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Censorship The Internet Government Your Rights Online Politics

Indian Nationalists Forcibly Censor Orkut 360

starkravingmad writes "The Economic Times is running a story on Hindu nationalists in India threatening to wreck internet cafes that don't block parts of Orkut that the vigilantes find offensive. From the article: '"Orkut is used by many destructive elements to spread canards about India, Hindus, our gods and cultural heritage," said Abhijit Phanse, president of Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, the student group. "We are gently telling Internet cafe owners that it is their responsibility to see that surfers do not use their facility to carry out such hate campaigns ... Or else, we will have to do that job for them." Last week, dozens of Shiv Sena workers vandalised some Internet centres, saying they were not stopping their customers from accessing Orkut groups involved in sending hate messages.'"
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Indian Nationalists Forcibly Censor Orkut

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  • why bother? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ILuvRamen ( 1026668 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:07AM (#19455633)
    Why do these censoring countries and the groups in them even bother? They're just going to be twice as pissed when 13 year olds find ways around it lol. The harder you try and block it, the harder people will try to unblock it and then you look like the bad guy for trying to block it.
    • Re:why bother? (Score:4, Insightful)

      by ResidntGeek ( 772730 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:14AM (#19455679) Journal
      Do you honestly think these people care more about looking good than about doing the will of their gods?
      • Re:why bother? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:43AM (#19455805)
        This has got absolutely nothing to do with religion.

        This is just another vote bank tactic to gain the votes of the poor and middle-class by using these "campaigns".

        The internet penetration is so low that nobody in India really cares about Orkut or any other site for that matter. This just a show to the larger middle-class population that they are taking steps to "preserve the culture".

        • Mod parent up (Score:5, Informative)

          by mercurialmale ( 928377 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @02:49AM (#19456335)
          Spot on - this has nothing to do with religion. Note that the real Hindu clergy is not protesting.

          This is pure, filthy politics - the Shiv Sena and their ilk are just trying to fight their own growing irrelevance - this is just to remind the UPA government that they still have the power to make life difficult - an attempt to gain leverage on some obscure internal negotiations, perhaps.

          You and I are not the intended audience for this charade - the current administration is. The poor Internet cafes are merely caught in the crossfire.

          And finally to all those who lament censorship in India, please don't worry on our behalf. We Indians have seen off graver challenges to our freedoms. We maintain a level of openness unmatched in the third world, and it will take more than a few assholes like these guys to change that. We're far from perfect in this regard, of course, but we'll get by just fine.

          • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

            by XchristX ( 839963 )


            Really?

            Here is an interesting interview [buffalo.edu] of Nobel Laureate V.S. Naipaul that points out how the "Indian Intelligentsia" (ie communist fanatics and Islamists) deliberately skew media reports against the Shiv Sena as part of a systematic campaign of hatred directed against Hindus. The Shiv Sena has done more for the emancipation of the Maharashtrian poor then any of the leftist parties who attack and villify them.


            Also notable is Naipaul's famous observation in his bestseller "India, A W
            • Re:Mod parent up (Score:4, Informative)

              by stony3k ( 709718 ) <<stony3k> <at> <gmail.com>> on Sunday June 10, 2007 @06:43AM (#19457167) Homepage
              Umm... when was the last time V. S. Naipaul lived in India, and I mean lived, not visited. He should not comment on things he has no clue about. The problem with many of the Indians living outside India is that they have been fed a lie that Hinduism is under attack in India and is dying. Nothing could be further from the truth, just going by the sheer number of people who are present whenever any so-called "Godman" comes to town.

              I'm not denying that there is a section of the Indian polity that is often anti-hindu because of vote bank politics. But there is equally a section that is rabidly pro-hindu because of vote bank politics.

