by introducing the new IT Rules without even parliamentary discussion, finds itself in the company of a rag-tag group of dictatorial governments. It is now for the judiciary to turn the mirror on to this gigantic strike on our freedom of expression, as cases against these Rules pile up in courts across the country….
