Centre for Internet and Society

Bihar Chapter

praskrishna — 2013-03-05T05:06:26Z

This is the draft early chapter of Bihar. It is an outcome of the National Resource Kit Project with Hans Foundation.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/bihar-chapter.pdf

Wikimedia Bangalore Meetup @ Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore

praskrishna — 2013-02-14T06:01:28Z

The Access to Knowledge team of the Centre for Internet & Society in partnership with Wikispeed and NASSCOM is organizing meetup at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore on February 25, 2013 at 2.00 p.m. Vishnu Vardhan will speak on the Access to Knowledge program.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/wikimedia-bangalore-meetup-at-iimb

Hate speech: ban or ignore?

praskrishna — 2013-02-13T09:40:37Z

The Social Network discusses the hate speeches: whether they should be banned or ignored. Why does the state take action against some and not against some others. This on a day when Togadia and Owaisi were simultaneously trending on the social media.

This discussion was aired on NDTV on February 5, 2013

Pranesh Prakash, Policy Director, Centre for Internet and Society, and Shivam Vij of Kafila.com joined NDTV in the studio while actor and standup comic Sanjay Rajoura joined via webcam.

Pranesh said that the talk of banning these videos is foolish. He added, I don't think that is a solution. But the issue is one of criminal prosecution – whether that should happen or not, and with regard to the interesting dichotomy that Shivam pointed out some people are calling for somethings to be banned but not others. I think that kind of hypocrisy should be pointed out. I am happy that these small incidents of hate mongering are actually being blown out of proportion on social media because it actually gets people to react...to say wait a second...that is not right I might have a certain leanings towards Hindutva but that kind of speech is not what I support, or I might have a certain leanings towards what is called "pseudo-secularism" but that kind of speech is not what I support. So getting out that discussion out is important.

If we were on one hand a society where we had communal peace and then social media were focusing on these small kinds of incidents and blowing it out of proportion then that would be a problem.

Watch the full discussion aired on NDTV

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/ndtv-video-the-social-network-feb-5-2013-hate-speech-ban-or-ignore

Freedom of expression online: identifying and addressing challenges and developing a shared vision and a working partnership (WP1216)

praskrishna — 2013-02-28T08:49:57Z

Wilton Park organized this event at Wiston House, Sussex, UK from February 13 to 15, 2013. Pranesh Prakash participated in it.

Read the report published by Wilton Park.

In support of Her Majesty’s Government priorities with regard to freedom of expression on the internet, the roundtable strategy meeting provided an expert forum for practical discussion in order to:

Identify challenges, drivers and address emerging concerns across a spectrum of stakeholders
Map out ongoing initiatives and draw on lessons learned to pinpoint constraints, opportunities and next steps
Challenge and progress thinking towards norms of human rights behaviour on the Internet
Identify specific streams of work, future projects and practical initiatives that would help protect human rights on the Internet whilst addressing challenges/concerns
Broaden dialogue and expand the expert network with a view to future collaboration

The meeting brought together up to 50 people to include governments, industry, NGOs, human rights groups, activists and other specialists with expertise in online freedom of information.

Click to see the list of participants

Agenda

Wednesday, 13 February

Participants arrive and buffet lunch available

13.00 -14.30	Participants arrive and buffet lunch available
15.00	Welcome to Wilton Park and introduction to strategy meeting Julia Purcell Programme Director, Wilton Park, Steyning
15.15 - 16.45	Online freedom of expression: challenges, constraints and the forward vision Is freedom of expression online important? And why? What are the main challenges and constraints impacting on freedom of expression online? What are the opportunities afforded? Looking ahead - what would be the ideal state of play? And how to attain that vision? Vijay Rangarajan Director, Multilateral Policy Directorate, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London Johan Hallenborg Deputy Director, Human Rights, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm Alessandro Molon Federal Deputy, Brazilian Congress, Brasilia
16.45 - 17.30	Photograph followed by tea/coffee
17.30 - 18.45	Ensuring a human rights perspective: identifying the challenges What can be drawn from existing legal and rights based frameworks and conventions? How to maximise the potential of these mechanisms and ensure that lessons learned are applied? What are the practical challenges as seen from different perspectives? How to address national interests in the context of a global internet? What are the related issues eg impact on trade and other revenue? What are the risks of getting it wrong? How to build trust among communities and engendering a shared understanding. Keir Starmer Director of Public Prosecutions, Crown Prosecution Service, London Agnès Callamard Executive Director, ARTICLE 19, London Chiranuch Premchaiporn Executive Director, Foundation for Community Educational Media, Bangko
19.30	Informal drinks reception
20.00	Dinner Hosted by: Richard Burge Chief Executive, Wilton Park, Steyning

