DesiPundit

Neha, I know Airtel and Sify ISP users have access. I have Spectranet in office and Airtel at home.

Hey I can! I’m even able to blog! Me’s on a BSNL (Sancharnet) broadband line at Nashik, India.

I dunno where you wanted the comment. Am putting in a duplicate comment at your site. Delete if reqd.

Airtel and Sify both seem to be doing alright. MTNL is some circles appears to be blocking. Reliance ISP also seems to be blocking.

One way to figure out if the servers are down or not is to go to http://pkblogs.com and see if you can access the blog at blogspot via this route.

Mine is AirTel and nothing’s wrong. I read in a Yahoo! Group that Blogger’s performed a scheduled outage. Dont know if it’s true. What’s the situation now?

This morning I could access blogspot from Sify (Andheri East). Now I am at a fren’s place (Bandra) and she is using MTNL tri band. I cannot access any blogspot sites from here :((

Sorry, I forgot to add this in my previous comment. Yes I can access blogspot using the pkblogs route mentioned above. Otherwise it’s not possible from here (MTNL Bandra).

There is a simple way to test it provided your ISP does not block outgoing ICMP.

1) ping/traceroute a website you can visit now (ex: google.com, yahoo.com etc) and if it does not time out from start to end outgoing ICMP is not blocked and follow to step 2. If it is, then get another ISP

2) ping/traceroute 66.102.15.100

If you can do that without (m)any problems you should be able to use blogger.com, log in, publish and etc. If it is blocked and giving you 100% packet loss, start yelling louder and pray for the best.

3) ping/traceroute 66.102.15.101

If you are able to get through, you should be able to use all *.blogspot.com blogs, if you get 100% packet loss, start yelling even louder and hope that whoever you pray to normally has a great deal of influence on the net gods.

That said, I am getting the same routes out of Airtel GPRS and no blocks, though I am not in Delhi and in far away Kerala now. There are no blocks on the local ISP here, Asianet, though I can get the routes because they’ve blocked ping/traceroute. Gah.

for the uninitiated:

traceroute on windows (XP, 2000, 98 etc) is tracert followed by the host/ip address/domain (example: 66.102.15.101, google.com).
ping (works pretty much the same on all platforms) is ping followed by the host/ip address/domain (example: 66.102.15.101, google.com) -t. You can hit ctrl+c to exit it.

I once again called Spectranet customer care. They are more guarded now. They said we will not block any site unless there is a govt directive.

So next question was “So is there a govt directive?” To which the executive took me into a loop. What is my institute name etc. etc. finally saying they cannot find my institute account. I dropped the call finally saying if it is too uncomfortable for you I will drop my question. Anyone desiring to call the call centre can mail for the number at mridula at gmail dot com.

I’m on MTNL and can’t access blogger.

Time to switch over your DNS servers folks.

There’s a problem with MTNL and BSNL, and it’s not a blockage. I’ve spoken to quite a few people, and they’re able to access their dashboards via http://www.blogger.com, just not the blogspot.com urls. People using Sify and Airtel have no problem. Spectranet might have taken a line from MTNL/BSNL.

Solutions:
1. Email your local Empty NL helpdesk. Tomorrow’s Sunday, so that’s out. By Monday if we have enough people mailing them, they might act. For Delhi - helpdesk.delhi@bol.net.in
2. Also, call in with your complaint (Hey! It’s toll free)

I’ve already posted his on my blog, but can’t link to it because I can’t access it on my Empty NL connection. Heh.

Shyam:
1. “Ping request could not find host http://www.google.com. Please check the name and try again”

2. 66.102.15.100 pings

3. Request Timed Out

To add to that, I think Airtel’s got it’s connection via Singapore Telecom, while MTNL is via Reliance owned Flag. That would explain Reliance being down too. Could be a problem with Flag, but I’m no techie. O-)

Relax ppl. Maybe its a good time now to see how wonderful the world can be without internet hehehe

Nonetheless, I have sent an email to google with links above - they should afterall be the best persons on this subject to tell you all instead of second guessing it all.

S

The Unrest Cure,

God save you for trying to ping http://anytopleveldomain, just the domain/host will do the trick.

But you are right about Bharti’s link with Singtel, they are peering off the SingTel Internet Exchange before crossing over the US.

Interestingly, the last three hops (and all the traffic into Google in US passes solely through Google’s routers, spanning four different class D networks.

I don’t remember any ‘normal’ internet website ever doing that.

