Reflections Part 1

As I was trying to cover the past three days newspapers I could see my thoughts reflected in the opinion of media about many things and how one thing led to another and I just couldnt keep myself away fro penning it down.
It all began in my head when the issue of rubber pellets used indiscriminately on the protesting youth of Kashmir was making rounds in the news...I was seeing the entire nation was responding to it together for the first time. Maybe the response happened before too but I didn't notice.
It was a serious issue but then somehow the issue got diverted to some riots here and there in other parts of the country and soon followed posts of salutes to fallen heroes of Indian Army..
This might all sound like disconnected things but if we look at the past few months from top, it all looks interconnected to me.. Like a deliberate attempt to divert attention of masses.
Even the membership of NSG looked like its part. To divert the attention from more important issues like raising cow vigilantes, growing rate of caste based atrocities, release of major criminals from jails, it felt like the govt of the day was showcasing membership into MTCR and NSG push as big achievements. As a matter of fact(no... as a matter of my opinion), though entry into MTCR  may help us import and export missile tech, looking for entry into NSG is plain bulllshit.
NSG and CTBT were born as a response to and against India's nuclear test. Also, we do not have enough reserves of Uranium to source our own needs that we import it, so joining a suppliers group sounds ambiguous. If entry into NSG would open up gates to access of military grade radioactive material that could be used for progress in nuclear strength, then its just a rumor spread to make half-knowledged common man feel powerful. Entry into NSG will demand a sign on CTBT which means no nuclear testings. How can you use something without testing it?!
India is never gonna sign CTBT . Its just a show off to shift attention.
Coming back to the saluting posts on fb, I dont know who started it and why.. I am not against showing love and support for the unsung heroes but it began with pretty odd timing.Why praising began all of a sudden and started spreading like wildfire ust when there was trouble brewing throughout the nation?! hmm... interesting.
After URI attack's response in the form of a surgical strike, (which thrilled me too filling me up with a gigantic amount of pride), the government showed it off like the playschool kid showing off his toys.But what followed is what's been troubling me.
I saw two major mass opinions emerge out of this surgical strike:

1. The army is to be worshipped and no actions of the army are to be questioned or inquired into by the citizens. It is time to boost their morale. (Is their morale so weak that it would break with mere questioning?I  thought they had the strongest of the mindsets. Infallible determination is what I thought)
2. The government of the day is more patriotic than the entire nation put together. (Praising the army and spreading bans and hatred among citizens/encouraging it , do not amount to patriotism.)

I see some dangerous points here. The Army, no matter how good they perform and how much we respect their sacrifices, cannot be declared unquestionable. In a democracy, everything can be and should be questioned. That's how people can exercise control on overreach of any institution.
The Army is an instrument of the government , one of many it may use to maintain peace and order.
The decision of the Army means the decision of the govt executed through it.
The overuse of army for what it is not meant, from something as minuscule as rescuing kids falling into service pits to emergency/disaster management and public order, instead of their original function, allocating soldiers to do household work of higher officials and trying to compensate it all by praising them, massaging their ego's is not the way a responsible government is expected to act.
Worshiping Military may help in the outcome of upcoming elections but it is not going to help solve everyday internal issues of a nation. Instead,  there is a big chance that we might be heading towards a garrison state like our neighboring nation.
Speaking of neighboring nation,the govt not discouraging people who are spreading a ban of trade and commerce , any kind of participation from Pak, indirectly spreading hatred , is equal to encouraging it. It is silently adding strength to the already haywire mobocracy that has been pushing liberals into cave and others to align with the current fever of nationalism which is a tad bit tilted to fascism.
When senior leaders of the govt of the day made statements saying they never asked any business to be stopped but it was a voluntary reaction of the people, I could literally see their inner self peeping out and smiling "But we did not stop them from doing so."
All I am saying is the situations currently prevailing could be handled in a more mature, responsible and diplomatic way( I never said diplomacy means no war ), than making hatred run as ropes gripping the nation that can be used as reigns to sway the entire nation to the wish of the one holding the reigns.
We do not live in a world of Monarchs and war heroes anymore but the masses and the rulers are giving me nothing but a picture of the same with modern clothes, ways and equipment.
From where I am standing, this does not look good. It looks more tangled than ever... It looks like a bubble just waiting to burst and then, boom...
Maybe I am looking from a different side but this side needs to be addressed too.