Thursday, 14 February

08.00 - 08.45	Breakfast
09.15 - 10.45	The art of the possible: investigating opportunities What are the motivators and drivers for different communities, including NGOs, governments, technicians and/or users? What about the positive possibilities? Where are the points of friction or disagreement? And where are the points of potential agreement? What are the practical examples of good practice? How to shape communities of concern towards a platform for shared action?
	Session Chair: Andrew Puddephatt Director, Global Partners and Associates, London Eunice Kariuki Deputy Chief Executive and Marketing Director, Kenya ICT Board, Nairobi Cherian George Associate Professor, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
10.45 - 11.15	Tea/coffee
11.15 - 12.30	Freedom of expression online: expanding understanding World Café style brainstorm 6 hosted tables to represent: Table 1: Users Table 2: Civil Society Table 3: Governments Table 4: Industry Table 5: Regional/global bodies Table 6: Technical Table hosts to include: Elizabeth Linder Politics and Government Specialist, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Facebook, London Andrew Puddephatt Director, Global Partners and Associates, London Patrick Robinson Director, Business and Human Rights, Yahoo!, London Jason Shepherd Policy Adviser, Cabinet Office, London Daniel Weitzner Director, MIT Decentralised Information Group, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge Sameer Padania Programme Officer, Open Society Foundations, London
12.30 - 13.15	Reflections from World Café In plenary - brief reports from brainstorming session by table hosts.
13.15 - 15.00	Lunch
14.00 - 15.00	Optional activity - tour of the Wiston House Gardens led by: Robert Mitchell, Kew Dip. Head Gardener, Wiston House, Steyning
15.00 - 16.15	Discussion groups based on reflections from world café brainstorm
16.15 - 17.00	Tea/coffee
17.00 - 18.15	Practitioners’ exchange: towards realistic recommendations Discussion on norms, experiences and activities. Each group to consider: Blocks/ Risks Opportunities Gaps - what’s missing: research/information needs Ways forward - action for next 3 years
18.15 - 18.45	Review of discussion group outcomes Facilitators/rapporteurs in Library
19.30	Informal drinks followed by dinner

Friday, 15 February

08.00 - 08.45	Breakfast
09.15 - 09.45	Report back from working groups
09.45 - 11.00	Who does what: looking to the future Developed from previous sessions - who does what: remit, roles and responsibilities. Session Moderator: John Kampfner, Adviser, Free Expression, Global Network Initiative, Washington DC Reflections from respondents to include: Jamie Saunders Director, International Cyber Policy, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London *Ahmed Ashour Journalist/Producer, Al Jazeera Media Network, Doha
11.00 - 11.30	Tea/coffee
11.30 - 12.45	Concluding session: ways forward Session Chair: Louise de Sousa Head, Human Rights and Democracy Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London
13.00	Lunch
14.00	Participants depart

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/wilton-park-feb-13-15-2013-freedom-of-expression-online

Anonymous joins protests against Internet shutdown in Kashmir

praskrishna — 2013-03-01T04:46:06Z

Hacktivist group Anonymous joined thousands of others to protest the shutdown of internet services in Kashmir for the fourth consecutive day by authorities after the hanging of Afzal Guru, a key accused in the Parliament attack case.

