Right to Access Internet? o please!

Transformation creating a need

It is always of a subject of great debate when anyone solicits for a 'right' to be introduced in a democratic country like India founded and nurtured by the stalwarts like Gandhi, Nehru, Maulana, Ambedkar and V. J. Patel etc. Entire foundation of the Indian independence struggle is some how based on our peoples' screaming brawls imploring their fundamental rights to a ruthless state of those days when our stalwarts provided much needed leadership. This nation's birth is out of our need to have fundamental rights in a way. It is almost like obligatory for its nationals to discuss about the right they want!

It was a day of 14 August, 1995 when the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) - Rajiv Gandhi's brain child, launched India's first full internet service for public access with multiple 64kbps links. Since then the era of electronic communication and information technology has changed the landscape of Indian information society at least for the urban Indians very substantially and drastically. The extent of impact can be understood by noting that today the public debate is going on about introducing the 'Right to access internet'. 

In this back drop, to opine  upon the subject comprising internet access and fundamental right is quite an exciting one for many. Here, it is tried to have something on right, duty and internet access and how it can be made possible to have it working in the most appropriate way.  

Right to access information society

At the world stage the discussion about the right to access internet has been going on since 2000. The discussion boils down to the matters related to "Right to access information society" and the main aim is to eradicate the 'digital divide' in the society. Digital divide is considered inhuman or against the doctrine of equality. That is why the state (i.e. government in a way) is obliged to kill it by different ways. Here, one should also understand that it is always important for the state to rationalize the decision to introduce anything as a 'right'. And, the lead that the state can derive is usually from the doctrines like of justice, liberty, fraternity, equality etc. as far as India is concerned. Now, in this case it is simple to take lead to rationalize this from the doctrine of equality. 

An intensely dependent right  

Now since this proposed right is more dependent on infrastructure and the capabilities of the citizens like connectivity and e-literacy, what is to be thought out is how to make it possible to introduce a revolution that can lead us to the scenario where we have considerable infrastructure and e-literacy to introduce this right universally. So, the 'public representatives' and ' law makers' are imagined and understood here as the agents of change. The change that they may bring in the society is obliged by the means of 'fundamental duty'. That means the introduction of this as a 'fundamental duty' and right may inspire up to that extent where ground realities can be seen as improved over a period of time. When the state may see this as happened, that would be the day to introduce the right to have high speed internet connectivity and access internet that too justiciably! 

Doing it the other way around

Let us think the other way. Think to make it compulsory; that is a 'fundamental duty' for all the 'law makers' and 'public representatives'. It would be more effective since the bunch of people it may target would be practical. The duty can be- "to access internet productively to be properly updated and informed about the ideas and issues of governance emerging out of any place in the world and improve governance subsequently." Considering the situation of connectivity and computer or e-literacy, this proposal has two parts. 

Part 1: 

Where the duty is put with the "justiciable" dimension to it which makes it more enforceable for higher assembly members and Urban Local Body (ULB) members since they have more adequate internet infrastructure than rural areas. Roughly, this may target some 700 MPs, 4000 MLAs, 300 MLCs and 70000 ULB members; in total around 75 thousands may be brought under this proposal. 

Part 2:

Exclusively for the Panchayati Raj Institutions' (PRIs') members, this duty will be a fundamental one but not justiciable considering the situation of connectivity and computer or e-literacy as of now. Roughly, this will target some 15000 district panchayat members, 150000 intermediate Panchayat members and 25 lakh village Panchayat Members; in total around 27 lakh people!

Views are welcome to improve this!