Page 3 - 15JAN2020E-1

Editor’s Note

Why digital clampdown to curb

free speech is bad politics?

THE WORLD TODAY is information driven global net- ‘Power to Empower’, it was believed that the flagship
work. Internet forms the mainstay of the current times programme would transform India into a digitally
and sans life is like dead wood. Indeed disruption of empowered society, but this has come crushing down.
connectivity should be the last resort. To quell disquiet, telecom services are being sus-
But the frequent digital clampdown, be it in Kash- pended by imposing the Temporary Suspension of Tele-
mir earlier and now in Delhi, Meghalaya, Tripura and com Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules,
Arunachal Pradesh, parts of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, 2017 under the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
Assam, and Karnataka or elsewhere in the wake of pro- Internet services also remained shut in the north-
tests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is eastern state of Assam where protests against the citi-
tantamount to muzzling and choking of free speech. zenship law first erupted more than a week ago.
Public was made to suffer in the “interest of public The government should know that chokehold of
safety” as phone calls, WhatsApp and SMS services were connectivity can actually prove to be lethal and become
also suspended. a retrograde step by disrupting e-governance, digital
Net shutdown is frequently resorted to as a preven- transactions, dissemination of information and crip-
tive measure citing law and order conditions, though its pling empowerment of all kinds.
end result is always debatable. The digital gag, especially Reforms need connectivity and lack of it pushes us
if it’s enforced without substantial provocation, is an to authoritarianism and psychological distress. Our
infringement of the citizen’s right to freedom of speech Constitution guarantees us the right to freedom of ex-
and expression. pression. The internet gag to deny people the access to
The law-enforcement agencies should try to counter information regarding the day-today happenings is a
misinformation and fake news by reaching out to the major wrong committed against the people.
people through various channels. Repressive meas- The suspension of digital facilities might serve as
ures show Indian democracy in a poor light and reek of a deterrent in the short term to keep the situation at
authoritarianism. With the anti-CAA fire spreading fast, control, but the after effects of such an action, can’t
the Indian authorities need to realize that the exces- be negated. It only debts the psyche of the people in
sive use of force is only worsening the tense situation. the long run and beyond doubt is a wrong step in
Clampdown and crackdown ought to be the last resort, contravention to principles of good governance in
not the first. a democracy.
When the Ministry of Electronics and Informa-
tion Technology gave a push to ‘Digital India’ calling it CHARANJIT AHUJA

WEB TEAM ACCOUNTS Pradeep Sharma
Sunny Sharma PRINTER & PUBLISHER
FREE . FAIR . FEARLESS DESIGN TEAM Swinder Bajwa
Vikram Nongmaithem, Ajoy Sen Printed & Published by Swinder Bajwa on behalf of
EDITOR Charanjit Ahuja* PHOTO SECTION Tehelka.com Pvt. Ltd.
Published from
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Abdul Wasey SR PHOTO COORDINATOR Deepak Jha
Tehelka.com Pvt Ltd,
STATE CORRESPONDENTS AD SALES & MARKETING Building No 23, Nehru Place,
Zakia Khan (VP-AD SALES),
Riyaz Wani (SRINAGAR) Rajni Bhalla (DEPUTY MANAGER) New Delhi-110019
Mudit Mathur (LUCKNOW) adsales@tehelka.com PRINTED AT M.P. Printers,
B-220, Phase-II, Noida, UP
Rakesh Rocky (SHIMLA) PRODUCTION & CIRCULATION Piyush Srivastava,
*(EDITOR for purpose of PRB ACT 1867) Uma Shankar Tiwari (9818009833), Suraj Singh E-mail editor@tehelka.com
VOLUME 17, ISSUE NO. 1, 1-15 JANUARY 2020, RELEASED ON 1 JANUARY, NUMBER OF PAGES INCLUDING COVER 68
FOR ENQUIRIES & COMPLAINTS CALL DELHI: 011-40600890 OR EMAIL: wecare@tehelka.com