              Have you ever stopped to wonder why every news story about Shiv Sena involves vandalism - they're never doing anything constructive, always destructive. It's no wonder then that they find themselves slowly losing favor in the eyes of the common man.
              • Re:Mod parent up (Score:4, Informative)

                by XchristX ( 839963 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @07:13AM (#19457275)

                The problem with many of the Indians living outside India is that they have been fed a lie that Hinduism is under attack in India and is dying.
                The problem with Indians in India is that they are too blinded by propaganda disseminated by a Communist intelligentsia, moderated by a socialist regime, and aggravated by the rising tide of Islamist militancy in the country. It is precisely the objectivity of outside observation that Naipaul brings to the Indian social landscape, something which Indians in India do not possess, unfortunately. It is a sad day for the Indian intellect when an outsider like Naipaul is needed to expose the reality...

                they're never doing anything constructive,
                Really? Who do you think improved living conditions in the Dharavi Slum in Mumbai (the worst slum in Asia)? The Shiv Sena. Yet, nobody but Naipaul wrote about that obvious fact (known to most Mumbaikars). Who do you think build all those expressways in Mumbai and removed the congested traffic that was choking the city's economy, the Shiv Sena. Also a fact known to most Mumbaikars. Yet, it is only mentioned by the media as an insignificant footnote.
                There is most definitely a pervasive media bias against the Shiv Sena. A bias that stems from Islamist votebank politics, motivated primarily by a sense of "My enemy's enemy is my ally" style of realpolotik and the desire of the left to ultimately eradicate all criticism from Hindus and render India a totalitarian, communist regime.
                What about the thuggery and villany of the Communist Party? What about the decades of nepotism, corruption, and state-sponsored buggerry conducted by Communist bastard despots like Jyoti Basu in West Bengal? What about the thugs and murderer Communists called Naxalites inIndia's red corridor (Bengal, Bihar, orissa and northern AP)? How well does the Indian Media report about their killings, rapes, bombings and Pakistani support? No, the Indian media is only obsessed with Hindus.
                How well does the media report the attacks on poor Hindus carried out by the Communist thugs in Nandigram just a few months ago? In the finest traditions fo Stalin and Mao, the CPM massacred dozens of poor Hindus in Nandigram , and the media conveniently hid the whole damn thing under the rug. Only the international media reported on it with any degree of objectivity.
                • Moderation abuse (Score:3, Interesting)

                  by Dogtanian ( 588974 )
                  (Disclaimer: This is about abuse of the moderation system, it is not an endorsement of XChristX's views).

                  Regarding the "funny" moderation of the parent. There is nothing obviously funny to me about it; can we assume that:
                  • The mod thinks that talk of "OMG!! COMMIES!!!!" is funny, despite the fact that for a long time India was run along very left-wing (if not quite communist) principles? It's not America, and I'm sure communism *is* still a valid factor in politics there.
                  • It's an intended piss-take becaus
                  • by saforrest ( 184929 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @02:26PM (#19459655) Journal
                    I suspect it's the second and/or third.

                    I suspect strongly that it's the first. Most Slashdot readers have very little clue what is going on in India, and probably didn't read past the first few sentences before modding.

                    The act of stridently assigning blame for political ills to Communists and Islamists (as those first few sentences do) will strike a chord with most Americans, and echoes a lot of the rhetoric (historical and modern) from their own leaders. The idea that this sort of rhetoric would be happening in very different and faraway place turns the familiarity of such statements into humour.

                    Hence the "funny" mod. I really think that's a much more plausible explanation than deliberately abusive modding.
  • by metlin ( 258108 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:09AM (#19455649) Journal
    Shiv Sena? RSS? Those guys are a bunch of nutjobs.

    These are the same who vandalize flower shops on Valentine's Day and threaten couples if they are seen doing anything they consider "obscene" in public.

    Personally, I think that these guys need to have a good drink and need to get laid a little.

    Orkut is used by many destructive elements to spread canards about India, Hindus, our gods and cultural heritage
    I thought it was all about tolerance and forgiveness and all those good things? Pursuit of truth and enlightenment? No? I guess it doesn't quite have the same ring as terrorizing innocent people and flauting your ideologies about.

