350 to join ‘Anonymous’ protest against internet censorship

The protest against the department of telecom decision to block file-sharing websites under ‘Opindia’ (‘Occupy India’) will be held on Saturday,June 9.

As they claim on their blog,‘Anonymous is a decentralized network of individuals focused on promoting access to information,free speech,and transparency’ with no central point of contact.

“We do not have a country,name or face. Our cause is our only identity,” said a member. Anybody can identify with Anonymous and participate in its activities,spread awareness,Tweet or share on Facebook.

The objective of OpIndia is to repeal the ban on entire websites,where only a section of the content infringes on copyrights,and to contest the ‘intermediary guideline rules that have been effect since April 2011,besides annulment of section 69 of the amended Information Technology Act,2008.

In Pune,Virendra Rajput of Cusrow Wadia Institute of Technology who has listed ‘Occupy Pune’ on Facebook stated that the protest will be held in Shivajinagar area at 4pm Saturday.

According to the protest guidelines set by Anonymous,it will be a non-violent protest and no vehicles will be used. Protesters will carry placards or banners supporting Internet freedom. Protesters may also wear the Anonymous Mask or the Guy Fawkes Mask. Around 350 people,mostly students are expected to attend the protest. Many more netizens are supporting the cause and signing up for the protest through social networking websites.

The protest has also been planned in Mumbai,Delhi,Chandigarh,Indore,Kolkata,Hyderabad,Bangalore,Cochin,Calicut,Ahmedabad and Kundapur and tentatively in some cities of Uttar Pradesh,Nagpur,Chennai,Jaipur,Mysore and Thiruvananthapuram.

“We will keep retaliating with new targets and attacking other websites till the censorship on Internet is removed,” the official Anonymous blog states.