Indu Nandakumar's article was published in the Economic Times on February 12, 2013. Sunil Abraham is quoted.

Anonymous, which shot to fame in India after it brought down the websites of the Supreme Court and Congress Party last year, on Tuesday expressed its support to the people of Kashmir until the ban on internet and media services are lifted.

"We stand with # Kashmiras it comes to the end of its 3rd day under curfew. The comms blockade will fall. We are with you. # KashmirNow," a message posted on one of the Twitter accounts of Anonymous read.

Another Twitter account of the same group said, "#OpKashmir - Lift the media and internet blackout in #Kashmir".

Mobile internet services were suspended across Kashmir Valley on Saturday after the hanging of Afzal Guru in New Delhi. Online protests gathered steam by evening and thousands took to Twitter to express their anger censorships and blockades.

A senior official from the Department of Telecom, which had last year ordered the blocking of several Twitter accounts and websites, said internet services were blocked to avoid any further escalation of violence in Kashmir. But internet experts said a ban of communication services do not result in peace, instead it curtails the basic right of citizens to exchange messages.

"Government can ban certain class of messages and certain class of users, but definitely not a blanket ban of all services," said Sunil Abraham, executive director of Bangalore-based research organisation, the Centre for Internet and Society.

Essential commodities such as medicines, newspapers etc too are in short supply in Kashmir, where three people died and over 50 were injured in clashes since Saturday.

Anonymous has also been posting photographs from the region. One of the Twitter accounts of the group, @ anon_warlockon Tuesday tweeted, "A gag has been put on everything, information at best is trickling down".

Last year, Anonymous, known for its use of Guy Fawkes masks, had organised rallies across Indian cities to protest internet censorship after India's Department of Telecom blocked over 250 websites and 30 Twitter accounts for posting communal images and videos that led to people from Northeast exit Bangalore and a few other Indian cities.

"Internet service providers in the Valley were asked by officials in the Ministry of Home Affairs to switch off connectivity on Saturday morning. There has been no further communication from the Ministry until now and we don't expect any withdrawal in the next few days," a senior industry executive with direct knowledge of the matter told ET. He added that any decision on withdrawal of the ban will be taken only after the MHA and intelligence officials take stock of the situation.

Centre of Internet's Abraham said he was not sure if messages on social media were being taken seriously by the government. "Research shows that during the times of public disruption, ban of communication services will only make things worse. Enlightened governments should know this and act accordingly."

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/economic-times-feb-12-2013-indu-nandakumar-anonymous-joins-protests-against-internet-shutdown-in-kashmir

Indian net service providers too play censorship tricks

praskrishna — 2013-02-13T04:20:53Z

The study by a Canadian university has found that some major Indian ISPs have deployed web-censorship and filtering technology.

The article by T Ramachandran was published in the Hindu on February 9, 2013. Sunil Abraham is quoted.

Your internet service provider (ISP) could be blocking some content. A study conducted by a Canadian university has found that some major Indian ISPs have deployed web-censorship and filtering technology widely used in China and some West Asian countries.

The findings, published on January 15, were the result of a search for censorship software and hardware on public networks like those operated by ISPs.

A research team at Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto, found a software-hardware combo package called PacketShaper being used in many parts of the world, including India.

The study identified the presence of four PacketShaper installations on the networks of three major ISPs in India during the period of study in late 2012. These ISPs had been earlier “implicated in filtering to some degree,” the report said.

The deployment of such traffic management technologies by ISPs could threaten privacy, freedom of expression and competition, said Sunil Abraham, Executive Director of the Bangalore-based NGO, Centre for Internet and Society.

He said tools like PacketShaper could be used by ISPs for two types of censorship —“to block entire websites or choke traffic on certain services or destinations in a highly granular fashion.”

The U.S.-based producers of the technology, Blue Coat Systems, are quite open about the product features on the company’s website. They say it could be used to control and weed out undesirable content. It could also be used to slow down or speed up the operation of programmes and content flow to achieve the goals set by the operators of the networks.