    Jerks.
    • by Omkar ( 618823 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:12AM (#19455671) Homepage Journal
      You've pretty much got it. The Shiv Sena and RSS are Hindu chauvinist thugs that aren't taken seriously by anyone educated. Imagine someone like Jerry Falwell in a country as chaotic and mob-ruled as India (I've lived in India for a while and LOVE it, but this is hard to deny).
    • They've vandalized far greater things than merely cybercafes. A 1906 copy of Sanacharya's commentary on the Vedas [industelegraph.com], for one.

      Speaking as someone who's an astika [wikipedia.org] and follows Advaita [wikipedia.org], I've long held the view that Shiv Sena is a bunch of goons who will attack and vandalize anything they see, without really bothering to even think about it. Nothing they've done so far has led to change my views even a little.

      I suppose the only thing there to see is if the DoE would succumb to the 'pressure' and actually block O

      • ..Speaking as a Brahmo Samaaji , [wikipedia.org] I've long held the same views that you have about the Shiv Sena. After all, the media and polity have bashed the Shiv Sena so much so that it is impossible to not hate them after watching the selection bias reporting of the crap-socialist Indian media.

        However, the rise of Islamist terrorism in India, coupled with the systematic ethnic cleansing and genocides of Hindus in Kashmir, Bangladesh, Pakistan and several parts of India proper itself (remember Morichjhanpi, Tripura
  • hindus upset at orkut, muslims upset at muhammed cartoons, christians upset at crosses in pee, etc:

    i believe that your religion is strong and powerful and moving

    apparently, you don't

    for if you did, you would not be so threatened by such random fluff

    or, alternately, if these stupid offenses affect you, your religious faith is shallow

    you do not honor god/ allah/ shiva/ whomever by being moved by the most contrived of offenses that even a child could shrug off and roll his eyes at

    when you do, you make a mockery of what they stand for, by showing that some of your religions followers (you) are of small easily swayed faith

    you're a shame to your own religion, and your cheap outrage cheapens your religion

    signed,
    people with faith and maturity
    • by Gryle ( 933382 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:26AM (#19455735)
      It's okay to be offended by what you perceive to be a mockery of something you hold dear. What's not okay is taking criminal action towards those who have offended you.
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        It's also okay to learn to ignore that mockery. Or, if such mockery is rational, to respond rationally to it.

        This not only makes you less likely to take such criminal actions, but it also is likely to reduce your stress and your blood pressure, and teach you a useful skill.

        Let me put it this way: I find crap like this to be offensive. But then, I usually have to look for it, and even if it was right there in my face, I only have to close that tab to make it go away. And if I really, really cared, I could go
    • christians upset at crosses in pee,

      To be fair here the big issue with cross in pee is that it was funded with public funds in the of art.
      • I hate to make three replies on this topic ... but I really would like an answer. So I'll repeat myself - if the problem was all about public funding of the arts, then why did they wait until Piss Christ to protest? It's not like Piss Christ was the first publicly-funded exhibition. And if it was all about public funding, then why the focus on "obscenity" rather than tax dollars?

    • by suv4x4 ( 956391 )
      signed,
      people with faith and maturity


      Wait, I don't remember signing this!
    • by dvNull ( 235982 )

      hindus upset at orkut,


      Shiv Sena and RSS do not speak for Hindus. In fact most Hindus I have met do not like them and consider them to be little more than thugs with some political power in the city of Bombay. Thats it.

      Around 20-30 years ago, they hated non Marathis in Bombay and tried to get rid of south indians in Bombay. They are just a bunch of thugs who don't have much power outside of Bombay.
  • by WrongMonkey ( 1027334 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:16AM (#19455685)
    I hope that the RIAA doesn't change tactics after hearing about this
  • by ChromeAeonium ( 1026952 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:19AM (#19455691)
    Orkut is apparently like MySpace, with forums and the like. Just thought I'd throw that out there, since TFA did such a great job of not saying what it is. Here's the wiki [wikipedia.org]
    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by dangitman ( 862676 )
      See, that changes my whole impression of the story. At first I thought "bad Indian nationalists!" based on the context. But know that I know that they are trying to shut down something like MySpace, I'm all turned around on the issue. MySpace and all of its clones are an evil that must be stopped by any means necessary.
    • This link brings a whole new meaning to the article as its not a hategroup forum but just another friendster/myspace clone.

