Digital Age and Digital India

It's always surprisingly refreshing to speak to a stranger. Pleasant or unpleasant - I cannot assure though. But when it's pleasant while being at variance, we are endowed with joy.

In this digital age, the information flow is so seamless that it is difficult to keep yourself isolated. Each stranger you meet may have an extensive life-stream sitting in a drive-in some corner of the globe. Mostly, it is either Twitter or Facebook if you do not belong to China or its kind where they adopt their own similar versions. Or, Pakistan or its kind where the digital ban is usual due to insecurity of ruling establishment - a rogue military and confused political establishment. Or, North Korea even if you do not find its kind elsewhere as it has neither infrastructure to support such digital highway or political ability to create such thing.

India does not have political will either. Stranger spills surprise!

'How?'

'Government surrenders to crony capitalists for a non-neutral Internet. India bans Internet in cities while cannot provide adequate Internet bandwidth outside cities. Prime Minister's chest-width does not measure up.'

The perspective is quite different. But I cannot grant my concurrence in entirety.

'Our Internet may flip in neutrality. But it's there. It's reality in India.'

'Why do we ban non-neutral Internet?'

'You have a point,' I conceded.

'Perhaps, when our politicians incite hatred and animosity so openly with governments so mute and torpid, it is needless to ban Internet,' I quipped.

'Well, you can never claim about Digital India when it does not cover all geography!'

'We have two - one when you look at cities and the other outside,' I gave my strongest defence.

I knew it is worrisome when we still discover two views of India even after so many decades. Yeh, the topic of discussion decides the mood. I am wrong if I still claim that endowment is joy always.