A tribute to the upholder of communal harmony and decency in the Indian society, respected Shri Shri Kapil Sibal Ji.
Yikes! I am sick and tired of the continuous tirade against Shri Kapil Sibal Ji. Please stop calling him idiot, stupid, moron, senile, loony, etc. Why are all of you hell bent on flushing away our culture and civilization, tehzeeb and tameez, down the chronically clogged drains?
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| (Picture courtesy The Telegraph) |
On the other hand, internet activities of Indians below the age of 60 years need to be supervised and monitored. Sibal Ji was right in asking the representatives of Microsoft, Google and Facebook to prescreen content originating in India, which might insult or offend other Indians. These companies are now acting like irresponsible arbiters. It makes me mad to think why these companies have made empires for themselves in our country when they cannot comply with our traditions.
What freedom of speech are these companies and the internet abusers talking about? It is totally an un-Indian concept. In our culture, it is despicable to open our mouths in front of our elders. The head of the family makes decisions for everyone, not just for the underage children, but for everyone including the wife, adult children, married sons, daughters-in-law, and grand children.
In our own ingenious way, the responsibility to monitor the internet activities of members of each family should be given to the head of that family. These 60+ cyber police—however idiot, moron, senile, ignorant, fool, or regressive they might be—should have the carte blanche to approve the content uploaded by the younger generations.
I discussed this matter with my daughter, who has been using Facebook since the time when all I had was a Hotmail account, that too operated by her. We used to share a desktop computer, and sometimes when I would meander on the net, she would tell me to be careful not to befriend strangers. She used to be my internet guru.
So I told her how youngsters these days have gone berserk, posting degrading, demeaning, vulgar, obscene, and abusive content on Facebook by which "any normal human being would be offended,” borrowing heavily from Sibal Ji.
To which she replied nonchalantly, “Ignore them.”
“What do you mean by that? The offensive pictures and links appear on my newsfeed.”
At this point she started scolding me for making such friends, for engaging in lengthy conversations with trolls, and for visiting offensive websites. “On the internet, there is trash and there is class. You have to choose what you want to see or read. People like you who don’t understand the internet should keep away from it. This is the reason why I have blocked you on Facebook.”
Oops, I didn’t intend to let out this tiny bit of secret family feud. But her argument provided me with a great idea. If implemented, this extraordinary measure can solve Sibal Ji’s problems forever. His sensibilities will remain intact and people will stop calling him idiot, stupid, moron, senile, loony, etc.
The idea is—drum beats, please—the idea is to ask Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to block all access to respected Shri Kapil Sibal Ji and his cronies.
In case, the companies refuse to entertain this request, the only other option left for Sibal Ji and the UPA government would be to carry out their responsibilities sincerely and provide good governance so that the amount of accolades for them outweighs the derogatory content.
***
Too much politics actually hurts my delicate sensibilities. Therefore from time to time, I dabble in poetry. Here, as a tribute to Sibal Ji, I have parodied a few poems from his book of verse, I Witness: Partial Observations.
Social Media
Morphed pictures,
Inflammatory content
Disgrace and shame
Western standards
Trolls and abusers
Life is not the same.
Unknown Content
Unknown content
It beckons us
We must just
Censor it.
Your Freedom
Your freedom is
Bound to evaporate
With corrective steps
Sooner than late.
***
Related Links:
NY TIMES: India asks Google, Facebook to screen user content
WSJ: India's Authoritarian Lapse
Blocking Sibal and his cronies is a cracker of an idea :)
ReplyDeleteShri shri Sibal Ji has devised a software which can detect sarcasm too....
ReplyDeleteThanks Purba :-)
ReplyDeleteAlka, he has devised what? Omg, you scared me!
//In case, the companies deny this request, the only other option left for Sibal Ji and the UPA government would be to carry out their responsibilities sincerely and provide good governance so that the amount of accolades for them outweighs the derogatory content.//
ReplyDeleteSums up. LOVED your post!