Transparency is the key

Technology experts said such products could be used to exercise legitimate control over the internet traffic and prioritise the use of bandwidth and resources, if used ethically.

“If done in a transparent manner that does not discriminate against different actors within a class it does benefit the collective interest of the ISP’s clients. However, it could also be used to engage in hidden censorship against legitimate speech and also for anti-competitive behaviour,” said Mr. Abraham.

The study focussed on countries where concerns exist over “compliance with international human rights law, legal due process, freedom of speech, surveillance, and censorship.”

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/the-hindu-feb-9-2013-t-ramachandran-indian-net-service-providers-too-play-censorship-tricks

Wiki Meet-up in Bangalore: Talk by Vishnu Vardhan

praskrishna — 2013-02-11T06:22:56Z

Vishnu Vardhan, Director of Access to Knowledge team at CIS has been invited by the Bangalore SIG Chair. Vishnu will speak on the Access to Knowledge (Wikipedia) project. The talk is scheduled for February 25, 2013 at 2.00 p.m. in Bangalore.

Agenda

Wikimedia Projects
Access to Knowledge by Mr.Vishnu Vardhan, Director A2K, CIS
Guest Talk by Mr.Joe Justice, Founder WikiSpeed & Mr.Vibhu Srinivasan, MD, Solutions IQ
Audience address by Chief Guest, Mr.KS Viswanath, Vice President, Industry Initiatives, NASSCOM
Networking

KS Viswanath

Mr. K.S. Viswanathan, Vice President, Industry Initiatives, NASSCOM, has around 32 years of general management and leadership experience in the Indian business context, building key executive relationships and a strong customer capital in diverse business environment. His extensive work experience in the IT industry and social sector comprises of developing and executing operational strategies, managing customer engagement programs, and establishing models for customer acquisition and retention. Over the span of his career, Mr. Viswanathan has held strategic & leadership positions at Wipro, Dell, Azim Premji Foundation and Hilleman Laboratories. As the Head for India geography at Wipro Infotech (2003-2008), he led the positive transformation of and business landscape for Wipro in India. He was the first country manager for Dell in India in 2000 and was instrumental in establishing Dell’s direct business model in India. Mr. Viswanathan is a graduate from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (1979 batch). He holds a MBA in marketing from PSG College of Technology (1981 batch).

Vishnu Vardhan

Vishnu Vardhan is the Programme Director-Access to Knowledge at CIS since February 2013. His experience spans across academics, industry (media) and not-for-profit sectors. Over the last 11 years he has worked in various capacities as researcher, grant manager, teacher, project consultant, information architect and translator. Prior to joining CIS, Vishnu managed the Art, Crafts and Culture portfolio of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT); where had spent 5 years in project conceptualization, management and assessment of quality and impact in the not-for-profit sector. Vishnu managed more than 30 projects and funds to the tune of Rs. 160 million. He also anchored SRTT’s automation and knowledge management activities. Vishnu worked as Research Coordinator at Centre for the Study of Culture and Society (CSCS), Bangalore where he a) coordinated the online M.A. in Cultural Studies; b) managed the Library Fellowship programme; c) conceptualized and coordinated national and international workshops and short-term courses in Media and Cultural Studies; and d) helped in building academic institutional partnerships. Vishnu is a superannuated doctoral candidate at the Centre for Media Research, University of Ulster and CSCS, Bangalore.

Joe Justice

Joe Justice (@WIKISPEED) Founder, CEO, WikiSpeed Joe's team tied for 10th place in the mainstream class of the 2010 Progressive Insurance Automotive X Prize, a $10 million challenge for 100+ MPG automobiles. WIKISPEED now uses agile processes to solve problems for social good. Joe has spoken to audiences at TEDx, Denver University, University of California Berkley, Google, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International, and others about social web application development, project methodology, and agile best practices. He is CEO of WIKISPEED and works at SolutionsIQ, a leading provider of Agile consulting, certified training, coaching, development, and Agile talent services, where he helps clients leverage Agile project management and team development methods to deliver solutions more reliably.