Use a RSS feedreader. I’ve tested with Google.com’s Reader and works fine with my ISP. In the readers’ search bar, suffix /atom.xml to the blog address and you shall be able to see the up-to-date blog.

Cheers & Happy Blogging
Milind Kolekar
kolekar.blogspot.com

Shyam: Now I know better. As a friend would say (often while making fun of others) - Chalo, seekhne ko toh mila. Able to ping google.com, blogspot.com. mixedbag.blogspot.com doesn’t ping.

Works on: Tata Teleservices, BSNL
Doesn’t Work On: Reliance

Browswer based feedreaders work because it is the service’s IP that calls for the feeds, not your IP.

An update from Abi:

http://nanopolitan.blogspot.com/2006/07/blogspotcom-being-blocked-by-some.html

Err Neha & Patrix,

Shouldn’t this post be a sticky one? We ought to make an “issue” out of this.

I’m on Reliance Powersurfer - and i noticed today that not only Blogspot blogs are not loading, but i can’t call up any Typepad blogs as well. I called Reliance Powersurfer again and they tell me that after all my calls yesterday, they checked again and wished to confirm that they were not blocking or filtering any sites themselves. However, the big news from the call centre employee on the line was that they did check and it seems that Blogspot has been blocked by the Ministry of Communication centrally. I asked them for more details, or any sort of confirmation of the same, which they were unable to provide. Have written to them too, asking for some details and confirmation - lets see what comes out of it.

@Mridula: Your site has TERRIBLE amount of pop-ups coming up - jeez - I hate to tell you this, but one of those pop-ups tried installing a Spyware on my PC, and locked my PC up! Thank God for Spybot.

Maybe you could try disabling your popups for a while or check out whats wrong with ‘em.

Suyog

Suyog on my new posts I have disabled popups. I do not know how to do it on my older posts.

Vulturo - I think we’re just waiting to see what comes of it over the next day or two and then we’ll take it up a few decibels if it is a matter of censorship.

Ditto Neha, we rather have it confirmed that it indeed is censorship before we decide to raise a ruckus. It would also be helpful to find out which ISPs are blocking sites and why hasn’t BSNL blocked the site if it is a govt. directive.

Please read a similar problem regarding sites hosted on Geocities sites.

However I am able to connect to Blogspot for sure.

You should try a proxy site like http://www.boreproxy.com/ and then see if you are able to access blogspot using a proxy.

Check this out and confirm if this is not a similar technical issue:

http://nonadsense.blogspot.com/2006/07/indian-isps-are-blocking-geocities.html

While trying to find a resolution to the Ministry’s directive to block access to blogspot.com. Here’s tool that one could use have access to those banned sites.

*blogspot.com seems blocked by Exatt in Delhi, but accessible via Airtel. There’s surely a blocking happening as the sites are opening fine using anonymisers.

regarding blog censorship in India….

You know the tremendous effect bloggers have on internet readers thesedays..

An anonymous blogger, a fiery soul, writing fierce words and appealing Indian youth to act is creating ripples in blogosphere now. He is most likely the cause of the censorship by Govt of India as I believe his writings are making the Indian Govt run scared. He has already declared Independence, (Declaration of Independence: http://letsbuildanation.blogspot.com/2006/07/declaration-of-independence-anyone.html), asking people to identify the traitors (Am I a traitor? http://letsbuildanation.blogspot.com/2006/07/am-i-traitor.html ) and goading Men to Act ( http://letsbuildanation.blogspot.com/2006/06/awake-arise-o-bharata.html).

I think if we bring this blog down, the ministry might lift the censhorship. But, if we bring it down, I think India goes down along with it, the only flicker of hope I’ve seen in my entire life.

For those who are affected by this, here’s my simple solution to view a text-only version of any Blogger blog post. Its faster than proxy server access and better than feed readers sometimes in the sense that it always shows the entire post (which is not true in the case of feed readers if the blogger has configured short version of syndication).

Here’s the tool. http://www.anniyalogam.com/scripts/freedomviewer.php

Patrix, My comments are not showing up. where are the comments beyond 29th one?

Just posting to state that I can no longer access blogspot sites (not blogger.com) from Sify Cafes (Wrote at the beginning of this comment page 2 days ago that I could access blogspot from Sify but not from MTNL) other than through proxy routes.

Ps. I agree with Vulturo. Making this post a “sticky” for atleast a few more days will make it much easier for many of us non-techie bloggers coming here with lots n lots of questions…

I have an Airtel connection in Chennai, India and while I had access till yesterday I’m not able to access blogspot blogs today. My guess is that the govt. has asked isps to block blogspot and some isps did it faster than others.

