The move to restrict web content that may seem to threaten the “unity, integrity, defense, security or sovereignty of India” (“New web rules in India draw flak”, April 29) is fraught with danger because it can be misused to restrict the freedom of speech and expression. One needs to note the secretive manner in which these regulations have been issued without any meaningful public debate. This move should, therefore, be viewed in the context of the series of corruption scams that surround the UPA government and the public anger that sparked the mini revolution the government faced under the leadership of Anna Hazare.
Just like China has a long list of taboo words, the UPA government, too, may soon prescribe a list of words that would be forbidden to use in our day-to-day correspondence over the Internet. The rights that the Constitution grants us are, thus, in danger of being crushed by the UPA government, which is involved in corruption-related scams and is now arming itself to curb our fundamental rights.
S Subramanyan, Navi Mumbai
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