The Centre for Internet and Society
https://cis-india.org
These are the search results for the query, showing results 2801 to 2815.
Govt mulls advisory on privacy issues related to Google, Facebook
https://cis-india.org/news/hindu-businessline-thomas-k-thomas-june-10-2013-govt-mulls-advisory-on-privacy-issues-related-to-google-facebook
<b>The Government is set to harden its stand against foreign Internet firms in asking them to comply with Indian laws. </b>
<hr />
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Thomas K Thomas was <a class="external-link" href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/info-tech/govt-mulls-advisory-on-privacy-issues-related-to-google-facebook/article4800901.ece?ref=wl_industry-and-economy">published in the Hindu Business Line</a> on June 10, 2013. Sunil Abraham is quoted.</p>
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<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">According to a top Government source, an advisory may be issued in the interest of general public to make them aware of the privacy issued while using services offered by foreign Internet companies such as Google and Facebook.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">This follows an international media expose on how US agencies were getting access to user data from Internet companies such as Google and Facebook.</p>
<h3 class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">Final Strategy Soon</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Top official in the Ministry of Telecom and IT told <i>Business Line</i> that the National Security Advisor, under the Prime Minister’s Officer, is discussing the issue and will outline the final strategy on Wednesday.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The key concern is that the US security agencies may have collected data from key Indian accounts using services from any of the Internet companies. A number of Government officials also use email service from Google and MS Outlook, which may have been accessed by the US agencies.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The other major concern is that Indian security agencies have also been seeking access to data from these foreign companies but so far they have not obliged on grounds that they do not come under the purview of Indian laws.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">“If the US Government can get access to data from these companies, why can’t the Indian Government be given access,” posed a top functionary of the telecom ministry.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">While Google and other companies have denied knowledge to how the US agencies got access to their networks, industry experts said that it’s time India starts taking concrete steps to address the issue.</p>
<p class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">B.K. Syngal, Former Chairman, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, said, “If we believed that our privacy is sacred then we would have taken effective domestic measures, years ago, to ensure that the information of our citizens remains private. To now say that multiple US companies have betrayed our trust is meaningless.”</p>
<h3 class="body" style="text-align: justify; ">Double Standards</h3>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Syngal said that there are double standards in the way organisations and Government is handling the issue. “As a start, lets stop giving too much time and space to the so called “Foreign Funded NGOs” teaching us on privacy. Our problem is that we are not China. We are so ill equipped that the third party interests aided and abetted by these NGOs would prevail,” said Syngal.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">According to Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, Centre for Internet and Society, companies such as Google and Facebook are foes when it comes to privacy issues and friends when it comes to freedom of speech. “An Indian consumer using any of these foreign websites has no privacy rights whatsoever. The Indian Government also cannot force these companies to follow Indian laws,” said Abraham.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/hindu-businessline-thomas-k-thomas-june-10-2013-govt-mulls-advisory-on-privacy-issues-related-to-google-facebook'>https://cis-india.org/news/hindu-businessline-thomas-k-thomas-june-10-2013-govt-mulls-advisory-on-privacy-issues-related-to-google-facebook</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaInternet GovernancePrivacy2013-07-02T14:31:48ZNews ItemA Technological Solution to the Challenges of Online Defamation
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/global-voices-may-28-2013-eduardo-bertoni-a-technological-solution-to-the-challenges-of-online-defamation
<b>When people are insulted or humiliated on the Internet and decide to take legal action, their cases often follow a similar trajectory.</b>
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<p>This blog post written by Eduardo Bertoni was <a class="external-link" href="http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/2013/05/28/a-technological-solution-to-the-challenges-of-online-defamation/">published in GlobalVoices</a> on May 28, 2013. CIS has cross-posted this under the Creative Commons Licence.</p>
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<p>Consider this scenario:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A public figure, let’s call her Senator X, enters her name into a search engine. The results surprise her — some of them make her angry because they come from Internet sites that she finds offensive. She believes that her reputation has been damaged by certain content within the search results and, consequently, that someone should pay for the personal damages inflicted.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Her lawyer recommends appealing to the search engine – the lawyer believes that the search engine should be held liable for the personal injury caused by the offensive content, even though the search engine did not create the content. The Senator is somewhat doubtful about this approach, as the search engine will also likely serve as a useful tool for her own self-promotion. After all, not all sites that appear in the search results are bothersome or offensive. Her lawyer explains that while results including her name will likely be difficult to find, the author of the offensive content should also be held liable. At that point, one option is to request that the search engine block any offensive sites related to the individual’s name from its searches. Yet the lawyer knows that this cannot be done without an official petition, which will require a judge’s intervention.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“We must go against everyone – authors, search engines – everyone!” the Senator will likely say. “Come on!” says the lawyer, “let's move forward.” However, it does not occur to either the Senator or the lawyer that there may be an alternative approach to that of classic courtroom litigation. The proposal I make here suggests a change to the standard approach – a change that requires technology to play an active role in the solution.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Who is liable?</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The “going against everyone” approach poses a critical question: Who is legally liable for content that is available online? Authors of offensive content are typically seen as primarily liable. But should intermediaries such as search engines also be held liable for content created by others?</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This last question raises a very specific, procedural question: Which intermediaries will be the subjects of scrutiny and viewed as liable in these types of situations? To answer this question, we must distinguish between intermediaries that provide Internet access (e.g. Internet service providers) and intermediaries that host content or offer content search functions. But what exactly is an ‘intermediary’? And how do we evaluate where an intermediary’s responsibility lies? It is also important to distinguish those intermediaries which simply connect individuals to the Internet from those that offer different services.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>What kind of liability might an intermediary carry?</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><br />This brings us to the second step in the legal analysis of these situations: How do we determine which model we use in defining the responsibility of an intermediary? Various models have been debated in the past. Leading concepts include:</p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><i>strict liability</i>, under which the intermediary must legally respond to all offensive content</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><i>subjective liability</i>, under which the intermediary’s response depends on what it has done and what it was or is aware of</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; "><i>conditional liability</i> – a variation on subjective liability – under which, if an intermediary was notified or advised that it was promoting or directing users to illegal content and did nothing in response, it is legally required to respond to the offensive content.</li>
</ul>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">These three options for determining liability and responses to offensive online content have been included in certain legislation and have been used in judicial decisions by judges around the world. But not one of these three alternatives provides a perfect standard. As a result, experts continue to search for a definition of liability that will satisfy those who have a legitimate interest in preventing damages that result from offensive content online.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>How are victims compensated?</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Now let’s return to the example presented earlier. Consider the concept of Senator X’s “satisfaction.” In these types of situations, “satisfaction” is typically economic — the victim will sue for a certain amount of money in “damages”, and she can target anyone involved, including the intermediary.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Interestingly, in the offline world, alternatives have been found for victims of defamation: For example, the “right to reply” aims to aid anyone who feels that his or her reputation or honor has been damaged and allows individuals to explain their point of view.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">We must also ask if the right to reply is or is not contradictory to freedom of expression. It is critical to recognize that freedom of expression is a human right recognized by international treaties; technology should be able to achieve a similar solution to issues of online defamation without putting freedom of expression at risk.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Solving the problem with technology</b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">In an increasingly online world, we have unsuccessfully attempted to apply traditional judicial solutions to the problems faced by victims like Senator X. There have been many attempts to apply traditional standards because lawyers are accustomed to using in them in other situations. But why not change the approach and use technology to help “satisfy” the problem?</p>