      At this point there is nothing the radicals wont block if they win with censoring orkut. Maybe google, myspace, livejournal and god knows what next because someone might create a group which could offend someone.
  • by dangitman ( 862676 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:19AM (#19455697)

    I don't get what's up with journalism these days. I even RTFA, and there was no mention of what "Orkut" is. Even if it is well-known to Indians, then couldn't the slashdot summary give a description, or at least a link to the site?

    Are we just supposed to intuitively know what every obscure website on the interweb is about?

    • by wizardforce ( 1005805 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:33AM (#19455765) Journal
      Google Orkut... it is a social networking site, a lot like Myspace or Livejournal. Here is the orkut homepage link: www.orkut.com Here is the link to the Wikipedia article about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orkut [wikipedia.org]
    • It's strange that of all the places on teh Intarwebs Slashdot (or at least a part of its readers) is oblivious to Orkut. Or maybe it's just a testimony to the general American unawareness of the rest of the world even on the Net.

      You can hardly call Orkut obscure. To put it short, Orkut is the MySpace of the Third World. AFAIK, it first got popular in Brazil and now apparently in India, too. Google bought it a while ago and integrated it to its services.

      I've encountered Orkut many times before, even though I
  • Mirror mirror... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by davmoo ( 63521 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:23AM (#19455711)
    Funny how that works...they are in effect saying "stop the hate campaign we don't like, or we will start a hate campaign against you".
  • by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 10, 2007 @12:27AM (#19455739)
    ...I thank god that I'm an Atheist.
  • Like this is a big surprise. Historically, religious fundamentalism is behind more violent behavior than any other single cause.
    • religious fundamentalism is behind more violent behavior than any other single cause.

      What about sex?

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by ozmanjusri ( 601766 )
        What about sex?

        Maybe.

        Send me a photo, and I'll think about it.

      • by metlin ( 258108 )
        See, I agree with you.

        The problem is, most of these religious nutheads practice some extreme form of their faith, which basically forbids them to fornicate or procreate until they've done a bunch of stupid things.

        Personally, I think if we could somehow introduce these guys to alchohol, pot and assorted intoxicants and got them laid a bunch, they'd just stop thinking about other things.

        It's all the pent up horniness that's getting to them.
    • by p0tat03 ( 985078 )
      Disclaimer: I am not religious at all. Correlation doesn't represent causality, yadi yada. Honestly though, is religion empowering these people to be violent, or are a group of violent nutjobs merely using religion as an escape to be outraged and wreak havoc? A bit of both?
  • The first time one of these cafe owners clubs one of their dumb asses to death when they try busting up his shop.

  • Why is it only the US seems to "get" freedom of speech? (And even we are losing it, but in different ways). I think people are afraid to learn and confront ideas that they don't want to see. Political and religious criticism, good or bad, is necessary for a mature civalization.
    • If you think that the US is the last bastion of freedom of speech then you're as deluded as these Indian students.

      As for your assertion that "political and religious criticism, good or bad, is necessary for a mature civalization", I'm inclined to agree.

      Tell me, when was the last time you saw a candidate for President who wasn't a Christian?

      And when was the last time someone was able to question why the US is involved in a "War on Terror" without being figuratively stoned to death and then fed the standard "
    • by balthan ( 130165 )
      How is this different than Sharpton calling for Imus to be fired? (Except for the vandalism part.)
      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Khaed ( 544779 )
        Well, one, Sharpton is a professional race-baiter (see Tawana Brawley). But the vandalism part *is* the difference. He never said he'd break into a CBS studio and bust up their radio equipment if they didn't fire Imus.

        If he did, maybe then I wouldn't have to hear him every time he thinks he can make a buck off the suffering of blacks.
    • Oh, America gets freedom of speech alright, as long as the majority agrees with it. Just look at online politics over the last 6 years.
    • by gilroy ( 155262 )
      Blockquoth the poster:

      Why is it only the US seems to "get" freedom of speech?

