Centre for Internet and Society

Narendra Modi App

praskrishna — 2016-12-10T04:19:10Z

NM App

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Narendra Modi

praskrishna — 2013-10-23T10:34:57Z

Narendra Modi

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Narendra Modi

praskrishna — 2015-10-18T04:13:50Z

Narendra Modi

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Narendra

praskrishna — 2015-10-18T04:28:21Z

Narendra

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Nappinai

praskrishna — 2012-01-28T08:27:29Z

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Nanny state rules porn bad for you

praskrishna — 2015-08-05T01:39:28Z

The article by Anahita Mukherji was published in the Times of India on August 4, 2015. Pranesh Prakash gave his inputs.

Half a century ago, India banned the DH Lawrence classic, Lady Chatterley's Lover. The ban, though lambasted for its Victorian view of modesty and obscenity, was fair and square; the matter was debated in the Supreme Court, which upheld the ban. Over 50 years later, a diverse spectrum of civil society has slammed a much more insidious and far less transparent ban on internet pornography.

For starters, the 857 sites that vanished from India's internet sphere haven't been officially banned, they just don't show up when you type the url. The order blocking them isn't public. For a list of the 857 sites, one must rely on leaked documents put out on Twitter by Pranesh Prakash, policy director, Centre for Internet and Society. "The ban on Lady Chatterley's Lover was public. As for the blocked websites, the government has gone out of its way to hide the list of sites pulled down. A secret order banning material violates all principles of transparency in a democracy," says Prakash.

The document, with 'Restricted' written on it, is a letter from the department of telecom asking ISPs to disable 857 sites as they bear content related to "morality" and "decency," violating Article 19 (2).

Strangely, the order's been issued under Sec 79 (3)(b) of the IT Act dealing with intermediaries having to remove material used to commit unlawful acts. "Watching porn isn't illegal in India. Disseminating 'obscene' content can be illegal, but for that, the government must file a case against the sites, and they must be allowed a representation," says Prakash.

"Sec 79 (3)(b) of the IT act isn't the section under which governments can block sites. It should use Sec 69 that has a review process," says Nikhil Pahwa, a champion of internet freedom.

The government drew up its list of 857 sites even as SC is in the process of hearing a petition to ban porn and is yet to pass an order. It includes playboy.com that, says Prakash, is a legitimate adult site. Pahwa points to the ban's "bizarrely moralistic undertones".

"As society evolves, government and regulatory regime are stuck in medieval ages," he says, adding a ban on websites will be rendered ineffective, pushing users to VPNs, a black hole for government monitoring mechanisms.

"A government that hasn't succeeded with Make in India is trying to prevent Make out in India," says venture capitalist Mahesh Murthy, who earlier backed net neutrality.

"The government is blocking websites to keep Rightwing lunatic fringes happy after its unsuccessful bid to pass the land bill," says Murthy.

"It isn't merely looking at blocking porn, but is trying to bring back Sec 66A (IT Act), ruled unconstitutional by the SC," he adds. "It's part of the bid to restrict individual freedom, create an artificial separation between Indian culture and anything erotic, driven by a diktat from Hindutva forces. It's ironic as Modi came to power as someone looking to activate individual agency. Now he's wary about where that leads to," says Subir Sinha, professor at the School of Oriental and African Studies (London). Murthy and Sinha believe the issue stems from a refusal to accept Indian culture in totality. "Victorian morality is considered Hindu, Khajuraho isn't," says Murthy.

"The government seems to be acting in a more high-handed manner than previous ones. The press and public opinion should wake up to this," says sociologist Andre Beteille.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/the-times-of-india-august-4-2015-anahita-mukherji-nanny-state-rules-porn-bad-for-you

Namita

praskrishna — 2012-02-03T02:50:48Z

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Names Not Numbers Mumbai

praskrishna — 2011-11-21T05:04:09Z

Names Not Numbers Mumbai is part of an annual series of invitation-only ideas conferences for 100 key players and thinkers across politics, business, media, culture, academia and technology to discuss and debate what individuality in a mass age means. Names Not Numbers Mumbai is put together by the Media, Analysis & Networking company Editorial Intelligence in association with the British Council, the Financial Times and partners including Jnanapravaha.

Taking place on Saturday 26th November 2011 in the south of the city, with a brief recorded address by Professor Amartya Sen, the Nobel Laureate economist.

Please note, guest registation will be closing on Monday 21st November, if you would still like to register to attend after this date, please email events@editorialintelligence.com.