<p>The idea of including technology as part of the solution, when it is also part of the problem, is not new. If we combine the possibilities that technology offers us today with the older idea of the right to reply, we could change the broader focus of the discussion.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">My proposal is simple: some intermediaries (like search engines) should create a tool that allows anyone who feels that he or she is the victim of defamation and offensive online content to denounce and criticize the material on the sites where it appears. I believe that for victims, the ability to say something and to have their voices heard on the sites where others will come across the information in question will be much more satisfactory than a trial against the intermediaries, where the outcome is unknown.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This proposal would also help to limit regulations that impose liability on intermediaries such as search engines. This is important because many of the regulations that have been proposed are technologically impractical. Even when they can be implemented, they often result in censorship; requirements that force intermediaries to filter content regularly infringe on rights such as freedom of expression or access to information.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This proposal may not be easy to implement from a technical standpoint. But I hope it will encourage discussion about the issue, given that a tool like the one I have proposed, although with different characteristics, was once part of Google’s search engine (the tool, “Google Sidewiki” is now discontinued). It should be possible improve upon this tool, adapt it, or do something completely new with the technology it was based on in order to help victims of defamation clarify their opinions and speak their minds about these issues, instead of relying on courts to impose censorship requirements on search engines. This tool could provide much greater satisfaction for victims and could help prevent the violation of the rights of others online as well.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Critics may argue that people will not read the disclaimers or statements written by “defamed” individuals and that the impact and spread of the offensive content will continue unfettered. But this is a cultural problem that will not be fixed by placing liability on intermediaries. As I explained before, the consequences of doing so can be unpredictable.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">If we continue to rely on traditional regulatory means to solve these problems, we’ll continue to struggle with the undesirable results they can produce, chiefly increased controls on information and expression online. We should instead look to a technological solution as a viable alternative that cannot and should not be ignored.<i><br /> </i></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><i>Eduardo Bertoni is the Director of the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information at Palermo University School of Law in Buenos Aires. He served as the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression to the Organization of American States from 2002-2005.</i></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/global-voices-may-28-2013-eduardo-bertoni-a-technological-solution-to-the-challenges-of-online-defamation'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/global-voices-may-28-2013-eduardo-bertoni-a-technological-solution-to-the-challenges-of-online-defamation</a>
</p>
No publisherEduardo BertoniFreedom of Speech and ExpressionInternet Governance2013-07-02T14:47:46ZBlog EntryIndian surveillance laws & practices far worse than US
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-june-13-2013-pranesh-prakash-indian-surveillance-laws-and-practices-far-worse-than-us
<b>Explosive would be just the word to describe the revelations by National Security Agency (NSA) whistleblower Edward Snowden. </b>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Pranesh Prakash's column was <a class="external-link" href="http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-06-13/news/39952596_1_nsa-india-us-homeland-security-dialogue-national-security-letters">published in the Economic Times</a> on June 13, 2013. <i>This research was undertaken as part of the 'SAFEGUARDS' project that CIS is undertaking with Privacy International and IDRC</i>.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Now, with the American Civil Liberties Union suing the Obama administration over the NSA surveillance programme, more fireworks could be in store. Snowden's expose provides proof of what many working in the field of privacy have long known. The leaks show the NSA (through the FBI) has got a secret court order requiring telecom provider Verizon to hand over "metadata", i.e., non-content data like phone numbers and call durations, relating to millions of US customers (known as dragnet or mass surveillance); that the NSA has a tool called Prism through which it queries at least nine American companies (including Google and Facebook); and that it also has a tool called Boundless Informant (a screenshot of which revealed that, in February 2013, the NSA collected 12.61 billion pieces of metadata from India).</p>
<p><b>Nothing Quite Private </b></p>
<p>The outrage in the US has to do with the fact that much of the data the NSA has been granted access to by the court relates to communications between US citizens, something the NSA is not authorised to gain access to. What should be of concern to Indians is that the US government refuses to acknowledge non-Americans as people who also have a fundamental right to privacy, if not under US law, then at least under international laws like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">US companies such as Facebook and Google have had a deleterious effect on privacy. In 2004, there was a public outcry when Gmail announced it was using an algorithm to read through your emails to serve you advertisements. Facebook and Google collect massive amounts of data about you and websites you visit, and by doing so, they make themselves targets for governments wishing to snoop on you, legally or not.</p>
<p><b>Worse, Indian-Style </b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">That said, Google and Twitter have at least challenged a few of the secretive National Security Letters requiring them to hand over data to the FBI, and have won. Yahoo India has challenged the authority of the Controller of Certifying Authorities, a technical functionary under the IT Act, to ask for user data, and the case is still going on.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">To the best of my knowledge, no Indian web company has ever challenged the government in court over a privacy-related matter. Actually, Indian law is far worse than American law on these matters. In the US, the NSA needed a court order to get the Verizon data. In India, the licences under which telecom companies operate require them to provide this. No need for messy court processes.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The law we currently have — sections 69 and 69B of the Information Technology Act — is far worse than the surveillance law the British imposed on us. Even that lax law has not been followed by our intelligence agencies.</p>
<p><b>Keeping it Safe </b></p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Recent reports reveal India's secretive National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) — created under an executive order and not accountable to Parliament — often goes beyond its mandate and, in 2006-07, tried to crack into Google and Skype servers, but failed. It succeeded in cracking Rediffmail and Sify servers, and more recently was accused by the Department of Electronics and IT in a report on unauthorised access to government officials' mails.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">While the government argues systems like the Telephone Call Interception System (TCIS), the Central Monitoring System (CMS) and the National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid) will introduce restrictions on misuse of surveillance data, it is a flawed claim. Mass surveillance only increases the size of the haystack, which doesn't help in finding the needle. Targeted surveillance, when necessary and proportional, is required. And no such systems should be introduced without public debate and a legal regime in place for public and parliamentary accountability.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The government should also encourage the usage of end-to-end encryption, ensuring Indian citizens' data remains safe even if stored on foreign servers. Merely requiring those servers to be located in India will not help, since that information is still accessible to American agencies if it is not encrypted. Also, the currently lax Indian laws will also apply, degrading users' privacy even more.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Indians need to be aware they have virtually no privacy when communicating online unless they take proactive measures. Free or open-source software and technologies like Open-PGP can make emails secure, Off-The-Record can secure instant messages, TextSecure for SMSes, and Tor can anonymise internet traffic.</p>
<div id="_mcePaste"><span><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-june-13-2013-pranesh-prakash-indian-surveillance-laws-and-practices-far-worse-than-us">http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-june-13-2013-pranesh-prakash-indian-surveillance-laws-and-practices-far-worse-than-us</a> </span> </div>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-june-13-2013-pranesh-prakash-indian-surveillance-laws-and-practices-far-worse-than-us'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/economic-times-june-13-2013-pranesh-prakash-indian-surveillance-laws-and-practices-far-worse-than-us</a>
</p>
No publisherpraneshSurveillanceInternet GovernanceCensorshipSAFEGUARDS2013-07-12T11:09:39ZBlog EntryPranesh Prakash on the US snooping into Indian cyber space
https://cis-india.org/news/tehelka-june-15-2013-pranesh-prakash-on-us-snooping-into-indian-cyber-space
<b>Pranesh Prakash, Policy Director, Center for Internet and Society, talks about the ramifications of US incursion into the privacy of Indians through cyber space. He says that Indian laws on privacy and free speech shall be applied to the web companies in India so that they actually not surrender the privacy of Indian citizens just because American law requires them to.</b>
<p>The interview conducted by <a class="external-link" href="http://www.tehelka.com/pranesh-prakash-on-the-us-snooping-into-indian-cyber-space/">Tehelka</a> can be seen here</p>
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<p> </p>
<h3>Video</h3>
<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sw4ytEdi5zU" width="320"></iframe></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/tehelka-june-15-2013-pranesh-prakash-on-us-snooping-into-indian-cyber-space'>https://cis-india.org/news/tehelka-june-15-2013-pranesh-prakash-on-us-snooping-into-indian-cyber-space</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaVideoInternet Governance2013-07-02T16:19:11ZNews ItemGovernance in the Age of the Internet and Free Trade Agreements
https://cis-india.org/news/inet-bangkok-june-8-2013-governance-in-the-age-of-internet-and-fta
<b>Sunil Abraham was a speaker at this event organized by Thai Netizen Network on June 8, 2013 at Queen Sirikit National Convention Center. The Ministry of Information and Communication and the National Science and Technology Development Agency were co-hosts for the event.</b>
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<p style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://internetsociety.org/inet-bangkok/">Click to read the details of the event published on Internet Society website</a></p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">In the age of accelerated international trade and the promotion of free flowing cross-border data transactions, countries and regions are working towards forming a commonly agreed modus operandi and protocols. These protocols seek to facilitate the growth of e-trade, ensure a secure data flow(economic transactions) and protection of its data in the network. In the recent, there has been strong attention by consumers and businesses with the growing scope and content of these agreements addressing Intellectual Property (IP). Emerging trend studies show that there is a growing practices to incorporate mutually exclusive arrangements without involving other stakeholders which happens in closed door negotiations i.e. government to government.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">For instance, the European’s Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) proposal and the U.S. Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP).</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The bigger concern raised by other stakeholders has been the secrecy of these arrangements and the insufficient protection of consumers and citizens rights in its consideration. So far, the lack of legitimacy and proportionality of legal policy measures has created unintended consequences and collateral damages in far reaching manners whether socially, economically or technologically. Citing practices of filtering technology, deep packet inspection, and Internet cut-off, are introduced by internet service providers to meet legal requirements. Activities in question may vary from country to country, some focus on violations of intellectual property, some on the control of political voices.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Notably, list of concerns have been raised explicitly by UN Special Rapporteur to adhere to the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression were recommended.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This workshop is aim to create discussion on the related topics among stakeholders both in Thailand and in the region of the direct and indirect implications of various developments.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><b>Target:</b> Regulators, consumer rights, human rights activities, Lawyers</p>
<p><b>Expected Outcomes</b></p>
<ul>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Understanding the dynamics of free trade agreements (i.e. APEC, TPP, and ACTA) and its implications on Internet regulations, national sovereignty, and civil rights from various perspectives. (Big picture)</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Basic understanding of how various policy and technology related measures or solutions (i.e. digital rights management technology and deep-packet inspection) are used to address Intellectual Property (IP) and how it directly impacts freedom of expression and individual privacy.</li>