      Oh, we don't. We got lucky, in our history, in that the right group of guys at the right moment in time did "get" it. But the vast majority of the country has never really understood or embraced the principle -- any more than the majority has understood or embraced freedom of religion. Enlightenment-style democracy is hard and most people are, and have been, unwilling to exert themselves to be worthy of it.

    • Gets freedom of speech?

      I dare you to walk outside, into a mall full of people and scream "I HAVE SEXUAL URGES TOWARDS CHILDREN!" and see how long you're able to walk afterwards. I very much doubt your freedom of speech will stand for very much if you oppose the popular opinion against child molesting.

      This is without going into the whole Islam and terrorist ordeal, which others I'm sure will.

      DISCLAIMER : I am NOT pro child molesting in any way shape or form. I DO NOT support this kind of thing, it is just th
  • Could someone please tell us what orkut groups and messages in particular that they are upset about so that we may judge for ourselves? This may well be like the 09 f9 incident: If we let the whole world see those messages and judge for themselves as a result of this group bringing attention to the issue perhaps they will rethink their tactics and we will all gain a better understanding of exactly what sort of libel this group is upset about.
  • Useless Hypocrisy (Score:2, Informative)

    by Sukhbir ( 961063 )
    The reason Orkut is targeted is cause of the popularity. Orkut is like the MySpace of India and people get internet at their homes so that they can access Orkut - so much is the popularity. Shiv Sena and RSS are stupid political parties who have not done anything for the people of India except dividing them on communal lines. If they are so concerned about the people of India, they should stop popularizing their communal agenda and actually start doing something for the people. So what if the communitie
  • I think the RSS/Shiv Sena guys are just using this to have their periodic 15 seconds of fame. As far as cafe owners censoring Orkut is concerned: It won't happen. The number of orkut users from India is really high. Its the cafe owner's bread and butter.
  • Always the same: the religionists decry any intellectual anathema as "hate" or "bashing", then proceed to hate and bash our skulls in.

    Religion is the only mind game we play that demands that no one, NO ONE debates the central tenets, or ELSE. This would be because without that special, violent, protection, they would rapidly shrivel and die, as their kids grew up learning that the story about how a man was given a the middle east because he beat a fairy in a wrestling contest was, let's say, not real. They
    • Goodness, sir. Unfortunately, it's difficult to tell you from a troll planted by the scientologists to make this discussion look like a bunch of hateful critics so they can claim "Look, look! He's oppressing me!".

      Don't insult "believers", don't call them names. It just makes them feel isolated and harassed and as if they're justified in tuning out any criticism as being from "enemies". Expose fraud and criminality but remain your charming self with them. Liberate by example, not by berating: it lasts longer
  • by Skippi Sunshine ( 1113627 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @03:39AM (#19456497)
    It's about RELIGION and should be labelled as such. Don't be such pansies, Slashdot. Call religious lunatics what they are. Don't hide them as "nationalists."
  • by Old Wolf ( 56093 ) on Sunday June 10, 2007 @03:39AM (#19456501)
    Orkut [wikipedia.org] is a social networking site
    Shiv Sena [wikipedia.org] is a Hindu fundamentalist group
    Canard [wiktionary.org] presumably means a deliberately false story, in this context.

  • by crhylove ( 205956 ) <rhy@leperkhanz.com> on Sunday June 10, 2007 @06:20AM (#19457061) Homepage Journal
    Of COURSE these ignorant butt-plugs want to censor stuff. The only way anybody can keep talking to imaginary men in the sky and believing in that kind of nonsensical clap trap is to keep the blinders fully on. A quick reading of every wikipedia article for every religion shows how ludicrous every religion really is.

    Go ahead, god squad, mod me down, but the days when society lacks the information to see through your horse shit philosophy systems is at hand. In a few generations, only real Luddites or actual retards will worship invisible men in the sky.

    Information wants to be free. And humans want information. The days of praying to "holy ghosts" and multi-armed gods of war and love are ending. I just wish they would end sooner, like before we have another catastrophic global war, or completely destroy the environment.

    *sigh* Seems unlikely though.

    rhY

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