another excess on the internet

i am posting after a long time.
not that there are no controversies around.
in fact there were too many . and too hot.
like the police action in the movie upload case.
police have registered case against fifteen 
persons for uploading a recently released
malayalam movie on the net. so far so good. 
they had no right to steal ( i mean it ) the movie.

but see the second part. case is  also registered
against a thousand more persons. for viewing the
movie on the net.

this is  something like going to jail for looking
at a daring poster on the road. or a baring
ad in your daily newspaper. internet too is 
public space.

if you think i am exaggerating recall the
incident a few months back. a student was
arrested and put behind bars for watching
porno. true  he was underaged. but see what
we have done to the kid.
and where he can go now. back to school
and friends ? or to the underworld or  
take the exit route ?

crux of the matter is that it is high time we
reviewed our rules. these rules did serve a
purpose when they were framed but may
not apply in the present context. they
need to be reviewed however sacrosanct
they appear.

and in the meantime let us go slow on their
implementaion. let us not unplug thousands
of young lives. let us not nip bright blossoms
in the bud. all on the strength of provisions in
the statute book.

overenthusiasm is as bad as or worse than
 lethargy. especially when it comes from law
 enforcing agencies.