MyVoice: Views of our readers 1st September 2020

Safeguarding oneself in cyberspace

In 2020, India had nearly 700 million internet users across the country. This figure is projected to grow to over 974 million users by 2025. Apart from this, there are many mobile companies which are contributing to grow the telecom industries by providing smart phones at affordable cost as a result, in the present time, more than half of the population have smart phones.

Actually, the smart phones are user friendly device therefore everyone can easily operate their functions. However, in the 21st century nobody can imagine the world without internet due to its advisability and it has made human life convenient as well. The campaign of the digitalisation is the best idea by the government therefore telecom ministry is also trying to reach internet service every corner of the country so that every citizen may take benefit of the internet service.

However, internet service and smart phones have also invited new problems and challenges. Last time, two miscreant boys uploaded a girl's pictures on a porn website and the girl is from Bangalore and user of Instagram. The images were taken through screenshot when the girl came to know she lodged a complaint.

Many hackers send the emails to download their applications for stealing important data by offering irresistible offers. Moreover, after hacking the data some of them demand ransom. I have noticed around me specially villagers are so negligent. They share their email and ATM password without any hesitation on the phone and with kith and kin and the nearest person consequently, carelessness leads to cyber crime. For their safety smart phone and internet users must take some steps like, they should not share their passwords even closest person.

Many parents share their baby images on social media of their beautiful images but some hackers sell them to paid website so parents must aware of it. Images of young girls are being uploaded by various purposes. Users should aware of red flags these helps to Identifying email hacking. Using paid Anti Virus application protect users to download doubtful application. User must aware of basic do's and don'ts so as to they can protect themselves from internet threat or bullying.

Nishant Mahesh Tripathi, Nagpur

Strange ' Mann ki Baat' address of Modi!

In his monthly 'Mann ki Baat' radio address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has exhorted his compatriots to rear swadeshi breeds of dog in more numbers and make more swadeshi toys to meet domestic and global market for toys. This is while the country is facing far more serious problems than inadequate numbers of swadeshi dogs and toys.

The Prime Minister can take credit that he has thought out of the box and linked rearing more Indian dogs and manufacturing more Indian toys to his pet theme of Atmanirbhar Bharat. But it is not known how the two endeavours will in themselves go to alleviate the distress caused by Covid-19, contain the spread of the disease, revive the economy, halt the loss of jobs, and create new jobs in any significant measure.

The other day the Prime Minister was preening himself on feeding peacocks and peahens on the lawns of his residence. Most of his countrymen are not in the fortunate position he is in to emulate him and feel light-hearted.

Given his carefully cultivated image as a nationalist of the first order with a Hindutva halo, Modi escapes being evaluated dispassionately for the kind of leadership he is providing to the nation when it is in the middle of multiple crises. The support for him bordering on worship of him has not dwindled despite his multiple failures. His popularity has not been on the wane despite the sinking feeling among the populace on account of the rapid spread of Covid-19 and economic hardships. With any other leader, the people would have become disillusioned by now.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi draws no flak from most people for displaying no great leadership in this testing time, mainly because he represents the right-wing Hindutva populism and the interests of the ruling elites. He draws his strength from tapping people's subservience of material circumstances to devotion to religion and not from demonstrable public service.

In the context of Covid-19 pandemic, education is widely regarded as the only weapon to fight the spread of the disease. Indeed, it is also the weapon to fight the scourge of blind allegiance to anyone or anything in the all-important political sphere.

G.David Milton, Maruthancode, Tamil Nadu

Sonia and internal democracy

Sonia calling Modi a person of dictatorial propensities is akin to devil quoting scriptures. The so- called internal democracy in Congress is nothing but a facade.

Any constructive criticism is nipped in the bud by the Congress high command. It was Indira Gandhi who brought an amendment which kept the prime minister and the Governor out of the ambit of civil and criminal jurisdiction which was later struck off. Even she advocated a committed judiciary. Given a chance, for sure, Congress will behave no differently.

D S P Rao, Kakinada