aditya kumar's weblog

I have been unable to access Blogger (blogspot) blogs all day today. At work and from home, the site has not been accessible.

At home, my ISP is Hathway Cable.

I did not think much of it until I read this report on rediff.com. It seems the DoT (Department of Telecom) has issued specific instructions to the ISPs to block blog sites, in particular, the most popular Blogspot (In fact, I am not aware of any other blog service being blocked).

Obviously, a response from the Indian Blogger community must be in the waiting. You could say this response here, could be one of the first of many to come. I do not think banning a website like that is right. This is not acceptable. In fact, it is surprising. Besides, the purpose (if any, and there is only one that I can think of) is not served.

Gagging people like that does not help, has never helped. The voices, next time around that you shall get to hear, will only be louder.

If bloggers evoke emotions, it is because they talk about unsaid things, unspeakable emotions. When the glossy media talks about celebs and their pitiful lives, bloggers choose to highlight those aspects of life that the media never dares to display, for it is obsessed with the ratings.

Though the reasons for this blockage are yet unknown, I believe this to be an aftermath of the Mumbai train bombings. The intention of the Government may be right but this is one of the most hopeless ways to cater to it. Practically speaking, this will achieve nothing.

And I have not even started talking about Democracy and rights that come with the deal.

Update: As expected, the responses from the bloggers community have started pouring in. Desipundit.com has one sticky post here. A google group here. List of the ISPs here. Meanwhile, an official explaination from the Government on this issue is still awaited.