Past and Future of Internet

In December 2015, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation asked Apple to open a ‘backdoor’ to break into a phone recovered during the San Bernardino massacre. Apple refused, and is now fighting a battle to overturn a court order that went in favor of the FBI. In January 2016, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India banned the use of differential pricing by telecom companies, effectively putting an end to Facebook plan to roll out Free Basics, a scheme under which subscribers of a partner telecom companies would have free access to a subset of websites.

Both incidents appear to pitch the state versus a technology company. However, a brief history of the Internet will show, the implications to be drawn for the future of Internet governance are different in each case. In the 1990s, as the Internet grew in scope, the US government contracted the Domain Name System (DNS) registry, the task of ensuring unique identifiers for the different servers connected by the Internet, to Network Solutions Inc., creating a private monopoly of $1 Billion.

However, in 1992, the Internet society (ISOC) created a memorandum of understanding to assign governance functions, with representatives from businesses, intergovernmental organizations and ISOC itself. In 1988, the US department of commerce rejected the MoU process and recommended the DNS system be managed by a non-profit company, leading to the creation of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The past 15 years have seen a remarkable growth of the Internet, with the number of websites increasing from 12 Million at the turn of the Millennium to over 1 Billion today.

However, traffic is heavily concentrated in websites belonging to a few corporations. The global slowdown and the decline of the BRICS have resulted in the coining of a new acronym of power – FANG, referring to Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google. Many Internet Companies are based in the US and place their servers there, thus giving the US government access to data from foreign countries while reducing the control of local governments over their information, and their ability to prosecute the managements of these companies.

So far, users have been willing to give away large amounts of information for the benefit of free services. However, the possibility that the government can gain access to their information may exercise a chilling effect on their usage and create an insurmountable obstacle for the future of the Internet Business Model. For the first time, as the Apple Episode shows, the US has specific interests which may be best served by allowing other states the freedom to pursue their own goals with respect to the Internet, thereby giving US itself similar powers, despite its diminished share of the Internet market. 

Lessons from Bhagat Singh

Eighty five years ago this month, Bhagat Singh, along with his revolutionary colleagues Shivaram Rajguru and Sukhdev Thapar, were hanged to death in Lahore Jail. They were executed for the killing of Assistant Superintendent of Police John A. Saunders. Bhagat Singh was born a mere 23 years before then to a politically active Punjabi Sikh Family. His grandfather, Sardar Arjun Singh, was strongly opposed to British Government and initiated his sons and his grandson into that tradition.

Bhagat Singh learnt English, Hindi, Urdu and Sanskrit at the DAV School in Lahore. He subsequently attended National College in Lahore, which was set up by Lala Lajpat Rai in 1920. Even though seeds of Bhagat Singh Revolutionary path were sown in the early days after his visit to Jallianwala Bagh, he became a committed revolutionary after the death of Lala Lajpat Rai.

The forum for the discussion of the response to Rai death was the Hindustan Socialist Republican Association (HSRA). The HSRA predecessor, the Hindustan Republican Association (HRA) had been established in the immediate aftermath of the Chauri Chaura incident in which 22 policemen were burnt alive in a retaliatory incident. The most significant action of the HRA was the Kakori Train robbery undertaken in 1925 to finance its activities. Many leaders of the HRA, including Bismil, were hanged for that incident.

Bhagat Singh short and eventful life had many strands. He displayed an extraordinary commitment to his cause. He was an avowed atheist. He was a revolutionary and a socialist. He was a fearless patriot. He believed in using arms to gain self-respect and independence. He read and wrote a lot. Even though Bhagat Singh methods were wrong, his dedication to a cause is worthy of emulation. His fearlessness came from an inner determination and was reinforced by his extensive reading.

Bhagat Singh himself would have frowned upon a jingoistic, non-nuanced adoption of any of our heroes. That may be the most important lesson of all for today young. Shaheed Bhagat Singh, socialist and revolutionary himself said, “Bombs and pistols do not make revolution. The sword of revolution is sharpened on the whetting stone of ideas”.

Source: - Livemint.com, Monday Mar 7-2016.

Book Review: Into Thin Air

Jon Krakauer, an accomplished climber, joined a commercial expedition run by guides for paying clients, many of whom had little or no climbing experience. In “Into thin Air” he gives a thorough and chilling account of the ill-fated climb and reveals the complex web of decisions and circumstances that left a group of amateurs fighting for their lives in the thin air and sub-zero cold above 26000 feet, place climbers call “The Death Zone”.