<li style="text-align: justify; ">Looking Ahead: The developments and upcoming legislations/regulation challenges in both Thailand and the region i.e. new draft of Computer-related Crime Act, new draft of Copyright Act, and the Personal Data Protection Bill.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Panelists</h3>
<ul>
<li>Sunil Abraham, Executive Director, Centre for Internet and Society, Bangalore</li>
<li>Konstantinos Komaitis, Policy Advisor, Internet Society, Geneva</li>
<li>Nakorn Serirak, Policy Advisor, Thai Netizen Network, Bangkok</li>
<li>Sawatree Suksri, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Thammasat University, Bangkok</li>
<li>Lokman Tsui, Policy Advisor, Google Asia Pacific, Hong Kong</li>
</ul>
<h3>Moderator</h3>
<ul>
<li>Mike Hayes, Chair, International MA Program in Human Rights, Mahidol University</li>
</ul>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Click the PDFs below to download the full details and the presentation:</p>
<ol>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/governance-in-the-age-of-internet-and-fta.pdf" class="internal-link">Governance in the Age of the Internet and Free Trade Agreements</a></li>
<li><a href="https://cis-india.org/a2k/blogs/internet-and-open-public-data-ppp.pdf" class="internal-link">Internet and Open Public Data</a></li>
</ol>
<ul>
</ul>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/news/inet-bangkok-june-8-2013-governance-in-the-age-of-internet-and-fta'>https://cis-india.org/news/inet-bangkok-june-8-2013-governance-in-the-age-of-internet-and-fta</a>
</p>
No publisherpraskrishnaIntellectual Property RightsInternet GovernanceAccess to Knowledge2013-07-03T05:04:39ZNews ItemPrivacy Protection Bill, 2013 (With Amendments based on Public Feedback)
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-2013-with-amendments-based-on-public-feedback
<b>In 2013 CIS drafted the Privacy Protection Bill as a citizens' version of a privacy legislation for India. Since April 2013, CIS has been holding Privacy Roundtables in collaboration with FICCI and DSCI, with the objective of gaining public feedback to the Privacy Protection Bill and other possible frameworks for privacy in India.</b>
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<p><i>This research was undertaken as part of the 'SAFEGUARDS' project that CIS is undertaking with Privacy International and IDRC</i></p>
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<p>As a part of this process, CIS has been amending the Privacy Protection Bill based on public feedback. Below is the text of the Bill as amended according to feedback gained from the New Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai Roundtables.</p>
<p style="text-align: center; "><b><a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-2013-amendments.pdf" class="internal-link">Click to download the Privacy Protection Bill, 2013 with latest amendments</a></b> (PDF, 196 Kb).</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-2013-with-amendments-based-on-public-feedback'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/privacy-protection-bill-2013-with-amendments-based-on-public-feedback</a>
</p>
No publisherelonnaiFeaturedSAFEGUARDSInternet GovernancePrivacy2013-07-12T10:50:22ZBlog EntryComments to the Draft National Health Data Management Policy 2.0
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-to-the-draft-national-health-data-management-policy-2.0
<b>Anamika Kundu, Shweta Mohandas and Pallavi Bedi along with 9 other organizations / individuals drafted comments to the Draft National Health Data Management Policy 2.0. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This is a joint submission on behalf of (i) Access Now, (ii) Article 21, (iii) Centre for New Economic Studies, (iv) Center for Internet and Society, (v) Internet Freedom Foundation, (vi) Centre for Justice, Law and Society at Jindal Global Law School, (vii) Priyam Lizmary Cherian, Advocate, High Court of Delhi (ix) Swasti-Health Catalyst, (x) Population Fund of India.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">At the outset, we would like to thank the National Health Authority (NHA) for inviting public comments on the draft version of the National Health Data Management Policy 2.0 (NDHMPolicy 2.0) (Policy) We have not provided comments to each section/clause, but have instead highlighted specific broad concerns which we believe are essential to be addressed prior tothe launch of NDHM Policy 2.0.</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify; ">Read on to <a href="https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/draft-national-health-management-policy" class="internal-link">view the full submission here</a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-to-the-draft-national-health-data-management-policy-2.0'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/comments-to-the-draft-national-health-data-management-policy-2.0</a>
</p>
No publisherAnamika Kundu, Shweta Mohandas and Pallavi BediHealth TechHealth ManagementInternet GovernanceHealthcare2022-05-24T16:06:15ZBlog EntryArtificial Intelligence - Literature Review
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-literature-review
<b>With origins dating back to the 1950s Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not necessarily new. However, interest in AI has been rekindled over the last few years, in no small measure due to the rapid advancement of the technology and its applications to real- world scenarios. In order to create policy in the field, understanding the literature regarding existing legal and regulatory parameters is necessary. This Literature Review is the first in a series of reports that seeks to map the development of AI, both generally and in specific sectors, culminating in a stakeholder analysis and contributions to policy-making. This Review analyses literature on the historical development of the technology, its compositional makeup, sector- specific impacts and solutions and finally, overarching regulatory solutions.</b>
<p>Edited by Amber Sinha and Udbhav Tiwari; Research Assistance by Sidharth Ray</p>
<hr />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">With origins dating back to the 1950s Artificial Intelligence (AI) is not necessarily new. With an increasing number of real-world implications over the last few years, however, interest in AI has been reignited over the last few years.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The rapid and dynamic pace of development of AI have made it difficult to predict its future path and is enabling it to alter our world in ways we have yet to comprehend. This has resulted in law and policy having stayed one step behind the development of the technology.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Understanding and analyzing existing literature on AI is a necessary precursor to subsequently recommending policy on the matter. By examining academic articles, policy papers, news articles, and position papers from across the globe, this literature review aims to provide an overview of AI from multiple perspectives.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The structure taken by the literature review is as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li>Overview of historical development</li>
<li>Definitional and compositional analysis</li>
<li>Ethical & Social, Legal, Economic and Political impact and sector-specific solutions</li>
<li>The regulatory way forward</li>
</ol>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">This literature review is a first step in understanding the existing paradigms and debates around AI before narrowing the focus to more specific applications and subsequently, policy-recommendations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; "><a class="external-link" href="http://cis-india.org/internet-governance/files/artificial-intelligence-literature-review"><b>Download the full literature review</b></a></p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-literature-review'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/artificial-intelligence-literature-review</a>
</p>
No publisherShruthi AnandInternet GovernanceArtificial IntelligencePrivacy2017-12-18T15:12:52ZBlog EntryIndian activists slam FCC decision to ditch net neutrality
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindustan-times-kul-bhushan-november-23-2017-indian-activists-slam-fcc-decision-to-ditch-net-neutrality
<b>Indian net neutrality activists are assured the ongoing net neutrality tussle in the US will have no impact on India.</b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article by Kul Bhushan was published in the <a class="external-link" href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/tech/indian-activists-slam-fcc-decision-to-ditch-net-neutrality/story-PR7PxLNeqyGiDqSbgTLHWK.html">Hindustan Times</a> on November 23, 2017.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Net neutrality is in the news again. This time it is because the US’ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has decided to formally scrap existing protections that are meant to keep access to internet equitable.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">India had its own tryst with the idea of net neutrality after it <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/tech/trai-s-says-no-to-content-based-differential-tariff-offers-supports-net-neutrality/story-1pOAI14aHvXYRu3AQNzMjP.html">blocked</a> the zero-rating programmes by social networking giant Facebook — which proposed to rollout the Internet.org or Free Basics project in February last year.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">A powerful social media campaign made Facebook back down and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to announce that ‘<a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/tech/trai-s-says-no-to-content-based-differential-tariff-offers-supports-net-neutrality/story-1pOAI14aHvXYRu3AQNzMjP.html">differential pricing</a>’ — a practice where some services or sites are priced in a special manner — will no longer be allowed.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Some people who were at the forefront of the net neutrality campaign in here almost three years ago have expressed their displeasure over the FCC’s move.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“I think the approach the FCC is taking is flawed. Spectrum is a public resource and it needs to be spent on maximisation of public good. That public good, and the utility of the Internet is based on the freedom that people have to create new apps and services, without needing permission from ISPs, or the fear that ISPs might discriminate against them or favour their competitors. This is what net neutrality enables,” said Nikhil Pahwa, founder of publication Medianama and one of the activists.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“By going against Net Neutrality, FCC chairman Ajit Pai is attacking the core of what makes the Internet tick. We didn’t let that happen in India, and instead, focused on increasing competition between ISPs and telecom operators, because of which we’ve see broadband prices drop, quality of service improve, a tremendous growth in Internet users in India. For this, we owe a great debt to all those who supported Net Neutrality, especially the TRAI,” he added.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Apar Gupta, who is closely associated with the ‘Save the Internet’ initiative and is the co-founder of Internet Freedom Foundation, said, “FCC’s move to take back the internet order is a huge setback to the global campaign to ensure open internet because it undermines the net neutrality.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“I don’t think the development should impact the regulatory process in India considering TRAI’s strong support for net neutrality. I hope that TRAI comes out with a comprehensive network neutrality regulation in the future,” he responded when asked about the possible impact on India of the FCC move.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Sunil Abraham, executive director of Bangalore-based research organisation Centre for Internet and Society, said there should be no impact on India from the FCC move.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">He also slammed FCC chief Pai’s attempt to change the existing net neutrality rules. “What Ajit Pai is trying to do he’s not saying he will not regulate. He is saying when companies violate net neutrality principles they should be transparent about it. He hopes the magic of market competition will help resolve the problem,” he said</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">“Pai’s approach to the net neutrality might work in a market where there is a lot of competition. In the US, there is no competition and that in case damage will be immediate,” he added.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindustan-times-kul-bhushan-november-23-2017-indian-activists-slam-fcc-decision-to-ditch-net-neutrality'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/news/hindustan-times-kul-bhushan-november-23-2017-indian-activists-slam-fcc-decision-to-ditch-net-neutrality</a>
</p>
No publisherAdminNet NeutralityInternet Governance2017-12-18T15:27:04ZNews ItemShould Aadhaar be mandatory?