Speakers include:

Vinita Bali, Managing Director, Britannia Industries; R Balakrishnan (Balki), Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas, Mumbai; Venky Balakrishnan, Global Vice President, Diageo Plc; Shyam Benegal, distinguished multi-award-winning director & screenwriter; Mihir Bose, Writer & Broadcaster; James Crabtree, Mumbai Correspondent, Financial Times; Kishwar Desai, novelist & winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2010; Aditya Dev Sood, Founder & CEO, Center for Knowledge Societies; Professor Rachel Dwyer, Professor of Indian Culture and Cinema, SOAS; AA Gill, award-winning travel writer, reviewer & critic; Tristram Hunt MP, Member of Parliament & Author; Jo Johnson MP, former Associate Editor, Financial Times & author ‘Reconnecting Britain and India - Ideas for an Enhanced Partnership’; Rajesh Kejriwal, Kaoorius; Amit Khanna, Head, Reliance Entertainment; Vikram Mehta, Chairman, Shell India; Nasser Munjee, Chairman, DCB; Narinder Nayar, Chairman of Mumbai First & Managing Director, Concast (India); Cameilla Panjabi; Rashmi Poddar, cultural polymath, founder & director, Jnanapravaha; Sujata Sen, British Council; Nishant Shah, Director, the Center for Internet Society; Parmesh Shahani, Head of India Culture Lab, author of ‘Gay Bombay’, & editor-at-large of Verve; Meera Syal, actor, writer & bestselling author; and Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, MP & Author.

See what participants say about Names Not Numbers UK

"Terrific organisation, fabulous participants, challenging programme... and a simply great location."
Peter Kellner, President, YouGov

"We made a strange community in that magical place and I loved being part of it."
Suzanne Moore, Columnist, The Guardian and Mail on Sunday

"Amazing organisation, people, conversations…can we go next weekend please?"
Morice Mendoza, Mendoza Media

"I learned so much, met so many fascinating people, and came away with so many ideas that it is hard to credit that it all happened in 48 hours!"
Dylan Jones, Merryck & Co

"The value of Names Not Numbers is enormous, real and singular. Every aspect of the organization, the topics, the panels, up to the walk on the beach was a work of art and a labour of love."
Inmaculada Martinez, Partner, Opus Corporate Finance LLP

"It was a jewel of a weekend….thoroughly enjoyable and quite remarkable."
Frieda Hughes, Author, Painter and Poet

"By the end I'd lost my voice but was upheld by the formless euphoria of Names Not Numbers."
Sarah Churchwell, Senior Lecturer in American Literature & Culture, University of East Anglia

"Never has thought provocation been quite so affirming."
Baroness Oona King, Diversity Executive Channel 4

"There were poignant transformational moments over the weekend which made us reflect, re-evaluate preconceptions and challenge our thinking. So much is still percolating in my head."
Chantal Tregear, Director, Taylor Bennett

"A really fantastic experience... a meeting of minds."
Simon Schama, Historian and Broadcaster

"The best Salon since 1901."
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, Former Trader and Author ‘The Black Swan’

"It was an utterly brilliant and stimulating weekend."
William Eccleshare, President and CEO, Clear Channel International

"Thank you for a superb weekend – stimulating, creative, and beautifully organised."
Emily Kasriel, Executive Producer, ‘The Forum’, BBC World Service

"It was both thought-provoking and highly civilised."
James Mackintosh, Investment Editor, Financial Times

Saturday, 26th November, 2011

9.30-10.00

Arrivals and Greetings

10.15 - 10.30

Welcome messages from Julia Hobsbawm of Editorial Intelligence and Javed Gaya, Chair, Names Not Number Mumbai 2011.

One minute's Silence for the Victims of the Mumbai Attacks 26/11/2008 followed by music by classical Indian vocalist Purvi Parikh

10.30 - 10.45

Reflections: 26/11 and its aftermath
Recorded remarks from Nobel Laureate, Professor Amartya Sen, specially recorded at Trinity College, Cambridge for the occasion and Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, MP & author, on: '26/11: Three Years Later' .

10.45 - 11.30

India's Place in a Threatening World
Chair: James Crabtree, Financial Times
Panel to include: Mihir Bose, Writer & Broadcaster; Narinder Nayar, Mumbai First & Managing Director, Concast (India) Limited and Dr Shashi Tharoor MP, MP & Author and Tristram Hunt MP, author

11.30 – 11.45

Tea Break

11.45 - 12.45

Business Responsibility: Philanthropy and Individualism; Corporate Individuality and Accountability
Chair: Jo Johnson MP, former Associate Editor, Financial Times & author ‘Reconnecting Britain and India - Ideas for an Enhanced Partnership'
Panel to include: Vinita Bali, Managing Director, Britannia Industries Vikram Mehta, Chairman, Shell India; Nasser Munjee, Chairman, DCB and Roopa Purushothaman, Managing Director – Research, Everstone Capital Advisors Pvt Ltd

12.45 – 14.15

Launch of Financial Times India app in the gardens over lunch. Including remarks from Rob Grimshaw, Managing Director, FT.com

14.15

Afternoon Session Begins. Welcome remarks from Rob Lynes, British Council.

