Indian Government Ban of Net Access to Pakistani Newspaper Broken

[Frederick Noronha <fred@vsnl.com>]

Indian Government Ban of Net Access to Pakistani News Broken
Full story at...
http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/jul/05dawn.htm

July 5, 1999

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Indian Government Ban of Net Access to Pakistani News Broken
Full story at...
http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/jul/05dawn.htm

By Srikant Sreenivasan and Priya Ganapati

 Traditionally, Indian government has shown little respect for the power of
the
Internet. Now they think that they can censor it!

Last week India's international Internet gateways blocked access to
http://www.dawn.com, the online news site of Pakistani daily Dawn.
 But many are the ways of the Web. You just have to read your way to the
end of
this article and we will show you several bypasses to reach
http://www.dawn.com

Who ordered the blockade in the first place?

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited is the government owned international long-
distance telecommunications monopoly.
It is also the largest Internet service provider in the country and controls
the international Internet gateways that the ISPs in India use.
Last week its gateways blocked access to the news site of Dawn, one of the
most
respected newspapers of Pakistan.

VSNL Chief Public Relations Officer G C Banik told Rediff "VSNL has not
blocked
it (Dawn site) yet. We have not closed it." When it was pointed out that
surfers from India are not able to reach the Dawn site, Banik suggested that
Rediff could countercheck with the technical department or the CMD himself.

But VSNL Acting Chairman and Managing Director Amitabh Kumar told Rediff "Yes.
We have blocked the site. But it is under instruction from higher
authorities."

When asked about the legality of the order, Kumar said "We have done it under
the authority given to us by the Indian Telegraph Act."

However, Kumar refused to either confirm or deny reports that the Dawn site's
blockade was ordered directly by the Prime Minister's Office.

When Kumar was told how Rediff and surely many other surfers could easily
bypass the blockade with methods like use of 'anonymiser services', he said,
"Our personal opinion does not matter. We are doing it under instructions from
higher authorities."

Blocking  a site (and bypassing that block): a technology primer

Full story at...
http://www.rediff.com/computer/1999/jul/05dawn.htm