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/should-aadhaar-be-mandatory
<b>This week, a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court will adjudicate on limited questions of stay orders in the Aadhaar case. After numerous attempts by the petitioners in the Aadhaar case, the court has agreed to hear this matter, just shy of the looming deadline of December 31 for the linking of Aadhaar numbers to avail government services and benefits. </b>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">The article was published in <a class="external-link" href="http://www.deccanherald.com/content/647320/should-aadhaar-mandatory.html">Deccan Herald</a> on December 9, 2017.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Getting their day in the court to hear interim matters is but a small victory in what has been a long and frustrating fight for the petitioners. In 2012, Justice K S Puttaswamy, a former Karnataka High Court judge, filed a petition before the Supreme Court questioning the validity of the Aadhaar project due its lack of legislative basis (the Aadhaar Act was passed by Parliament in 2016) and its transgressions on our fundamental rights.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify; ">Over time, a number of other petitions also made their way to the apex court challenging different aspects of the Aadhaar project. Since then, five different interim orders of the Supreme Court have stated that no person should suffer because they do not have an Aadhaar number.<br /><br />Aadhaar, according to the Supreme Court, could not be made mandatory to avail benefits and services from government schemes. Further, the court has limited the use of Aadhaar to only specific schemes, namely LPG, PDS, MNREGA, National Social Assistance Program, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna and EPFO.<br /><br />The then Attorney General, Mukul Rohatgi, in a hearing before the court in July 2015 stated that there is no constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy. But the judgement by the nine-judge bench earlier this year was an emphatic endorsement of the constitutional right to privacy.<br /><br />In the course of a 547-page judgement, the bench affirmed the fundamental nature of the right to privacy, reading it into the values of dignity and liberty.<br /><br />Yet months after the judgement, the Supreme Court has failed to hear arguments in the Aadhaar matter. The reference to a larger bench and subsequent deferrals have since delayed the entire matter, even as the government has moved to make Aadhaar mandatory for a number of government schemes.<br /><br />At this point, up to 140 government services have made linking with Aadhaar mandatory to avail these services. Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra has promised a constitution bench this week, likely to look only into interim matters of stay on the deadline of Aadhaar-linking. It is likely that the hearings for the final arguments are still some months away. The refusal of the court to adjudicate on this issue has been extremely disappointing, and a grave disservice to the court's intended role as the champion of individual rights.<br /><br />It is worth noting that the interim orders by the Supreme Court that no person should suffer because they do not have an Aadhaar number, and limiting its use only to specified schemes, still stand.<br /><br />However, since the passage of the Aadhaar Act, which allows the use of Aadhaar by both private and public parties, permits making it mandatory for availing any benefits, subsidies and services funded by the Consolidated Fund of India, the spate of services for which Aadhaar has been made mandatory suggests that as per the government, the Aadhaar Act has, in effect, nullified the orders by the Supreme Court.<br /><br />This was stated in so many words by Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad in the Rajya Sabha in April. This view is an erroneous one. While acts of Parliament can supersede previous judicial orders, they must do so either through an express statement in the objects of the Act, or implied when the two are mutually incompatible. In this case, the Aadhaar Act, while permitting the government authorities to make Aadhaar mandatory, does not impose a clear duty to do so.<br /><br />Therefore, reading the orders and the legislation together leads one to the conclusion that all instances of Aadhaar being made mandatory under the Aadhaar Act are void.<br /><br />The question may be more complicated for cases where Aadhaar has been made mandatory through other legislations, such as Prevention of Money Laundering Act, as they clearly mandate the linking of Aadhaar numbers, rather than merely allowing it. However, despite repeated appeals of the petitioners, the court has so far refused to engage with the question of the legality of such instances. <br /><br />How may the issues finally be resolved? When the court deigns to hear final arguments, the Aadhaar case will be instructive in how the court defines the contours of the right to privacy. The right to privacy judgement, while instructive in its exposition of the different aspects of privacy, does not delve deeply into the question of what may be legitimate limitations on this right.<br /><br />In one of the passages of the judgement, "ensuring that scarce public resources are not dissipated by the diversion of resources to persons who do not qualify as recipients" is mentioned as an example of a legitimate incursion into the right to privacy. However, it must be remembered that none of the opinions in the privacy judgement were majority judgements.<br /><br />Therefore, in future cases, lawyers and judges must parse through the various opinions to arrive at an understanding of the majority opinion, supported by five or more judges. While the privacy judgement was a landmark one, its actual impact on the rights discourse and on matters like Aadhaar will depend extensively on the how the judges choose to interpret it.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/should-aadhaar-be-mandatory'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/should-aadhaar-be-mandatory</a>
</p>
No publisheramberAadhaarInternet GovernancePrivacy2017-12-18T15:54:39ZBlog EntryAmid Unrest in the Valley, Students See a Dark Wall
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/amid-unrest-in-the-valley-students-see-a-dark-wall
<b>Strap: Frequent, prolonged restrictions on internet have kept many from using the learning resource.</b>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; "><b>Srinagar, J&K: </b>On November 18, Srinagar lost 3G and 4G connectivity after a militant and a sub-inspector of the Jammu & Kashmir police force were killed, and one militant caught alive in a<a href="http://www.uniindia.com/news/states/si-militant-killed-1-ultra-arrested-alive-in-srinagar/1050461.html"> </a><a href="http://www.uniindia.com/news/states/si-militant-killed-1-ultra-arrested-alive-in-srinagar/1050461.html">brief encounter</a> on the outskirts of the city, near Zakoora crossing. District authorities said data connectivity was snapped to “maintain law and order”.</p>
<table class="plain">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/JKEducation1.png/@@images/77d075bb-5b8f-4f93-81ad-1f6e9a56f35c.png" alt="JK Education 1" class="image-inline" title="JK Education 1" /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/copy_of_JKEducation2.png" alt="JKEducation2" class="image-inline" title="JKEducation2" /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/JKEducation3.png" alt="JK Education 3" class="image-inline" title="JK Education 3" /></th><th style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/JKEducation4.png" alt="JK Education 4" class="image-inline" title="JK Education 4" /><br /></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: center; "><span class="discreet">Students in Srinagar’s SPS Library. Picture Courtesy: Aakash Hassan </span></p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">But to Jasif Ayoub, an aspiring chartered accountant, it seemed like an obstruction to his exam preparations. Not being able to access lectures and texts online, Ayoub was perturbed. He had moved from Anantnag in south Kashmir, to Srinagar, only to have an easy access to the vast pool of information on the world wide web. “My hometown witnesses internet shutdowns very frequently. That is why I moved to live with relatives in Srinagar to prepare for my exams. But the internet speed here too is getting worse by the day,” says Ayoub.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The internet is usually the first administrative casualty when any law & order situation arises in the Kashmir Valley, which has been restive and agitated over the last two decades. Despite the frequency of shutdowns, the state still does not issue a prior warning, or offer emergency connectivity measures. Residents know the pattern now: the mobile internet and SMS are the first to go down, and then broadband and other lease-line service providers follow.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">J&K tops the list of Indian states that have witnessed most number of internet shutdowns, with 27 being the count from 2012 to 2017, according to <a href="https://internetshutdowns.in/"><i>internetshutdowns.in</i></a>, run by Software Freedom Law Centre<i>. </i>There has been a sharp rise in the curbs on internet imposed this year, with over 30 shutdowns until November 22. Government authorities who issue and implement these bans say it is the only way to undercut the strength of social media in organising movements and resistance. The prime example is<a href="http://kashmirdispatch.com/2016/07/24/11-burhan-funeral-pictures-which-you-missed-due-to-internet-clampdown/144891/"> </a><a href="http://kashmirdispatch.com/2016/07/24/11-burhan-funeral-pictures-which-you-missed-due-to-internet-clampdown/144891/">Burhan Wani</a>, the 21-year-old Hizb-ul-Mujahideen commander who had used his Facebook account to<a href="http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-virtual-world-hizb-ul-mujahideens-burhan-wani-innovates-to-influence-youth-in-kashmir-2794392.html"> </a><a href="http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-virtual-world-hizb-ul-mujahideens-burhan-wani-innovates-to-influence-youth-in-kashmir-2794392.html">popularise</a> and justify militant resistance. Wani’s death saw protests erupting across the Valley, which made the state snap internet services for about<a href="https://scroll.in/latest/827906/prepaid-mobile-internet-services-restored-in-kashmir-after-six-months"> </a><a href="https://scroll.in/latest/827906/prepaid-mobile-internet-services-restored-in-kashmir-after-six-months">six months</a> on prepaid mobile networks. For four months, there was no internet access on postpaid mobile networks too. These have been the longest intervals of ban. However, day-long, hour-long and even week-long periods of non-connectivity are alarmingly common.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The incessant disruption of internet services prevents students from accessing online education resources. Class IX student Haiba Jaan in Srinagar depends on lectures from Khan Academy, an online coaching centre, to clarify a lot of concepts. A resident of Hyderpora in Srinagar, Haiba points to the i-Pad in her hand. “This is the best way of learning," she says. "I was not satisfied with my teachers in school or tuition classes. I found studying on the internet quite useful. But, the problem with that is the regular internet shutdowns." Her parents got a postpaid broadband connection the previous year to help Haiba. "But even that gives up many times during total internet shutdowns," says Haiba.