Do we Need to Fear India's Dark Prism?

 ( Image Source: http://static.guim.co.uk/)

 The unending debate of online privacy seems to have taken an ugly turn in the past couple of weeks. The shocking expose of a surveillance program–PRISM by USA's premier security agency, the National Security Agency (NSA) has fueled the debate on a state's power to monitor, track and record online activities of its citizens. The so-called Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression, regarded with high honor by constitution of most democratic countries seems questionable now. As Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee who exposed NSA, is on a run, seeking asylum in some countries, the question about US government's PRISM program in Indian context becomes all the more important. In India although there have been no major protests against online privacy breach, defenders of online privacy are crying foul against India's Centralized Monitoring System (CMS) which they believe is somewhat, if not completely similar to USA's PRISM program.

So is the “Indian Prism” equally dangerous and deeply violates our fundamental rights? Well, may be yes. Or may be not. Activists fighting for online privacy claim that through the CMS program, the Indian government has the power and authority to tap phone calls, mobile and Internet traffic too. The fact is that CMS is shrouded in mystery and very little details about it are available in the public domain making it more suspicious. The first time CMS came into highlight was after the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. In the wake of the gruesome incident, CMS was touted to be a one stop solution for gathering, sharing and distributing data across intelligence officials and agencies spread throughout India. After that, there has been no information, public debates, scholarly discussions to ensure that the public is aware about CMS. This raises some obvious questions regarding individual privacy rights in a democratic country like ours. Many acclaimed lawyers working for privacy rights have labeled such steps of our government as “gross violations of individual liberty”. Certainly, programs like CMS can play a crucial role in helping us nab terrorists or miscreants in the society. But such laws can be abused and misinterpreted by those in power. If it happens, who will be held accountable for it? The government itself who secretly made the law applicable? What do you think about India's secret Dark Prism?