Now it seems that Airtel in Noida has joined the blocker bandwagon. *blogspot.com was accessible in the morning but now it’s simply shut out.

Airtel in Gurgaon too.

Guys, even AirTel has begun blocking it seems. I use AirTel Broadband in Delhi. I cant access blogspot blogs from here. I can login to blogger.com, go to the dashboard, write and publish but I cant see my site.

I called customer care. They werent aware of it. They said they’ll check and come back to me.

It is too early to blame the government but if the government is involved in this, then this is really outrageous!

Neha, if this is sticky this is not showing at the top of the DP homepage.

Errm, We have been facing some techincal difficulties with making the post sticky. We await for the dark lord Patrix to awaken and assist us.

Thanks Saket, looks like the Dark Lord has arisen?

This seems to be a over-adhered-to action on a directive to ban access to SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India) and LeT (Lashkar-e-Toiba) run blogs, which is known to have played a role in the recent bomb blasts in Mumbai.

Blogspot is blocked from BSNL Dataone. Some ISPs work 24/7 so they were able to enforce the block on Sunday.

http://in.rediff.com/news/2006/jul/17blog.htm

Shivam at Rediff

Boing boing reports:
http://www.boingboing.net/2006/07/17/report_indian_govern.html

I was dealing with the problem of geocities.com being blocked by Indian ISPs, due to technical reasons, for around a month now. The problem is still unresolved.

But from today, it seems Sify in B’lore has blocked even the blogspot blogs.
Now both my site as well as my blog are un-accessible. Neither http://www.geocities.com/rmtiwari nor the site where I was writing about the Geocities block [ nonadsense.blogspot.com ] is connectable at the moment.

Have they decided to remove “freedom of speech” from our basic rights or was it done long time back.

Wow, it’s 1984 in India. Hooray to the dothi-clad Bade Bhaiyyas. “Yeh Internet-Pinternet kaa hain, aur yeh phree-speech kaa hain?”

My provider in hyd tells me that the Provider from which he get’s his line has blocked certains sites and that he has not received any directive from anybody. Its beam cable in hyd. Any info on that?

GOI wants bloggers to use home grown solutions. Use rediff’s blog. They are totally swadeshi.

Not able to access pkblogs either. It worked till now but i guess its been blocked too(atleast in hyd).

pkblogs not working too. It was working allright till 20mins back. Is it only local for me in hyd or is it everywhere now?

Blogspot back on air.

From what I understand, pkblogs is not blocked, but is slow because of the excessively high traffic.

Sify is still blocking blogspot. pkblogs was down for sometime but is now accessible again.

I am still having the problem at blogger. I have Airtel connection and it just doesn’t show up.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=134366

Indian government doesnt understand the concept of web2.0 or community websites yet. This reminds me of the arrest of CEO of Baazee/eBay India for a porno mms sold on eBay/baazee.
Sad reality!
http://www.desihub.com/blogs/page/mihir/20060717#indian_market_government_not_yet

I use sify broadband in Hyd and I can’t access *.blogspot.com and *.typepad.com but can access blogger.com

Yesterday, I tried to access my friend’s blog from Sify ( bangalore, ITPL Main road - Sify cafe)..i could’nt able to access the blog. So i guess even in sify cafe’s they blocked seems…
Mahes

There seems to be a lack of clarity. The whole of yesterday I was not able to access any blogs in my office where STPI is the provider (of course, I could access via pkblogs). But I have absolutely no problems in accessing any blog at home. I use a BSNL broadband connection at home. Strange!

We have had no such issues - at home I use a local broadband connection, while at work we are on Reliance. While I have not really tried logging on over the weekend, in the last two days I have had no issues checking out various blogspot blogs. I have had a couple of friends on various other ISPs do a double check here as well and they don’t seem to be facing any problems either. Could it be that this is happening only up north?

Slashdot link not working.

I use BSNL at home and blogspot works. But from work it doesn’t.

I have been able to access blogger, all this while. I been able to login, edit etc. can view my blog on blogspot too. I am in Gurgaon. ISP is Bharti British Telecom Internet Limited.

Public wiki link is broken. Correct link is

http://censorship.wikia.com/wiki/Bypassing_The_Ban

The entire wiki has been now moved here: http://censorship.wikia.com/wiki/Bloggers_Against_Censorship

Well, if not pkblogs.com, there’s a whole host of anonymous proxy servers out there. safelizard.com is one that comes to mind. There’s tons more, just Google for anonymous proxy servers, navigate, and blog away…

I’ve tried to get in touch with a journalist at CNN-IBN whose email address I had. Lets see if a TV media approach works.

