TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) is to be lauded for
its decision to make the Internet non-discriminatory and open for people of the
society. This comes in the wake of extreme pressures from multinationals and
giants in the telecom sector where they expect to hand out some sort of
condescending doles to the general public initially and then later on charge
exorbitantly for any services that the consumers may make use of by using their
platform. The TRAI has made the right decision for the Internet is a public
platform and not to be monopolized by a few players only.
Why is the Internet no different from the Real World?
The Internet is no different from the real world as it is a virtual
world. In the virtual world we do just about carry out a significant part our
routine activities and in the future we shall be competing equally with the
real world. An entire range of commercial, financial, educational, social and
cultural activities are interacted through the Internet before being played out
in real life. Therefore, it is not permissible from the point of view of a just
and equitable society to allow a few players to dominate and run the whole of
the Internet. It is something akin to a few players running the whole of the
real world.
In the future we shall see that the real life is not quite
different from the virtual world and that almost all activities will be
intertwined with that of the World Wide Web. If a few players are allowed to
carry out what they feel and deem fit then there will be serious economic and
political issue not to say anything about the social life. However, there is
nothing wrong with big industries to proclaim long standing passion for the
same and there is nothing wrong with the rules and regulations imposed by the
TRAI.
It is passion that drives the businesses all over the world and
knowingly or unknowingly some organizations may think in lines of becoming
slightly bolder or perhaps taking undue advantage of a situation to expand
ruthlessly in areas that have not been noticed before. There is nothing wrong
in this kind of drive or passion as businesses are sustainable only when
promoters and directors are fully engrossed in expansion and profitability as
their aim. There is also strong reason to believe that this world otherwise too
provides enough opportunity to grow with undying passion at the disposal of men
and women who run enterprises successfully.
Yet, rules and regulations and interventions are a must for the
society as somewhere along the line some organizations, if not all, may try to transgress
into areas that has been marked for betterment of the general populace or a
social order platform that is the foundation for providing an equitable and
just society. We shall see it in an example below.
Case of the Coir Manufacturer
Couple of decades back I happened to meet a coir manufacturer at
his showroom at Kochi in Kerala for some official purpose. He had a
manufacturing unit somewhere far and the showroom was full of artifacts,
furniture, souvenirs, works of art, statues and other showy items all made in
coir. He was bubbling with enthusiasm as he narrated his little story of
becoming quite successful in this area. Finding that I too had become excited
and all attention he quickly showed me many more products made out of coir.
Soon he was showing me sketches and his passion for it was all too
obvious to me. He later showed me a dog kennel made of coir, a prototype of
large house that he said could be constructed entirely out of coir materials
alone. He also told me if the government or the corporation so wanted he could
construct parks, street lights and pathway out of coir as the main material.
Except for the wiring all other parts including insulation and stands could be
made out of coir for the street lighting. Here, his enthusiasm knew no bounds
and I couldn’t help thinking jokingly that he perhaps even ate coir for lunch
and dinner. In other words, to say that this man was passionate would be an
underestimation.
However, while his passion was great he would surely transgress the
boundaries of a calm society if her were allowed to build the street lights. In
fact, it would need only a tiny spark from the electric line somewhere to burn
the whole thing into ashes in no time. Coir is very inflammable. This is where
the regulatory authorities step in and where rules and regulation are imposed
so that the passion may be channelized into other areas which do not harm the
general public.
So the TRAI has done the right thing. The Internet is for all and
definitely not for a few to manage and profit out of it.
No comments:
Post a Comment