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">In May this year, the government suspended the use of 22 social media and messaging platforms in Kashmir for a month. Skype was one of the messaging services banned. This put Mehraj Din through great trouble. Shortlisted for a summer programme at Istanbul, Turkey, this scholar of Islamic Studies at Kashmir University, had to appear for the final interview via Skype. "The ban could have ended all my chances to get selected had the organisers not agreed to an audio interview considering the ground situation here," says Mehraj, who is currently compiling his dissertation for the university. "I have a deadline to meet, but repeated shutdowns have affected my work," he says. "This a punishment from the State."</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; "><b>Full libraries, half studies</b></p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">When home and mobile internet connections are snapped, the state government's e-learning initiative in public libraries provides some respite. Mehrosha Rasool wants to secure an MBBS seat through the NEET competitive exam. She visits the SPS library in Srinagar religiously to access the study material that has been downloaded and made available on computers. The 17-year-old resident of Nishat in Srinagar says libraries are useful since one never knows how long the internet services at home will stay stable. Irshad Ahmad, another student utilising the facilities at SPS library, says he moved to Srinagar from Pattan town of north Kashmir because "this facility of accessing education material is not available at the library in my tehsil."</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Most prominent libraries in Srinagar have computers and tablets for students’ access, "But the rooms often become overcrowded as hundreds of students have registered at the libraries for internet facilities," says Mehrosha.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Schools in the Valley, meanwhile, rely on traditional means in the absence of the e-learning systems. Javaid Ahmad Wani, a political science teacher from south Kashmir’s Anantnag, believes that with little time in the year to even complete the basic syllabus thanks to frequent and sudden school closures during periods of unrest, supplementary e-learning is a distant possibility. Even when teachers and students do have access to these resources to stay updated, internet shutdowns make them unreliable. Therefore, teachers and schools stick to conventional means. Javaid admits that he has himself lost opportunities to an internet shutdown. “I could not submit the form for the main exam of the J&K public service last year because there was no Internet,” he says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; "><b>Curbs pinch civil service aspirants</b></p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Many among the civil service aspirants are dependent on the internet for preparations. Anees Malik, a resident of Shopian, is preparing for the civil service exams. "I cannot afford coaching, so I rely on the internet," he says, especially for mock exams and previous question papers. "In such a situation, losing connectivity almost every other week is the worst thing to happen.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Sakib Wani, a Kupwara resident who is currently studying chemistry in Uttarakhand, notices a marked indifference in Kashmir to using online resources. "Those applying for scholarships and pursuing higher education may be using it but not to the extent that students in other states of India do it,” Sakib says. He believes that the repeated internet ban could be a possible reason for students to not opt for online educational resources. With colleges and schools shut for weeks during conflict periods, the internet could have been a great way to continue education formally and personally, but the repeated shutdowns have closed that door of opportunity too.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Aakash Hassan is a Srinagar-based freelance writer and a member of <a href="http://www.101reporters.com/">101Reporters.com</a>, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters. He has reported on conflict, environment, health and other issues for different publications across India.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Shutdown stories are the output of a collaboration between 101 Reporters and CIS with support from Facebook.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/amid-unrest-in-the-valley-students-see-a-dark-wall'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/amid-unrest-in-the-valley-students-see-a-dark-wall</a>
</p>
No publisherAakash HassanInternet ShutdownInternet Governance2017-12-21T14:07:46ZBlog EntryHow Media beat the Shutdown in Darjeeling
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/how-media-beat-the-shutdown-in-darjeeling
<b>Strap:Journalists did what the state was expected to do: fight rumours.</b>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; "><b>Darjeeling, West Bengal: </b>The West Bengal government banned internet in the hills of north Bengal on June 18. The ban was lifted on<a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/darjeelings-internet-suspension-extended/article19754745.ece"> </a><a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/darjeelings-internet-suspension-extended/article19754745.ece">September 25</a>, one hundred days later. The precautionary “law and order measure”, introduced in the wake of violence following the breakout of a fresh stir for separate Gorkhaland state, was used as a virtual tool by the administration to bargain for peace with protesters in subsequent weeks. Quite naturally, it caused severe hardships to over one million people. Journalists covering the agitation were among the most severely affected.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“It was a first for me — reporting breaking stories from the ground and having to dictate the development on the phone to my office back in Delhi,” says Amrita Madhukalya, a senior reporter with the DNA newspaper. “The first story I broke after reaching Darjeeling was how the agitation had caused losses in excess of Rs 100 crore ($15.6 million) for the tea industry. I sent that story via a string of five SMSes to office before reading it out to one of our subeditors to ensure no discrepancies crept in.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Sometimes even phone networks were down. “I have a friend who owns a shop in a small market complex near Chowk Bazaar,” says another senior print journalist from New Delhi. “On this one occasion when even SMSes were not going through, this friend helped me access data from a location that only he knew of. There were at least five to ten journalists from national newspapers looking for internet in Darjeeling in mid-July. He clearly didn’t want to attract their or the district magistrate’s attention.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The clampdown on internet connectivity began a day after<a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/darjeeling-unrest-one-police-officer-critically-injured-gjm-claims-death-of-2-supporters-gorkhaland-protests-4708737/"> </a><a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/darjeeling-unrest-one-police-officer-critically-injured-gjm-claims-death-of-2-supporters-gorkhaland-protests-4708737/">three people</a> died of bullet injuries following clashes between pro-Gorkhaland protesters and the police in the heart of Darjeeling town on June 17. One policeman was feared killed. It later came to light that, having braved a near fatal blow from a <i>khukuri</i>, a traditional Gorkha blade, he was severely injured but alive.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">By the evening, several videos of an underprepared but infuriated police force thrashing protesters began to circulate on social media. The state intelligence informed Kolkata that the protesters were planning to march around town with the<a href="http://www.asianage.com/metros/mumbai/190617/hills-still-on-edge-gjm-takes-out-rally-with-body-of-activist.html"> </a><a href="http://www.asianage.com/metros/mumbai/190617/hills-still-on-edge-gjm-takes-out-rally-with-body-of-activist.html">bodies</a><span> </span>of the three victims the next afternoon and that the social media outcry against the use of force by police was turning increasingly vitriolic. Internet services were clamped early next morning.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">As the Gorkhaland movement lingered on and the intensity of violence waned, data services continued to remain a casualty. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said the service would be resumed once normality was restored. As the cycle of news shifted to more compelling narratives and senior journalists from big cities returned from Darjeeling, the vacuum was filled by Facebook news pages run by young social media activists, like With You Darjeeling, Chautari24, North Bengal Today, North Bengal Express, etc.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“A blanket ban on internet since June 17th, 2017 was the biggest challenge we faced,” says Rinchu D Dukpa, who edits the very popular Darjeeling Chronicle, a Facebook news page with over 140,000 subscribers. “Imagine over two months of no internet. Getting word out on important news events from the region was such a challenge those days. In addition, countering distorted, biased and unverified news and narratives spewed by mainstream media and even social media platforms paid for by the state was almost impossible due to lack of internet.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">On several occasions, especially after clashes between locals and the police, rumours quoting death toll would surface. During one such clash in Sukna near Siliguri, one news channel claimed three people had died. It later<a href="https://dilipsimeon.blogspot.in/2017/09/a-journey-into-heart-of-rage-and-fear.html"> </a><a href="https://dilipsimeon.blogspot.in/2017/09/a-journey-into-heart-of-rage-and-fear.html">turned</a><span> </span>out that there was no casualty. One more<a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/president-s-rule-after-90-days-of-shutdown-wild-rumours-doing-the-rounds-in-darjeeling/story-CFzWpYICwHMsXnMHif7r9L.html"> </a><a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/kolkata/president-s-rule-after-90-days-of-shutdown-wild-rumours-doing-the-rounds-in-darjeeling/story-CFzWpYICwHMsXnMHif7r9L.html">interesting</a><span> </span>rumour that did the rounds was the imposition of President's rule in Darjeeling. Much of it was fuelled by a lack of healthy flow of information. That there was an internet ban did not help.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The administration of another popular Facebook page run from Darjeeling, which has over 35,000 likes, was taken over by the administrator’s friends in the US. Requesting that his and his page’s name be kept secret, the administrator says he requested his friends in the US to scour content from website reports and e-paper versions of the relevant newspapers.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The ban was eventually lifted on September 25, just five days after the Mamata Banerjee government succeeded in weaning away rebel leader Binay Tamang from the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, the party leading the agitation. Binay went on to be appointed as the chairman of a new board of administrators for Darjeeling hills.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“The ban may have been very severe but Darjeeling’s geography did offer respite at certain locations,” says Biswa Yonzon, a freelance journalist. “Those area that face the hills of neighbouring Sikkim, would receive internet signals. The connectivity wasn’t always great but it did the job for most local journalists reporting for papers such as The Statesman, The Telegraph and The Times of India.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">In fact the area just behind Darjeeling’s town square Chowrasta, which faces the towns of Jorethang and Namchi in South Sikkim, is now known as the Jio hill, after the Reliance 4G network. In Kalimpong, the misty Carmichael hill too is called by the same name.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Manish Adhikary is a Siliguri-based freelance writer and a member of <a href="http://www.101reporters.com/">101Reporters.com</a>, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.</p>