Any and every point mentioned in the above article cannot be used as a fact . It is purely the opinion of the author which has no intentions to influence anyone.

"FREE" ... But with Strings Attached 0_0

Do you remember the huge hoardings hanging on the walls of shops and malls that shout out "FREE!! FREE!! FREE!!" but then have a small clause in insignificant font size below them that states the conditions on it?!....
Many of us fall for it at-least once to realize what it is or maybe learn from others who already fell for it... Yeah I was one going to be one of the victims.. almost on the verge of giving in to the idea of "Free" but then, fortunately I got to see the flip side of it.. And no I am not talking about shopping anymore ... its about the "Free Basics" of Facebook.
Once upon a time, FB stood as a revolutionary social networking site that stood by the concept of universality and positive globalization with minimal 'ad-pop-ups' on your screen. Then all of us got so addicted to it that most of us gave into the idea of Zuckerberg's idea of free internet to the poor. Especially when his marketing team craftily advocated it as an  ALTRUISTIC motive of Mark to reach out to the poor and internet-deprived lot of the world. It seemed really like a noble motive , however, they forgot to mention two things :

1. There will be pretty restricted access which bars audio & video sites, surfing through search engines, social networking sites(except fb ofcourse), and a huge chunk of internet (to be crude) in the name of BASIC INTERNET. Only FB gets to decide whats BASIC INTERNET.
2. It might look ok at first but when we think a little on it, it shows many loopholes in the ALTRUISTIC theory. It is no less than colonizing the choice of people and slowly gaining monopoly over internet, in the process, killing the basic nature of internet being the only space which is close to "absolute freedom of choice".

HOW ?

• The pricing... Its offered at zero price, but, only on few select set of sites. That means a large chunk of people will be driven to use only that part of internet which FB permits them to..It says the choice is left to people to opt for free basics or not and they can choose to browse restricted sites( in the name of Free Basics) by paying a small amount. This amounts to violation of net neutrality. Net neutrality in its simplest terms says no part of internet can be priced differently.
• This means I might have to pay extra for wanting to blog on internet one day..
• It will give push to the idea of differential pricing to all ISP providers.

THE PROVOCATION:

What shocked me even more is how FB used its platform to show its muscle power in the form of numbers. When the TRAI(Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) asked for opinions of all Indians on the issue of free basics, Mark and team  tried to flood the opinion gates with peoples love towards Free Basics by dubbing their opinion as truth.. The gate was to express ones concerns regarding Free Basics.Its nothing less than misleading the public by presenting ones opinions as truth.
It also makes me think that the huge power over the people should come with some sense of responsibility too... who ensures responsibility? hmmm.. we will discuss that some other time.!

SHOCKER:

The shocker this time is how TRAI, a governmental body stood up against a social networking giant like Facebook(for whatever reasons) . That was just a WOOOOW!!!
I mean I never expected a govt organization to be an active part of the generation X issues , especially relating to the virtual world. The way it stood its ground on net neutrality, showcasing the huge potential of monopoly and exploitation in future, against the sheer numbers of mass hysteria driven mails of FB customers, ah that was commendable.
While many of the nations gave in , succumbing to "Atleast something is better than nothing", rather than looking at the flip-side, Indian citizens proved to be far more sophisticated than Mark would have guessed.
Though the awareness campaign was on a small scale , by techies, students and you-tubers like AIB,  it was creative enough to give a complete picture to the people.

RESULT:
For now, TRAI has been successful at stopping Free Basic's entry into the Indian market. It also suggested that we need to start making laws regulating internet pricing and maintaining net neutrality to prevent harm rather than acting after it.

It might sound long and boring and stuff but I was late to know and you have a right to know so I had to write this up :)


P.S:
This note is only my reflection and opinion on the burning issue of net neutrality violations expressed in my own terms ^_^ ...
There could be over simplification of facts and biased statements found.