Jagadish

In solidarity with bloggers.

Lal Salaam

The government is afraid of blogs like the one I maintain

After having exposed them they have resorted to such measures

Regards

Stalingam

NAXAL REVOLUTION

CNN IBN is on the story.

Internet censorship in India

It is all over the place - Slashdot, Boingboing, Desipundit, Financial Express, Hindustan Times, Rediff and elsewhere - Indian ISPs are enforcing the ban ordered on websites, some of which happens to be hosted on Blogspot, Typepad and Geocities.
This i…

Yes its really sad. At odd times I do get an access to my blog at blogger but most of the time its unavailable but u can bypass by using proxy as or use some site viewer ( anybrowser.com ).

Blogged here

Thanks for the pkblogs link — I am finally able to access mah li’l blawg! Was starting to suffer from serious DTs.

My ISP is MTNL.

Shocking to hear that india blocked blogspot. I tried access the sites that are told to be the reasons for the blockage.
Here is the details about the sites.
exposingleft.blogspot.com…This sites name may be interpreted as it is against left parties. But as i browse thru the site it tells a different story. This site is talking abt the various workd happenings. I could feel that it only have short short thoughts about various happenings in the world. I didnt find any thing worth banning the site!
hinduunity.org and hinduhumanrights.org….both these sites have a propoganda for VHP and other hardcore hindu political parties. These sites strongly supports the Hindu parties. OFcourse some articles had some points against other religions. Now will the Govt ban the polticial parties also for having a view against other religions!! Ok can be seen as view of pacifying the minority religion. Govt way playing fair child!
dalistan…a site which even i had felt to be banned. But the intersting thing is this site is down for more than months now. This site was talking about supporting free tamil nadu from Indian Democracy. But i wonder why govt wants to stab a dead child! The site was already down for months
bloodspot.com..another intersting comedy. This site is actaully of a medical systems company called DSL. I wonder the reason behind blocking thi site!!

Clickatell.com…another great indian comedy..this site is bulksms gateway company. WOnder what DOT gains by blocking this!!

To be frank the govt once again proves its heights of its idiocracy!!
Note: I havent used any proxy to view these site. I am residing in japan where most of these sites are unblocked!

Now orkut too seems to be blocked, at least in Delhi. Also, I created a mail to disseminate information about this. Am sending that to desipundit by e-mail. I think if a lot (at least a few thousand) people mail western MSM- CNN, BBC, NYT, WP, they might take notice. Desipundit could exhort people to do that.
A

Blocking blogs is not so much about policing lifestyle as it is about intentional curbing of the freedom of expression. To me, it casts serious doubts over the credibility of the Government’s efforts to fight terrorism, if this is the approach towards finding solutions. Moreover, it smacks of distrust on the intelligence of the masses that make up the all-important “votebanks”, if not (more respectably!) the “citizens”.

Nice. Are they featuring it?

Update#1: Amit at Digital Inspiration has a [partial] list of Indian ISPs that seem to be blocking Blogspot and offers several solutions to get around the block.

===========

Aaahh the irony, he has posted that on blogspot!! How do we access that now ?

I have an update from the journalist contact at CNN-IBN that they’ll be running a story at 9 pm on this issue.

Desipundit,

How about just appending .nyud.net:8090 to the blogspot URL and saving my lazy a** from having to do that when I can just clicky on all the blogspot links on your awesome blog.

The MSM may have taken up the story, with ET making it their first headline but they have got their facts a little wrong in there. The ET story states that pkblogs.com is the ‘only’ way to access the blocked blogs, which we all know isn’t. There are many more. And The Indian Express lists princesskimberly.blogspot.com being one of the blogs the government has asked to block. But on the first look it seems to be a lazy blogger’s blog, who hasn’t updated it since March 25, 2004 and only talks of boredom and Harry Potter.

I posted a comment in the morning and can’t see it anywhere anymore! Well I have had no probs accessing (logging in, editing) blogger or blogspot blogs. The ISP is Bharti british telecom.

I’m using Aisanet Dataline, a local broadband provider in Kerala, cannot access blogpost from last night

Read it in the newspaper. Didnt believe they’d do something as audacious. Logged in… and bingo, no blogs. rerouted via the pkblogs thing. but it is painfully slow.
Read this again:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1767836.cms

Where can I register my protest?

