And for a Friday after a significant SC verdict on Privacy, some thoughts….. some musings…..
The bench headed by Chief Justice of India has bought in focus, the issue of the fundamental right to Privacy for every citizen in our country. Pegasus which is a spyware developed and sold by an Israeli company NSO, has the capability to monitor location, emails, grab contact lists and messages , take screenshots and take control of the mobile phone’s mike, camera, etc. etc. and exposes the grave danger modern technology brings to an individual. It also reflects the helplessness of an individual, if not protected by adequate constitutional guarantees of the State. This is the essential differentiator between China and India, between a Democracy and Autocracy run on the whims of one Dictator like Xi Jinping.
Democracy also entails equal responsibility to its citizens to ensure the Rule of Law is followed and enforced. Every honest Professional be it in the Judiciary, Executive, Legislature, Media and Civil Society, has to guard this freedom. Of particular importance are Regulators and those who head constitutional posts such as Election Commissioner, CVC, Competition Commission, SEBI, RBI, TRAI, IRDA,PFRDA, etc. etc. Every Professional has to set himself/herself high Ethical and Governance standards and not yield to temptation of ill gotten wealth or position or favours, but to support Civil Society to raise the bar and increase the national Competitive and Integrity indices.
The Pandemic has sliced the world, giving India huge Geo-Political-Economic opportunities with formation of Quad-1 and Quad-2. Let’s grab Global Supply chain gaps for products and services, the legal way, the ethical way, the SEEGOS way.