<hr />
<p>Shutdown stories are the output of a collaboration between 101 Reporters and CIS with support from Facebook.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/how-media-beat-the-shutdown-in-darjeeling'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/how-media-beat-the-shutdown-in-darjeeling</a>
</p>
No publisherManish AdhikaryInternet ShutdownInternet Governance2017-12-19T15:57:10ZBlog EntryThe Rising Stars in Music Loath Losing their Only Platform
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-rising-stars-in-music-loath-losing-their-only-platform
<b>Strap: The music from Kashmir wants to find a way out, but shutting internet down only adds to the bitterness.</b>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; "><b>Srinagar, J&K: </b>Amid the gaudy Old City area of Srinagar, where the air is heavy with the pungent smell of teargas shells, 25-year-old Ali Saifuddin has been busy working on compositions that he will perform at a prominent indie music festival in Pune in December 2017. Pune may be discovering Saifuddin’s music only now, but he has performed in Dubai and London too, owing to the fanbase he has garnered on social media.</p>
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<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/JKMusic1.png/@@images/f6f403df-e513-4d69-b038-b8e82ba5ac8a.png" alt="J&K Music 1" class="image-inline" title="J&K Music 1" /><br /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/JKMusic2.png/@@images/9488b671-1d80-4fa6-94d6-d7202c7c1a4e.png" alt="J&K Music 2" class="image-inline" title="J&K Music 2" /><br /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/JKMusic3.png/@@images/19d91b89-13d7-4d2c-a66d-7e3416507f2f.png" alt="J&K Music 3" class="image-inline" title="J&K Music 3" /><br /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/JKMusic4.png/@@images/4973863e-49a3-4eba-90c4-1d4eb70e6565.png" alt="J&K Music 4" class="image-inline" title="J&K Music 4" /><br /></th>
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<td style="text-align: justify; "><span class="discreet">Mehmeet Syed’s popularity on social media has taken her <br />to countries like US, UK, Australia and Abu Dhabi <br />(Picture Courtesy: Mehmeet Syed Facebook page)<br /></span></td>
<td colspan="2" style="text-align: justify; "><span class="discreet">Umar Majeed shot to fame with his rendition of Pakistan’s national anthem on the Santoor</span></td>
<td style="text-align: justify; "><span class="discreet">Yawar Abdal, a Kashmiri singer, says he <br />doesn’t see the logic behind keeping the <br />internet shut for months <br />(Picture Courtesy: Yawar Abdal Facebook Page)</span></td>
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<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">It was in 2014 when the budding musician bought recording gear and created a Facebook page. Hours after uploading his first video, Saifuddin became an internet sensation. “I was stunned to see thousands of views on Facebook. People who I had never met with hailed my tunes and encouraged me to produce more,” Saifuddin says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">With 9,000 followers on Instagram and more than 6,000 ‘likes’ on his Facebook page, Saifuddin often gets offers to perform outside Kashmir.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“(As an artist) you need a platform, and in Kashmir, it is the internet that sides with you,” says Yawar Abdal, another popular Youtuber, whose song<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4jchTQ4EeA"> </a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4jchTQ4EeA"><i>Tamanna</i></a> has garnered over 400,000 views since June. “I uploaded a minute-long video on Facebook in April last year. It became viral and made me famous,” Abdal says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The 23-year-old Pune University student has more than 13,000 followers on Instagram and above 10,000 likes on Facebook. “There are no shows organised in Kashmir. Internet is the only platform where people can broadcast what they posses,” he says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Frequent curfews, even online, are like a curse for Kashmiris. Internet services are being clamped down in the Valley quite often, particularly after the killing of militant leader Burhan Wani on July 8. Wani’s killing sparked violent protests resulting in the deaths of 15 civilians the very next day. The clashes killed 383 people - including 145 civilians, 138 militants and 100 state and Central security personnel - and around 15,000 others were injured. While many were also put under<a href="http://brighterkashmir.com/jkccs-releases-human-right-review-of-2016/"> </a><a href="http://brighterkashmir.com/jkccs-releases-human-right-review-of-2016/">illegal detention</a> following the outbreak of deadly violence, the government suspended internet for more than six months in 2016.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">In such a scenario, where shutdowns are stretching from streets to the social media, it is not surprising to see Kashmiris voice their dissent through art whenever they find a window open. In 2017, internet services were blocked<a href="https://www.internetshutdowns.in/"> </a><a href="https://www.internetshutdowns.in/">27 times</a> across various districts of the Valley, either on mobile, or on both mobile and broadband, in the hope that it prevents rumour mongering and instigation of violence.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“This is unnatural and tantamount to choking a person’s right to free speech,” says Saifuddin, who has been criticising the human rights violations in Kashmir with songs that carry a political undertone. Son of medical doctors based in UK, Saifuddin got initiated to rock music through Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin during school days, before heading to Delhi University for a BA degree in 2011. “There I found the treasure of music. I finally had a computer and an internet connection. Youtube became my first, and so far, the only teacher,” recalls Saifuddin. His songs on Youtube include<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_kh_YKoELM"> </a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_kh_YKoELM"><i>Aye Raah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedon</i></a><i>,</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IO2gNtVb0E"><i> </i></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IO2gNtVb0E"><i>Phir Se Hum Ubharaygay</i></a><i>, </i>and<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1CSL-1OzKw"><i> </i></a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1CSL-1OzKw"><i>Manzoor Nahi</i></a><i> - </i>a song he posted to protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Kashmir in November 2015.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">For Mehmeet Syed, whose music was limited to CDs since 2004, internet opened new avenues. Her popularity on social media has taken her to countries like US, UK, Australia and Abu Dhabi among others. “Being on social media is very important as it lets people stay updated about my work. My popularity touched new heights after I took to the internet,” says Syed, who owns a verified Facebook page with more than 1.20 lakh followers. On Instagram, she is a novice. But an internet ban means “heartbreak” to her. “Internet is not shut down in other places witnessing violence and conflict…We are very unfortunate to face internet bans,” says Syed.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“As singers, we have to record songs, mail them for editing, or receive content from studio. Without internet, we are stuck, paralysed,” she says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Explaining how internet is more than a means of free expression, Mehmeet says, “Times have changed. This is the era of iTunes and YouTube. The songs we release in Kashmir are watched online across the globe. And this is how you earn today.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The freedom to share content has empowered even the marginalised lot who were only known locally for their talent. Abdul Rashid, a transgender wedding singer popular as ‘Reshma’ in Srinagar’s Old City, became an online sensation after one of her wedding songs was widely viewed on Facebook, and media followed up with stories around her.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“Nobody knew me outside my locality. But today, I get calls from across Kashmir to sing on weddings. This became possible through Facebook. It gave me wide publicity,” Reshma says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Umar Majeed, a Class 12 student from Zainakoot in Srinagar, is keeping the folk tradition of Kashmir alive with the help of internet. While the 19-year-old inherited skills on Santoor from his father, Abdul Majeed, it was social media that propelled him to fame. Umar played the national anthem of Pakistan on Santoor, accompanied by two other musicians on Rabaab. “The instrumental composition was viewed 450,000 times in two days,” says Umar, adding that they are working on a musical theme of the Indian national anthem as well.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">With 5,000 friends on Facebooķ and 2,500 followers on Instagram, Umar has a quite wide network for a schoolkid. “We get a lot of encouragement and confidence when people comment on and appreciate our work online,” he says. But repeated internet ban keeps the young musician away from the much needed feedback.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“When I get an idea, I instantly compose it on Santoor and upload it on Facebook to get viewers’ response… But when there is internet ban, I have no mood to play even when I get an idea, and soon I forget it,” he says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Mehmeet points out that internet not only promises freedom of expression but also provides monetary support to indie artists through platforms like iTunes, Google Play, Pandora, Amazon and Sawaan. She has been generating revenue to support her music through 21 of her tracks uploaded on these platforms, Mehmeet says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The repeated shutdown of internet during the Republic Day and Independence Day also sends a wrong message to Kashmiris, says Mehmeet. “We realise that such attitude is step-motherly, which is unacceptable. And we as Kashmiris have not yet reached the stage where we think we have got independence.” Saifuddin seconds her sentiments. “If it is a democracy, then I have a right to speak my heart out. Why would the government choke my voice?” he asks.