Vibhu Srinivasan

Vibhu Srinivasan (@vibhu_s) Managing Director, SolutionsIQ India Vibhu Srinivasan is an Entrepreneur, Agile Coach, Technologist and currently heads SolutionsIQ India. Vibhu has an extensive technology, process, and consulting background allowing him to work with a diverse set of clients and teams. Vibhu has been practicing agile practices since 1997 (officially called Agile only in 2001).He brings to his consulting, deep rooted passion and practices gained by working in the trenches with hundreds of developers on real projects. He is very passionate about software development and can code in multiple languages. He has helped many teams in their quest for agility. He is a CTO of a early stage start up in Seattle and has an MBA in strategic management from school of business Madison. He has a very solid understanding of building large scale scalable systems having participated in various roles over the years, most recently chief architect for a game, Lead for virtualization product at Microsoft and CTO of his own start-up. He has worked in financial, gaming, visualization domains to name a few. An entrepreneur by choice he is always busy building a company/product and is currently in India heading Solutions IQ a premier provider of Agile consulting and development services in the US.

Participants

Intended Audience

Anyone interested in Wikipedia (user, contributor or curious about it). Wikipedians from any part of India or the world and anyone who is interested in Wikipedia! Meetup is open to members of all Wikimedia projects and Wikipedians from all languages. All are welcome, and we are especially interested in seeing newcomers to join the experienced Wikipedians/Wikimedians. If you are interested in coming, please add your name below.

The full details can be accessed on the Wikipedia page

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/wiki-meet-up-bangalore

Rahul Cherian passes away

praskrishna — 2013-02-10T04:27:13Z

Rahul Cherian, an expert and policy activist in disability law, intellectual property (IP) law and technology law passed away on Thursday. He was 39.

This was published in the Hindu on February 8, 2013.

Rahul passed away while on a family holiday in Goa. The 1998 National Law University Bangalore graduate succumbed to an infection after several days in intensive care. Together with fellow Law alumnus Sachin Malhan, had Cherian co-founded Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy in October 2009, as an NGO supporting stakeholders and public bodies about laws and policies affecting persons with disabilities.

Rahul Cherian was also a fellow at the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a legal expert on the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s panel on disability laws, and an advisor to several government initiatives related to the disability sector.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/the-hindu-february-8-2013-rahul-cherian-passes-away

Sanskrit Wikiquote — Now Available!

praskrishna — 2013-03-01T05:07:38Z

The Access to Knowledge team at the Centre for Internet & Society (CIS) is happy to celebrate the availability of Sanskrit wikiquote.

"The project is a store house of Subhashitas extracted from different scriptures like the Vedas, Upanishads Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharatam, etc., categorised and based on the topics with explanations. It contains idioms and phrases, witty puzzles, sayings of great people, Chitrakaavyam, etc., everything in Samskrit. It is to be noted that all these, in a single webpage is not available anywhere else in such an easily available form." says Dr. Sumana, Wikipedia Wing, Samskrita Bharati.

Shiju Alex, an ex-team member of CIS played an active role in bringing this out. It has about 1260 pages under various categories, for a ready review.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/Y9OY9R

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/sanskrit-wikiquote

Online Abuse of Teen Girls in Kashmir Leads to Arrests

praskrishna — 2013-03-06T03:51:20Z

Online abuse and a fatwa aimed at a rock band of Muslim teenage girls in Kashmir have led to arrests and a threat of a lawsuit.

This article by Betwa Sharma was published in the New York Times on February 8, 2013. Pranesh Prakash is quoted.

Three men were arrested this week for posting threatening messages on the Facebook page of Praagaash, an amateur rock band in Indian-occupied Kashmir made of up Muslim girls. “The investigation is ongoing,” said Manoj Pandita, spokesman for the Jammu and Kashmir police, indicating that more arrests may follow.

The three men were charged under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, which applies to “offensive” messages being sent through communication services, and Section 506 of the Ranbir Penal Code, which applies to criminal intimidation. Mr. Pandita said that it had been easy to track the I.P. addresses of the Facebook users.