About blocking Shri Shri Kapil Sibal Jee and gang, What an idea Giribala Jee :)
LOL @Alka - Sarcasm detecting software!! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks IHM!!!!
ReplyDeletemore than the things you talked about.. i liked you writing style :)
ReplyDeleteI loved the way you have reprimanded the world at large for calling our most respectable minister idiot, stupid, moron, senile, loony, ignorant, fool, sycophant, or regressive, not once but several times :D It has become a habit for this government to announce ill-conceived steps and then hastily withdraw when faced with a backlash. Wonder if this would be one of them.
ReplyDeleteGood One. Sibal Ji amar rahein ;)
ReplyDeleteSibal wanted to score points with Sonia which he has successfully done by taking on social media sites.
ReplyDeleteHe has made a fool of himself is a separate issue.
But, then Congis are a worried lot,aren't they?
Loved your post :-)
ReplyDeleteROFL. Irrespective of the merit in Sibal's argument or lack of it thereof, I'd say internet does need to be censored. Because let's face it, sometimes we find extremely derogatory content, abuses and hate speeches against particular communities or religions. But then how to decide what is offensive and what is not? And more important than that is to make our government officials computer literate to a certain extent. I was scandalized to know that Mr Sibal doesn't get how user content cannot be screened before being posted...shows how little they know about the internet.
ReplyDeleteWah wah Giribala jee aapnae tho shree shree Sibal jee ka *chamat*kaar kar diya :)
ReplyDelete@Madhulika: thanks :-)
ReplyDelete@Zephyr: Who am I to reprimand? I am only requesting :-|
@Tarun: thanks :-)
@Chowlaji: He had scored points by further messing up!!
@Meeta : thanks :-)
@Samadrita: Though websites do remove content when complaints are made, it is impossible to censor internet. It would be like censoring private talks.
@Anto: thanks :-)
Been reading a lot of Kapil Sibal post for my Global Voices article, this one is really nice. Putting this one in my piece, personally I disagree though, but good read :)
ReplyDeleteWe have cyber laws. Many people are already in jails coz of their tweets and hate campaign against a particular community or person. If govt thinks that some one has broken law, then govt should book him (as per
ReplyDeletelaw). By censoring social media govt is trying to hide the inefficiency of its law enforcement agencies. Moreover some part of the ad revenue earned by print media as well electronic media comes from govt ads. So govt can (infact it has) influenced the mainstream media's reporting but in case of social media it isn't so. I support freedom of press.
btw i'm now liked ur page on facebook.
ReplyDeleteTypo : in my earlier comment instead of I hv, I wrote I'm.
ReplyDelete@Sanjukta: thanks a lot :-)
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: That's lot of the info!! You Rockzz!!!
Nice idea indeed, (blocking Kapil Sibal)
ReplyDeleteThere is a precedent after all.
When an emperor wanted a solution to the problem of his feet getting dirty whenever he walked, he first asked for the whole world to be carpeted.
A wise man got shoes invented instead and once the emperor was taught to wear them, his problem was solved.
Enjoyed reading your post and also loved your picture sandwiched between the 2 Gs at IHM's blog.
Regards
GV
(Came over from IHM's blog)
Ha ha hilarious!! Great idea!!
ReplyDeleteCame here thru IHM's post
@ G.Vishwanath: Sir, that is a wonderful simile for the current situation! Please keep sharing :-)
ReplyDelete@Swati: Thanks a lot :-)
Yeah, a great idea that would be. But then the next day he might ban the Internet itself and make it accessible only for the Govt. to send smileys to each other or send hate-mails to the opposition :P
ReplyDeleteGive a click:
Please don't delete my blog Kapil Ji
Hee hee hee.....
ReplyDeleteWrote one too. Just couldn't resist: http://nourishncherish.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/art-science-of-idli-making-foreword-by-shri-kapil-sibal-ji/
Giribala, missed out this one!Recently the honorable minister has doled out Apple iPODs to the MPs! may be they will play computer games with no FB, Twitter etc besides other games they have mastered..
ReplyDeleteGOOD BLOG
ReplyDelete