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">When asked if the clamping down of internet service affects his music and earning, Saifuddin retorts poetically: “If not for the internet, I wouldn’t be around. So yes, it pains to see Kashmir being sealed on streets and on the cyberspace as well.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“It makes you angry at times to see things that happen nowhere but in Kashmir.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Abdal, on the contrary, wants his music to be apolitical. “I sing the songs of Sufi saints and strive to rejuvenate the dying Kashmiri music,” he says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">But, the ban on internet services leaves him perturbed. “Without listeners, you begin losing interest. I hope one day the government understands that there is no logic in keeping the internet shut for weeks and months,” says Abdal, adding that he also observes a drop in demand for live gigs in the absence of internet.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“When you have a lot to share, but the medium through which you could take it to people is blocked, discomfort is what you’re left with.”</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; ">Umar Shah and Mir Farhat are Srinagar-based freelance writers and members of <a href="http://www.101reporters.com/">101Reporters.com</a>, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Shutdown stories are the output of a collaboration between 101 Reporters and CIS with support from Facebook.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-rising-stars-in-music-loath-losing-their-only-platform'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/the-rising-stars-in-music-loath-losing-their-only-platform</a>
</p>
No publisherUmar Shah and Mir FarhatInternet ShutdownInternet Governance2017-12-21T15:59:24ZBlog EntrySorry, Business Closed until Internet is Back On
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/sorry-business-closed-until-internet-is-back-on
<b>Strap: Exporters say they lose face with international clients when internet shutdowns block deliveries.</b>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; "><b>Vadodara, Gujarat:</b><b> </b>A household name in Vadodara, Jagdish Farshan has been famous for Gujarati snacks like <i>Leelo Chevdo</i> and <i>Bakarwadi </i>since 1938. Since the year 2000, they started exporting their snacks to the millions of Gujaratis settled across the globe, especially in Africa, USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It is one of the many indigenous businesses that helps Gujarat contribute 25% of the total exports from India. But the outfit synonymous with both tradition and modernity for 79 years, was also one of the many exporters to receive an unexpected jolt in August 2015, during the week-long internet shutdown during the Patidar protests for reservations across the state.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Kalpesh Kandoi, the chairman of Jagdish Farshan Pvt Ltd says, “Gujaratis in various countries buy our snacks online through our website, or through email. During the internet ban, we suffered quite a lot due to the blockage of orders and failure of deliveries.” Since nearly 50% of their annual revenue comes from exports, the shutdown threw a significant spanner in the works. Although the government claims it banned only mobile data, many businesses admit to their broadband and WiFi also being hit, or seeing debilitating delays.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“Of course, if there is an emergency from the importers’ side, they can call us directly,” says Kandoi. “But then again, a kind of inconvenience is created to them from our side, which is very shameful. It destroys our trustworthiness and credibility.” Many of their production centres in Gujarat, especially Vadodara, fell back on meeting orders when bank payments were stuck, or orders weren't accessible. Thankfully for the company, its manufacturing unit in Australia was able to meet at least some of the international orders when most districts of Gujarat couldn't access the internet.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">The ban seems to have had a domino effect outside India too. Preeti Shah, who imports snacks and sweets from Jagdish Farshan through her small home-based business in the USA, couldn't meet orders there during the internet ban in Gujarat. She told <i>101reporters </i>on the phone from Philadelphia that when she started her business of selling Gujarati snacks 3 years ago, she marketed her service by calling her neighbours, friends and acquaintances personally. “I found that in return they emailed me their snack orders,” says Shah. “During the internet blockages in India, I had to apologise for not delivering the snacks to my clients because my orders were not fulfilled by the Gujarat-based exporters.” She lost 12 to 15 clients, most of them regulars. “The government has to realise the impact of the ban. What if I had lost all my clients just because of the internet ban?” she asks.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Gujarat is a major hub for several industries like dairy, automobile, gems, and pharmaceuticals, but its biggest exports are of cotton yarn, oilseeds, and seafood. With its highly advanced and well-equipped marine fish production techniques, it is able to export fish to UAE, Australia, USA, Japan, China, Canada, Brazil, Thailand, and Germany. Gems and jewellery too, though exported from Mumbai, are processed in Surat, Gujarat, one of the largest diamond hubs in the world. Already severely hit by demonetisation in November 2016, with large-scale closures, layoffs and losses, the diamond industry nearly buckled under the internet ban too.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Most of all, it is the unpredictable, ad hoc, and unannounced nature of the internet shutdowns that frustrates exporters, who liken it to annoying roadblocks traffic policemen install to allow VIP movement. For instance, in February 2016, the state suspended mobile internet services suddenly for four hours <a href="http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-miscellaneous/tp-others/gujarat-shuts-down-internet-during-exam/article8294672.ece">to prevent cheating during a revenue service exam. </a></p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Chandresh Shah, president of the Exporters and Importers (Exim) Club and the founder of Madhav Agro Foods, says that the entire export industry relies on the internet for over 95% of its business. “It is absurd on the part of government to ban internet for any reason especially when they know that it will hamper exporters to a great extent. They have to provide alternatives, or announce beforehand. People who are importing our products consider us unprofessional and we look foolish in the international markets. So such policies need to be revamped and rationalised properly.” He adds that the rising economic cost of such shutdowns must be factored in. A <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/intenet-shutdowns-v-3.pdf">2016 study by Brookings Institution </a>that looked at 81 instances of internet shutdowns across 19 countries between July 2015 and June 2016 found that they had cost the world economy a total of $2.4 billion. India, at a conservative estimate of $968 million due to 22 shutdowns (as much as Iraq), was <a href="http://www.livemint.com/Industry/HBa7uLVF6xO7mKbAIN9X5L/How-much-does-internet-shutdown-cost-India-Brookings-says-.html">one of the biggest losers</a>.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">As the digital economy grows, the cost of frequent internet shutdowns will only accelerate. As the central government pushed the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Surat-based Falguni Patel (name changed) was inspired to start an online boutique in late 2014. A textiles student and first-time entrepreneur, she invested nearly Rs 10 lakhs ($15,600) through loans and savings. Unfortunately, a few months into her business, an internet ban was put in place. “It was a sheer coincidence that I received an order from Madhya Pradesh, along with an advance payment, just two days before the week-long internet ban. After that they mailed me four times – first with some requirements, then two follow-up emails and a final one demanding a refund of the advance –but I didn’t receive any of these due to the ban. Meanwhile, I used the advance to purchase raw materials needed.” After the ban was lifted, Patel realised what had happened. “When I called them personally and explained the situation, they called me unprofessional. When I said I would repay their money in 3-4 instalments, they filed a police complaint against me for theft.” Only a single order had turned bad, but it delivered a strong enough blow. Discouraged by the experience, and pressured by her parents who didn't want her to invest in the business anymore, Patel shut her website, and shelved her e-commerce dreams.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Some companies, like Dinesh Mills, one of Vadodara’s oldest textile companies, prevented losses by invoking their brand value and stepping up customer relations during the ban. Uday Shitole, General Manager – Sales, at Dinesh Mills, says the internet is a boon for the export industry due to its speed, web orders, low cost, and proper documentation. But he admits that in India, it's mandatory to have traditional back-up systems, even if this is much costlier, because political realities make even something as advanced as the internet unpredictable. Sudhir Purohit, Vice President (Exports), Dinesh Mills Ltd, says their decade-long relationships with suppliers and purchasers, initiated in the pre-internet days, stood the company in good stead. “We export the materials through digital orders too, but in our system, the negotiation of contracts has to be handled in person and non-negotiable ones can be done wholly through the internet. Without this, we will be vulnerable to any disruption, like internet ban, or accidents, that will definitely lead to delays and losses.”</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; ">Nalanda Tambe is a Vadodara- based freelance writer and a member of <a href="http://www.101reporters.com/">101Reporters.com</a>, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.</p>
<hr style="text-align: justify; " />
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Shutdown stories are the output of a collaboration between 101 Reporters and CIS with support from Facebook.</p>
<p>
For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/sorry-business-closed-until-internet-is-back-on'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/sorry-business-closed-until-internet-is-back-on</a>
</p>
No publisherNalanda TambeInternet ShutdownInternet Governance2017-12-19T16:25:24ZBlog EntryDays to Derail Work of Two Generations?
