March for freedom of new media

BANGALORE: Albert Campus said: “A free press can be good or bad but most certainly without freedom press will never be anything but bad.” In the spirit of this statement and to protect the Freedom of Speech as provided in the Indian Constitution, many organisations in the city came together to protest against the restrictions on new media. ‘Save your voice’ is one such group formed to protest against web censorship. They are planning to stage a protest against the Government by holding a ‘disabled march’. It is scheduled to take place on March 13 in New Delhi.Announcing the plans at a press conference on Monday, S Anand, a member of the group, said, “The intention behind forming ‘Save your voice’ campaign is to save the freedom of Internet, to uphold the importance of freedom of speech, and to raise our voice for a strong democracy.”Reacting to the Government’s strictures on uncensored content on the Internet, he added, “The Government is restricting the common man’s voice. This act encroaches on freedom of thought and expression, which is a fundamental right in this country.” The comment by Information and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal regarding censorship of content on websites had several people raise their voice against the proposed act. Anand said, “The Government is banning websites and deleting Facebook accounts without any prior notice or warning. A provision in the IT Act has made the Government more powerful. It is also important to note that the ‘Press Index Number’ for India has fallen from 122 to 131 globally.”In the protest march in New Delhi, participants will go dressed as physically-challenged to get the message across: Do not restrict or decapitate the new media in any form.