A prominent human rights lawyer, Parvez Imroz of the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society, is planning to sue the top religious leader in Kashmir, who called for the fatwa, for “demonizing Kashmir before the international community” and for “running a parallel judicial system in the valley.”

Mr. Imroz told India Ink that human rights organizations like his needed support from the international community to highlight their concerns, and such fatwas reflected badly on the Kashmiri society. “He is diverting attention away from real issues of human rights to nonissues like music and purdah,” Mr. Imroz said.

The fatwa against the band was issued by the Grand Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad.

In his fatwa, Mr. Ahmad advised women to only sing inside the house to other female members of the family, and wear a veil whenever they left the house. “They must stay within limits,” he said.

Following the band’s first live performance in December, Aneeqa Khalid, Noma Nazir and Farah Deeba, 10th-grade students who are 15 and 16 years old, became the target of abuse and threats on Facebook by people who accused them of being un-Islamic because they had performed in public, especially before men. Some commenters called them “sluts” and “prostitutes;” others suggested that they should be raped.

The band Praagaash, which means “darkness into light,” disbanded following a national controversy surrounding these threatening messages. The threats were condemned by many, including the state’s chief minister.

To many Kashmiris, both the fatwa and the arrests by the government are unnecessary. Some say that the controversy erupted after the state’s chief minister, Omar Abdullah, got involved by expressing his support for the band on Twitter and then calling for investigation against those writing the threatening messages.

“Nobody here had a problem with the rock band,” said Aala Fazili, a doctorate student at Kashmir University, pointing out that the band’s performance in December had not led to any protests or physical threats against them.

Mr. Fazili, 32, added that people shouldn’t be arrested for writing abusive posts on Facebook. “You cannot call an abuse a threat,” he said.

Mr. Pandita, the Kashmir police spokesman, said the investigators were making a distinction between a threat and abuse on the basis of “gravity.”

Pranesh Prakash, from the Center for Internet and Society in Bangalore, asked whether people who hold protests calling for the death of the author Salman Rushdie should also be arrested for making threats.

“I would hold that no expression of violent thoughts, online or offline, should be made criminal, even if it is repugnantly misogynistic, unless it takes the form of a credible threat that causes harm, or is harassment that constitutes harm,” he said.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/ny-times-feb-8-2013-betwa-sharma-online-abuse-of-teen-girls-in-kashmir-leads-to-arrests

Rahul Cherian, founder of NGO Inclusive Planet, passes away

praskrishna — 2013-03-09T06:57:15Z

Rahul Cherian, who worked extensively on disability law and rights in India, and other issues like intellectual property (IP) law and technology law passed away on Thursday while on on a family holiday in Goa according to this report in the Hindu.

The article was published in FirstPost on February 8, 2013. See the report in the Hindu.

Rahul’s death was caused to a severe infection, according to the report.

Cherian, a graduate of National Law School of India University (NLSIU) Bangalore had co-founded the Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy in October 2009 along. The NGO seeks to provide help to public bodies and others groups that are working on laws and policies for persons with disabilities.

Rahul also founded inclusiveplanet.com the world’s largest social network for persons with visual impairment, and he was also a fellow of the Centre for Internet and Society in Bangalore.

His untimely death has seen many friends come out on Twitter and Facebook to remember him.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/first-post-feb-8-2013-rahul-cherian-founder-of-ngo-inclusive-planet-passes-away

Inclusive Planet co-founder, Disability Law activist, and Cancer Survivor, Rahul Cherian passes away

praskrishna — 2013-02-11T09:23:16Z

Rahul Cherian, the co-founder of Inclusive Planet and an expert on Intellectual Property and disability law, passed away on February 7, 2013 in Goa due to sudden illness.

Published by the Bar & Bench News Network on February 8, 2013.

Along with being Managing Partner at IP firm, Indo Juris, Cherian worked with the Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy, an organisation which sought amongst other things, to be a medium between the government and the disability sector.