14.15 – 15.05

The Influence of Cinema on Media & Communications
Chair: Professor Rachel Dwyer, Professor of Indian Culture and Cineman, SOAS
Panel: R Balakrishnan (Balki), Chairman & Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas, Mumbai; Shyam Benegal, writer and director; Amit Khanna, Head, Reliance Entertainment and Meera Syal, Actor, writer and bestselling author

15.05 – 16.10

The New Digital Individual: Is New Technology Liberating or Enslaving?
Chair: Rob Grimshaw, Managing Director, FT.com
Panel: Aditya Dev Sood, Founder, Center for Knowledge Socities; Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder & CEO, Kyoorius Group; Dan Lloyd, Director of Public Policy for Emerging Markets, Vodafone & Nishant Shah, Director, the Center for Internet and Society

16.10 – 16.30

Tea Break

16.30 – 17.15

Crisis & Culture: Does Creativity Thrive on Turmoil?
Chair: Sujata Sen, British Council
Panel to include: Kishwar Desai, novelist & Winner Costa First Novel Award 2010; Dr. Rashmi Poddar, Director Jnanapravaha Mumbai Art History & Aesthetics and Parmesh Shahani, Head of India Culture Lab, author of ‘Gay Bombay’, and editor-at-large of ‘Verve’

17.15 – 18.15

One To One : Writer & critic A.A. Gill in conversation with bestselling food writer Camellia Panjabi

19.00 - 21.00

Evening cocktail reception hosted by The Oberoi Group.

See the bios of the speakers here
For the list of partners, click here
For registrations, click here
About Editorial Intelligence, see here

The details about the event was published in Editorial Intelligence, it can be read here

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/names-not-numbers

Namasthe Telangana

praskrishna — 2013-12-30T05:59:15Z

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/openness/blog-old/telangana.pdf

Namaste, Mr. Eric Schmidt

praskrishna — 2013-03-21T08:48:48Z

An article by R. Jai Krishna published in the Wall Street Journal on March 20, 2013 quotes Sunil Abraham.

Read the original published by the Wall Street Journal on March 20, 2013.

Sandwiched between a January visit to North Korea and a stop in Myanmar at the end of this week Google Inc.'s GOOG +0.42% executive chairman, Eric Schmidt, is visiting India until Thursday.

The world’s largest democracy might seem to have little in common with the two authoritarian states.

But free speech advocates say recent developments in India are troubling and observers are waiting to see whether Mr. Schmidt addresses them during two events over the next couple of days.

At issue is a debate in India over the limits to free speech. In 2011, India’s government, angered at the spread of inflammatory material online, passed a law that allows it to hold Internet companies liable for “offensive” material posted by users. Parts of the law are being challenged in India’s Supreme Court, which has yet to rule.

In December 2011, India’s then-telecoms minister, Kapil Sibal, urged Google Facebook Inc. FB -2.67% and other Internet companies to screen derogatory material from their sites. The requests came amid official anger over content that parodied Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi, president of the ruling Congress party, as well as other leading politicians.

A journalist, Vinay Rai, subsequently filed criminal cases in a Delhi court against Internet firms including Google, alleging material they hosted was defamatory, obscene and promoted enmity among different religious and ethnic groups. The companies are challenging the validity of the case in a higher court. The lower court is expected to begin hearings next month.

Google and the others deny wrongdoing. Google has said it makes unavailable to Indian users any content that violates its terms of services or local laws.

Mr. Schmidt is unlikely to address the ongoing lawsuits. But he might take the opportunity to push India to reconsider its position on free speech, say activists.

“He will obviously make a case..but the government is unlikely to take it seriously,” said Sunil Abraham, executive director at the Bangalore-based Centre for Internet and Society. “It’s much more complicated.”

Mr. Schmidt is set to speak at two technology conferences – one organized by the country’s software industry body, the National Association of Software and Services Companies, or Nasscom, on Wednesday, and another by Google on Thursday.

Paroma Roy Chowdhury, a spokeswoman for Google India said: “The Google India team is very happy to host him here.”

Mr. Schmidt’s India visit follows his private visit to North Korea in January where he urged its officials to drop barriers to global Internet access if they hope to develop their economy. He is likely to travel to Myanmar on March 22, after his India trip.

Google is facing other legal challenges in India. They include a federal anti-trust probe on alleged anticompetitive practices by Google’s online advertising business. Google says it has done nothing wrong.

For Google, India is an important market for its Internet services as well as mobile-devices software Android.

Market research firm ComScore Inc. SCOR -0.41% said in June that Google reached 95% of online users in India. “Visitors spent 2.5 hours on Google sites, with YouTube accounting for a major share,” it said.

More and more Indians have started taking to the Internet to express their views. India has about 62 million people in urban areas using social media platforms, according to a recent study by the Internet and Mobile Association of India, a trade body, and market-research agency, IMRB. That is expected to rise to 66 million by June.

Demographically, the report said, the “highest proportion’ of social media usage was among young men and college students, representing 84% and 82% of the total internet users, respectively.

Last year, New Delhi issued a series of guidelines on how government departments should use social media to reach out to people and to ensure public participation in policy framing.

The ruling Congress-led coalition government has now started embracing these networks.

For example, Finance Minister P. Chidambaram earlier this month interacted with citizens during the annual budget proposal using social media platform Google+.

For many, this was seen as a move to counter Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s use of online platforms during his successful re-election campaign late last year. Mr. Modi, widely expected to be named the prime ministerial candidate for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014, is scheduled to attend Google’s event Thursday.

For more details visit http://editors.cis-india.org/news/wsj-r-jai-krishna-march-20-2013-namaste-mr-eric-schmidt