https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/days-to-derail-work-of-two-generations
<b>Strap: How an internet shutdown hurt a family woodwork business.</b>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; "><b>Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh: </b>It was reportedly Bahlul (Bahlol) Lodi, the founder of Lodi dynasty, who in the 15th century first settled some Afghani craftsmen and their families on the outskirts of the old town in Saharanpur. Today, this area houses the <i>Lakdi Market</i>, home to world-famous wood art and handicrafts. From large fretwork screens and doors to trays, bowls and trinket boxes, these intricately carved wooden objects are called for from as far as Europe, the Middle East and Australia. The woodworking industry is the mainstay of thousands of artists, workers and entrepreneurs here, many of whom are part of small mom-and-pop operations.</p>
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<th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/UPfamilybusiness1.jpg/@@images/f7d2a605-dcd4-4a41-b108-b253e5aea8e0.jpeg" alt="UP family business 1" class="image-inline" title="UP family business 1" /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/UPfamilybusiness2.jpg/@@images/fd24c184-8e35-4b17-bd1d-a08b735bc9d3.jpeg" alt="UP family business 2" class="image-inline" title="UP family business 2" /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/UPfamilybusiness3.jpg/@@images/dd6e7c62-baf8-4c0a-af42-a92168497863.jpeg" alt="UP family business 3" class="image-inline" title="UP family business 3" /></th><th><img src="https://cis-india.org/home-images/UPfamilybusiness4.jpg/@@images/e5b6ef0b-5e99-40a2-980a-843b9353c1fa.jpeg" alt="UP family business 4" class="image-inline" title="UP family business 4" /></th>
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<td colspan="4"><span class="discreet">Craftsmen at Furqan Handicrafts in Saharanpur</span></td>
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<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Mohammad Aarif, 28, heads one such business which has been in the family since two generations. Founded by his father four decades ago, Furqan Handicrafts has survived several<a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/indepth/the-wood-femine-29933"> </a><a href="http://www.downtoearth.org.in/indepth/the-wood-femine-29933">challenges</a>, such as rising prices of the fast exhausting raw material and middlemen, but the losses caused by a 10-day-long internet shutdown jolted him. He lost around Rs 7 lakh ($10,900) during this time. Six months on, he is still dealing with the repercussions, uncertain if he would ever recover the money.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Dalits and Thakurs in Shabbirpur village of Saharanpur district had their daggers drawn since violence first broke out in the village on<a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/up-1-killed-houses-torched-as-thakurs-dalits-clash-in-saharanpur-4642544/"> </a><a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/india/up-1-killed-houses-torched-as-thakurs-dalits-clash-in-saharanpur-4642544/">May 5</a>. The increasing friction led to a revenge cycle of violence, and subsequently to indefinite<a href="https://hindi.news18.com/uttar-pradesh/lucknow-news-internet-services-closed-in-saharanpur-due-to-violence-998319.html"> </a><a href="https://hindi.news18.com/uttar-pradesh/lucknow-news-internet-services-closed-in-saharanpur-due-to-violence-998319.html">suspension</a> of internet services on May 24, which went on till June 2, under the orders of the district magistrate to avoid rumour-mongering and hate messages being circulated on social media and messaging apps. The suspension of services in this west Uttar Pradesh city brought life to a standstill and Aarif’s business is just one of those which suffered dramatic losses during this one week.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Furqan Handicrafts is famous for its handicraft items and furniture, both in the country and abroad. Their products go as far as Malaysia, Finland and China. Aarif uses his mobile to make payments for the raw materials as he travels a lot, and this helps him conduct his business on the go.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“We have employed around 20 workers,” says Aarif. When the shutdown came into effect without warning on May 24, he had only around Rs 20,000-30,000 ($310-470) cash in hand. “Can you imagine running a business of this size, with a weekly turnover of Rs 10 lakhs, with so little cash in hand and having the liability of over 20 families on your head?” Aarif asks. “I ran out of cash on May 26 and then the real problems began. The banks were closed and the internet was shut down. We were left with no options. The situation was so tense outside that we could not even think of going to other districts to transact or to even our own banks when they eventually opened after two days,” the businessman says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Moreover, Furqan Handicrafts has been accepting a good chunk of their orders online - either through their website or on WhatsApp. So the shutdown also affected the demand side of the business adversely. All the little consolatory lies he told himself to steel against the mounting panic didn’t help for long with the shutdown stretching on indefinitely. “I told my workers that the media said the situation would return to normal soon, and that helped us keep calm initially. We were hopeful that we would be able to conduct transactions in the next two days, but the situation worsened when the shutdown continued for over a week,” Aarif says.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“Our suppliers refused to sell us the raw materials without being paid first. Sometimes we may get some materials on loan, but most times only money does the talking. The chemicals that we get from Delhi have to be paid for fully in advance. We had more difficulties when we weren’t able to move our finished product. They were just lying there, collecting dust, and we incurred further losses in re-polishing them. And we were not able to pay our workers for the hours they had put in,” Aarif recalls.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">It was not just his business that suffered, his employees felt the sting of the shutdown as well. Najeer Ahmad, a woodworker at Furqan Handicrafts, says that everything was normal in the beginning but situation started worsening after two days. “After the second day, work started slowing down and eventually, stopped completely. Our boss told us that we couldn’t get any raw materials because we weren’t able to pay the suppliers. Whatever little materials we had in the workshop, we used up, but then when there was none left, there was no work… since there was no work, there was no money. The boss usually settles our wages at the end of every week and gives us walking-around money every day. Without either of these, it became quite difficult to manage.”</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Another of his employees, Rashid, was able to weather the shutdown because he had some cash lying around at home. “<i>Aise to jumme ke jumme hisaab ho jaata hai </i>(Usually, we get paid every Friday)<i>.</i>” So, even though he wasn’t paid that Friday like he usually is, he made do. But he still lost wages because of the lack of work during that week.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">“We have lost money in lakhs already. If something like this were to happen again it would ruin us,” says Aarif. But he still manages to see the silver lining in this suffering, and is glad that he did not lose his clients. “<i>Allah ka shukar tha ki hamara koi bhi client toota nahi. Nuksaan ki bharpaayi to ab tak nahi ho paayi hai, lekin Allah chahega to jald hi ho jayegi </i>(Thank god that we didn’t lose any of our clients. We haven’t been able to recover the losses yet, but god willing, we will be able to make up)<i>.</i>”</p>
<p class="callout" style="text-align: justify; ">Mahesh Kumar Shiva is a Lucknow - based freelance writer and a member of <a href="http://www.101reporters.com/">101Reporters.com</a>, a pan-India network of grassroots reporters. With inputs from Saurabh Sharma, a Lucknow-based reporter.</p>
<p class="normal" style="text-align: justify; ">Shutdown stories are the output of a collaboration between 101 Reporters and CIS with support from Facebook.</p>
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For more details visit <a href='https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/days-to-derail-work-of-two-generations'>https://cis-india.org/internet-governance/blog/days-to-derail-work-of-two-generations</a>
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No publisherMahesh Kumar ShivaInternet ShutdownInternet Governance2017-12-21T16:18:57ZBlog Entry