Cherian, a cancer survivor who underwent reconstructive surgery in 2005, was also a Fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society.

Cherian, a graduate of National Law School of India University, Bangalore was deeply involved in the drafting of the Treaty for the Improved Access for Blind, Visually Impaired and other Reading Disabled Persons, a treaty which was designed to grant visually impaired individuals “greater access to copyrighted materials.” The Treaty is currently being debated at WIPO.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/bar-and-bench-feb-8-2013-inclusive-planet-co-founder-disability-law-activist-and-cancer-survivor-rahul-cherian-passes-away

RIP: Rahul Cherian, human rights activist, Inclusive Planet co-founder

praskrishna — 2013-03-09T07:13:41Z

RIPRahul Cherian, an expert and policy activist in disability law, intellectual property (IP) law and technology law passed away today at the age of 39, while on a family holiday in Goa.

The blog post was published in Legally India on February 7, 2013

The 1998 NLSIU Bangalore graduate is understood to have succumbed to an infection after several days in intensive care.

Together with fellow NLSIU alumnus Sachin Malhan, Cherian had co-founded Inclusive Planet Centre for Disability and Policy in October 2009, as a non-governmental organisation supporting stakeholders and public bodies about laws and policies affecting persons with disabilities.

As head of policy initiatives at Inclusive Planet, he was involved in drafting the Treaty for the Visually Impaired currently being agreed upon by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) in Geneva, aiming to make copyrighted, printed materials more easily available to the visually impaired and others with print disabilities.

Cherian was also a fellow at the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a legal expert on the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s panel on disability laws, and an advisor to a plethora of government initiatives related to the disability sector.

He was also a partner at IndoJuris Law Offices in Chennai, having acted as managing partner of the firm between 2003 and 2008.

Cherian is survived by his wife Anjana, his parents and his brother and sister.

According to Cherian’s colleague Amba Salelkar, a remembrance meeting will be held on Sunday at 11.00 am at Vidya Sagar, No.1, Ranjith Road, Kotturpuram, Chennai.

Reactions:

@mumbaicentral, who worked with Cherian at Inclusive Planet, tweeted: “He was in Goa for the weekend and he was hospitalized with high grade fever, diagnosed as septicemia. Rahul took the foremost steps to recognition of the rights of this disabled in Indian Policy and legislation. Latest achievement being framing the recommendations on access for the disabled to the Justice Verma Committee. Which have been incorporated in the ordinance too. He will also be remembered for his efforts in amending the copyright act to gain the "right to read" for persons with disabilities.

@latelyontime: “Rahul Cherian, colleague, fellow-writer and role model, inspiration. You shall be missed.”

@juditrius: “Rahul Cherian, disability activist, co-founder of Inclusive Planet & exceptional human being just passed away. He will be very much missed.”

@DaHammerstein: “Premature death of Rahul Cherian, Indian dir. Inclusive Planet , fighter for digital, disability rights, loss for human rights community.”

@SivaThambisetty: “A very dear friend died today. Rahul Cherian @inclusive planet, clever incorrigible #Disability rts in #India have lost a campaign leader.”

@sauravdatta29 tweeted: “Rahul Cherian, one of those lawyers with an abiding commitment to social justice.”

@mtonykurian: “this awesome article by rahul cherian of #disability and #sexuality http://t.co/9S5SeSFc" [Indian Express] and “i lost a mentor, disabled of india lost an expert. sad.”

@chaosbogey: “I met Rahul Cherian maybe five times? but I was a little more in love with him each time...”

@sunilchandy: “Rahul Cherian, a music nut, an enabler, an encourager, a great guy :(“

Censorship and sensibility in India

praskrishna — 2013-03-06T04:09:02Z

The past few weeks in India have seen films, an all-girl rock band, a fashion show, a Booker prize-winning novelist and a reputed academic become targets of harassment, legal action or threats of violence.

This article by Samanth Subramanian was published in the National on February 6, 2013. Pranesh Prakash is quoted.

