``Even the Americans, who belong to the freest country in the world, insist that DTH players use American satellites. And even Hong Kong, which allows uplinking, keeps a strict check on downlinking,'' said Naqvi, who pointed out that Indian culture, society and security should be kept in consideration and all points of view should be sought from every political party, before taking a decision on DTH.

``The nation has to be technologically strong but control is also important,'' he said. He compared DTH with the Pokharan nuclear tests and said, ``We could have taken the technology from abroad'', but it was only when India was confident oftesting itself, with its indigenous technology, that ```we went ahead''.

``On this issue too,'' said Naqvi, ``we cannot depend on anyone for our technological advance.'' Echoing senior Minister Pramod Mahajan's new-found caution on Tuesday, Naqvi said lifting the ban on DTH was a sensitive issue and the Government would be completely conscious of all aspects before taking a final decision. The wars in the next century, he said, would be fought on Information Technology, and not with ``horses, elephants and cannons''.