By Jessica Reed
A couple of days ago I blogged about how the Indian blogosphere had proved to be incredibly helpful for thousands of Internet users wanting to talk, share, debate and help one another. Cyber solidarity was alive and kicking, giving bloggers a reason to rejoice at our global humanity after last week's terrible events.
Today the blogosphere wakes up in horror as it learns that blogs published on major blog platforms - Geocities, Blog*Spot and Typepad - are being censored in India. Most pages are blocked by IP adresses, making it impossible for readers to catch up with their daily blogging-reading routine. A Wikipage has been created by Indian bloggers protesting against censorship.
The governmental move seems ridiculously out of line : I for one fail to see how censoring blogs will ever protect people from terrorism . On the contrary, it seems like India is abiding by the unspoken rules of terror.
Elsewhere: Desipundit's regularly updated take on the affair. Indian blogger Sepia Mutiny editorialises with the headline 'The terrorists have won'. The India Express offers an intended list of blogs 'to be banned'.
More on censorship: Let us not forget that back in January 2006 Google Inc. agreed to censor its results in China, adhering to 'the country's free-speech restrictions in return for better access in the Internet's fastest growing market'. oD's Becky Hogge asked Google some grown-up questions.