Join the group: http://groups.google.com/group/Bloggerscollective

Write a post, and we’ll link it on the wiki

I know couple of my friends for them it didn’t work from work but worked from home.

Desihub has formed an online Free Speech Hub to let you voice your opinions on this blatant violation of freedom of speech. Join to start discussing opinions and ideas to counter this ban.
http://freespeech.desihub.com

Airtel has certainly heeded the Govt. order so as to make sure that the Govt. doesn’t label them in the list of peeps who have kinda betrayed them. Btw, even [Pkblogs] can’t bypass some blocked sites. There’s a whole bunch of proxy services here: http://snipurl.com/t63u

I am not able to access blogs from home. I use Airtel.

I was able to access from my office.
This is a stupid move by the government…

‘While the powers that be may strongly feel about censoring the internet, they would at least like to maintain some sort of charade of India being a free country and that sort of rot’-vulturo.

I guess ‘the powers that be’ in Delhi have started defining for us..what’s best in the Indian blogosphere..just as desipundit has been collating what’s the ‘best’ among blogs on reservations until just..a few days ago.
The ‘powers that be’ have shown they can be as unconcerned about maintaining a charade or keeping up pretences about being ‘free’.. (and fair, if that means anything) as desipundit.

PLEASE SUPPORT US
WE ARE AGAINST BAN
Instead of catching the culprits of 7/11 Mumbai Blast, Indian Govt. have now blocked Freedom of speech and express views.

Support HINDI BLOGGERS

use this link to surf http://www.hinduunity.org & HinduHumanRights
Type http://www.hinduunity.org in the blank space it will take u to HU.

anonymouse.org/anonwww.html

Hinduunity is the biggest hindutva site onNET.It has almost 25000 hits a day . Though it is banned in India since last 2 years its membership and Hits grew . Its amazing

If true, this is indeed terrible news. It is a huge victory for the terrorists and I just hope the government will quickly reverse itself.

@OBCVoice:

The difference between DP and GOI is that the GOI *blocks* dissenting voices while DP does not. GOI has not , as you said, started defining the “best”—it has started defining what is the “worst” or in other words what we should not read.

For instance we would hardly mind if the GOI sets up a blog of its own and keeps on pointing to your esteemed blog.

Thanks, Great Bong for defending us. I would have loved to retort but managed to restrain myself.

I hope GOI doesn’t heed your advice; that will be tough competition but we would see lots of ‘sanskriti‘ and ‘parampara’ posts then

Hi, I would like to unsubscribe from this entry. But this link “Manage your subscriptions is broken”. Please correct it and let me know at rarunach@gmail.com

I agree with OBC Voice. In fact, Patrix and Co. why don’t you just take over the GoI? I’m sure you’d do as competent a job.

For the record, we want more reforms and lower taxes. Thanks.

I am on reliance, and its not leeting me see any blogspot sites!

The Statesman too has a story on this.

It’s ironical. India blocks Blogspot. Oman blocks http://pkblogs.com

Hi,
This doesnt let me post.
http://groups.google.com/group/Bloggerscollective
It says: You cannot post messages because only members can post, and you are not currently a member.

Toinks,

Errr…then join the group and be a member.

I think some kind of permanant bloggers association should be formed with branches in all cities. Tommorow, the govt may get some other excuse to repeat this stupidity. There should be a public interest litigation against this sort of thing.

Agree with Falstaff: the company he refers to would do as competent a job as the clone of that company that has been doing the job for long.

Agree again with Falstaff : we want more reforms and less taxes.

See its like this, I dont support the ban as it is a knee jerk reaction. but it is like a terrorist amongst us planting a bomb in the train, the government cant stop him but we can by being vigilant…. so maybe as the blog community is so active it must be vigilant and it is our social responsibility to help the government to help block such blogs which spread hatred. It is also imperative on the govt’s part to take the help of the blog community by putting up a website for vigilance where people can submit url’s of websites which spread communal hatred.

Remember one thing in the name of free speech lots of people take advantage to propagate their hideous ideology let us not give rise to another Hitler or group of Hitlers who hijacked an entire continent by propaganda and spreading hatred using the modern tool of communication.

we are no better than the government if we just express our outrage and dont come up with solutions instead.

i am posting this at all blogs …. i am not a blogger my self but i like reading blogs and i wish this media is kept out of government censorship.

can the blog community come up with a few innovative ideas to deal with this in a more sensible manner than the government?