The most prominent case involved Vishwaroopam, a Tamil film that will be released in Tamil Nadu on Friday after a two-week delay. The film was blocked by the state government after some Muslim groups protested that it depicted Muslims in poor light. The director, Kamal Haasan, had to agree to cut seven scenes.

"The culture of taking offence has acquired an epidemic proportion, and we are moving in a direction where nothing, it seems, is a safe topic," said Salil Tripathi, who wrote the 2009 book Offence: The Hindu Case, on how Hindu fundamentalists have succeeded in censoring and banning many cultural works and teachings.

"If India doesn't step back from this abyss, it will begin to resemble the dictatorships where people speak in coded language, where real thoughts go underground," Mr Tripathi added.

On Sunday, a fashion show in the southern city of Visakhapatnam was cancelled after the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a right-wing Hindu group, protested against women modelling dresses bearing images of Hindu deities.

In Delhi, an art gallery had to temporarily shut down on Monday after the VHP called for a ban on a retrospective of the modern nude because the exhibit included "indecent pictures". The VHP's women's wing, the Durga Vahini, harrassed women who were smoking and drinking in a restaurant in Mangalore last week.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, a Muslim cleric in Kashmir a fatwa against Pragaash, an all-girl high school rock band that was deemed "un-Islamic". The band has dissolved, although Omar Abdullah, the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, defended them last weekend on Twitter, saying: "I hope these talented young girls will not let a handful of morons silence them."

Last week, the author Salman Rushdie cancelled a visit to a literary festival in Kolkata, citing security concerns after protests by Muslim groups. The fair's organisers subsequently denied having invited him. Yesterday, the Indian Christian Republican Party complained to the police that Kadal, a new movie set in a Tamil Catholic fishing community, shows a framed picture of Jesus Christ being thrown to the floor.

These instances have sparked widespread criticism of what an editorial last week in The Hindu newspaper called India's "flourishing outrage industry". In the International Herald Tribune, the columnist Manu Joseph called modern India "a paradise for those who take offence".

The Indian constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression, but it is not without caveat. The constitution allows for "reasonable restrictions" on this right, in the interests of "public order, decency or morality".

Further, the Indian Penal Code contains two laws that have been invoked repeatedly to cramp free speech.

Section 295A punishes those who "outrage [the] religious feelings of any class" by spoken, written or visual means, with a fine or a prison term of up to three years.

Section 505(2) promises a similar punishment to those who make "statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes" on grounds of religion, caste, language or race.

Nikhil Mehra, a lawyer who practises in the Supreme Court, said both laws are antiquated holdovers from colonial India.

"The problem is that these laws are so broadly worded that cases can be impossible to quash, because it is difficult for a judge to take the view that some piece of speech does not promote enmity between groups," Mr Mehra said.

"I'd say there's no chance that these laws will be struck off the books," he said. "Politically, nobody will do it, because we have such a huge vacuum of leadership that nobody has the guts to step up and suggest such changes."

Pranesh Prakash, policy director at the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society, has extensively analysed cases where these laws are applied in conjunction with India's information technology act, which governs online speech.

"Given India's history of communal violence, it would be extraordinary for courts to directly criticise such laws," Mr Prakash said. But these laws are two among many "patently unconstitutional laws" in India's statute books, he pointed out.

"How could it be constitutional to prevent the free broadcast of news over radio, for instance, or to prohibit speech online that causes 'annoyance'?" Mr Prakash said. "Not only are antiquated and speech-restricting laws not being struck off, more such laws are being added to the statute books all the time."

An example, he said, was section 66a of the information technology act, which aims to curtail "offensive messages" online but is often used to target dissidents and even posts on social media.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/the-national-feb-6-2013-samanth-subramanian-censorship-and-sensibility-in-india

National Resource Kit - Andhra Chapter

praskrishna — 2013-02-01T05:08:14Z

The Andhra Chapter is put up for comments.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/accessibility/blog/andhra-chapter.pdf