Into Thin Air reveals the harsh realities of mountaineering and echoes with frantic calls of climbers lost high on the mountain and way beyond help. On May 9^th 1996, five expeditions launched an assault on the summit of Mount Everest. The conditions seemed perfect. 24 hours later one climber had died and 23 other men and women were caught in a desperate struggle for their lives as they battled against a ferocious storm that threatened to tear them from the mountain. In all eight climbers died that day in the worst tragedy Everest has ever seen.

With enough determination, any idiot can get up this hill, observed Rob Hall, the leader of a commercial expedition on his 8^th tour of Mount Everest. “The Trick is to get back down Alive”. This book covers journey of Jon’s 1996 expedition starting from Dehradun, India to top of Mt. Everest and back to Seattle, USA. Every point of stop while trekking to Everest (“Sagarmatha” in Nepal language) base camp is clearly explained with all experiences.

Using all his powers of observation and reportage, Krakauer simply takes me to Everest, to a monastery where a lama proudly shows off a picture of himself posing with Steven Seagal, to the base camp. Everest can be climbed from Nepal region and Tibet region. Experiences from both sides are shared in this non-fiction book written by Jon Krakauer. Stories and strength power of Nepalese Sherpa are also shared. Up until May 1996, Mount Everest had been climbed some 630 times and had claimed 144 lives.

Although a record 12 people died in 1996, 84 reached the summit, which actually made it a safer than average year. One who wishes to know about what it takes to climb Everest (world largest mountain) and what happened in 1996 storm which took lives of famous climbers in theoretical and picturization way, Into Thin Air is a perfect read. With this book, I finished my 25 readings of life; next book to read is “Land of the seven rivers”.

India’s top Tech Billionaires

Wipro Chairman Azim Premji leads the pack of Indian Tech Billionaires followed by HCL cofounder Shiv Nadar and Infosys chairman emeritus NR Narayana Murthy, according to Forbes 2016 list of World’s billionaires.

Azim Premji, his net worth is $15 Billion and global rank is 55. He is the founder and chairman of Wipro, India’s third largest software exporter. His family office Premji Invest has invested in companies like Snapdeal, Myntra, PolicyBazaar and Cyanogen among others. Shiv Nadar, net worth $11.1 Billion and global rank is 88. He is the founder and chairman of HCL, India’s fourth largest software services exporter. He is also a philanthropist with Shiv Nadar foundation.

NR Narayana Murthy, net worth $1.9 Billion and global rank is 959. He is cofounder of Infosys, India’s second largest software services exporter. He was the Infosys CEO from 1981 to 2002 and as chairman from 2002 to 2011. His private investment firm Catamaran Ventures has invested in Yebhi, Hector Beverages, Coverfox, and also has a joint venture with Amazon called Cloudtail which is the largest seller on Amazon India.

Kris Gopalakrishnan, net worth is $1.6 Billion and global rank is 1121. He is cofounder of Infosys and its chief executive from 2007 to 2011. He contributed 225 crore to setup the Centre for Brain Research at the IISc in Bengaluru and also backed a stem cell centered multidisciplinary programme on mental diseases and blood disorders.

Nandan Nilekani, net worth is $1.6 Billion. He is cofounder of Infosys and its chief executive from 2002 to 2007. He was the chairman of UIAI until March 2014 and is currently chairman of EkStep. He has backed companies like Team Indus, Fortigo, Mubble, LetsVenture, Power2SME and Systemantics.

Binny Bansal, net worth is $1.2 Billion and global rank is 1476. He is cofounder of India’s largest ecommerce platform Flipkart and took over as its chief executive in January 2016. He is currently responsible for operationally driving the company and overlooks all its business areas. Sachin Bansal, net worth is $1.2 Billion. He is cofounder of Flipkart and was its chief executive until January 2016, post which he assumed the role of executive chairman. Along with Binny Bansal, he has backed startups like Ather Energy, InShorts, Tracxn, and Tinystep.

K Dinesh, net worth is $1.2 Billion. He is co-founder of Infosys and was the board member from 1981 to 2011. He is retired as the Head of Quality, Information Systems and the Communication Design Group in 2011. SD Shibulal, net worth is $1.1 Billion and global rank is 1577. He is cofounder of Infosys and was its chief executive from 2011 to 2014. He setup a startup incubator Axilor Ventures with Kris Gopalakrishnan.