Please don’t remove this sticky until the blanket ban is removed

“let us not give rise to another Hitler or group of Hitlers who hijacked an entire continent by propaganda and spreading hatred using the modern tool of communication.”

Hitler was a blogger?! And I thought he just went around giving speeches. I really should have paid more attention in History.

Meher: It’s not the modern tools of communication that are the problem. If someone has something to say and there are people who want to listen, the message will get across - censoring it will only mean that it’ll be harder for you to find out.

“can the blog community come up with a few innovative ideas to deal with this in a more sensible manner than the government?”

Here’s one: Let everyone have their say. And if you don’t agree with them, click on that little button on the bottom that says comments and tell them so (as, btw, you just did). Or get a blog of your own and put up a post explaining why you disagree. And hope that the government doesn’t block your site before everyone has had the chance to read what you have to say.

I am not a blogger, but sadly my personal website which is intended for an advisory service on the international forex market seems be trapped in the blanket ban in India. Its only indians who are not able to see what I post everyday. The site contains tons of educational materials and resources for those who are serious in the field. Sad to see the ignorant bunch of mules ruling the country.

Does anyone here agree with me that bloggers are way too self-promoted-hoping -to-be-self-important people??? If a handful of sites do get blocked whats the big deal anyway??? It wasnt as if these sites were promoting/doing something worthwhile in the first place. Whats the whole hulaboo about it anyway??? every blogger worth his blogo-salt will now write in a piece on the blog-blockade thing, this would go on for the next month or so and then once the issue has shifted below the publics’ tiny horizon-of-view, its back to usual business. So whats the big deal?? Why clamour for all the attention anytime something miniscule-y interesting comes up in the indian blogosphere??

Jhantu,
See what you have done. You made me give you all this proof of what really seems to be the issue. Blogs and Bloggers are just a medium. I bet any blogger worth his ‘blogo-salt’ knows that.

Patrix: Hmmm. I’m almost convinced that you’re Jhantu - and that you’ve put together this sorry caricature of an argument in order to plug your new post.:-).

Come on, you might as well admit it.

Hey All,
Moi a B-School student at scmhrd, Pune and my blog is about life in a B-School, the struggles, the joy and the tribulations. My blog is too affected and am currently accessing it thru pkblogs.com. My blog is titled mbajunction.blogspot.com. Utterly harmless. The ban has served no purpose for the people who perpetrate terror since they can anyway access blogger.com and update their blogs and in turn view it using pkblogs.com.
Cheers
Shankar Iyer
PGDM-II
SCMHRD, Pune

Falstaff,

Trust me even if I wanted to have an alternate pseudonym, it certainly wouldn’t be Jhantu…reminds me of a swear word we used back in school. I think you know what I mean. No offense meant to the poor anonymous soul here though

Poor guys have access to blocked http://www.geocities.com or geocities.com..

But heh heh… they hvn’t blocked http://geocities.yahoo.com !!! so wht the use of banning??

BTW, thru this site also, anyone can access all the blocked blogs/sites: http://tools.superhit.in

Cheers!

Blogspot and Typepad blogs are accesible again from AirTel Broadband, Delhi. Cant access those 17 sites and geocities.com though. Dont know what’s the scene on other ISPs but I guess all are going to follow suit.

So, we can point our fingers away from the ISPs now and concentrate on the govt instead. Let’s turn our attention towards those 17 sites and geocities now.

Conspiracy Theory :
Govt. is planning to ban http://www.indianrail.gov.in

NIC, is now planning to impose a ban on the official website of Indian railway. It seems this site has provided a lot of information to the terrorists of Mumbai blast. And possibly the tickets were also bought through this site only. In the larger interest of the country, the decision was taken by the competent Govt. officials.

Further, Govt. is also planning to block a few other sites and news channels which are showing the plight of Blast victims or helping them in any other way. Govt. officials confirmed that these organisations are being banned as in a sense, they are also spreading the message of terror sent by the terrorists.

Further these ban-orders will be sent through email ( for the first time in the history of NIC ). An email-id, for the head of NIC, is already created with one of the free email service providers and will be used for the purpose. The officials are now trying to understand the functioning of emails. The mail is drafted already and it will be sent as soon as they will be able figure out the “send” button’s functionality. Hopefully it will take some time.

Further, though it is lifted from the blogspot, for some reasons, NIC decided to keep the ban on Geocities. They clarified that as per the information from security agencies, Geocities is the site hosted by the terrorists, regarding the cities where explosion has to be carried out.

Source : Digg