Bloggers criticise jamming of blog sites
NDTV Correspondent
Tuesday, July 18, 2006 (New Delhi):
The major blog sites including blogspot.com, a site meant to set up new blogs, have been jammed in the last couple of days.
It isn't clear who has blocked these popular sites but unconfirmed reports say the Department of Telecom has issued orders to Internet service providers to block the websites.
There have been angry responses to the blocking of several blogs in India.
The order came from the Department of Information Technology, which handles cyber security reportedly on the advice of intelligence agencies.
Angry response
"All blogs on blogspot.com have been blocked by our Ministry of Communication. All of our blogs are visible to people outside India, but we can't view our own blogs or other blogs at blogspot.com from within India," said Aparna Muralidhar, Bangalore.
"It is not ok. Personal sites should not be stopped. It doesn't make sense," said Ishita from Delhi.
"There is a lot of propaganda about blogs being used for spreading political views but for people who are not part of it, it is very frustrating to not get through to sites that are private," she added.
However, there's yet no official word from either the telecom minister or the home ministry on the order which was apparently passed on Friday.
The Government of India has reportedly instructed Internet Service Providers to block Blogger, Typepad and Geocities, among around twelve other domains perceived to be hosting 'radical' and 'anti-India' websites. Many Internet users in India were unable to access blogs over the weekend.

The ISPs which have complied with this alleged directive are Spectranet, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Reliance Powersurfer, Airtel Broadband and Sify, among others. Spectranet has confirmed that it has received such a directive, saying that the list of blocked sites ran into 22 pages. 

As of now, there has been no official confirmation from the government in any form.  Bloggers are reportedly "furious" at the action by the government and are planning collective action against the government, including filing a  Right to Information request under the Right to Information Act passed in 2005.