Vishva Hindu Parishad demands regulatory board for World Wide Web

Vibha Sharma 

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 28

The RSS-affiliate Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), on Thursday, demanded a Web Regulatory Board for checking and certification of content on the World Wide Web (WWW) or web, as it is commonly known.

“Dharmik (religious), social and national ‘maanbindu’ are ridiculed,” the Vishwa Hindu Parishad alleged to the press its case for “regulation” for “good of the society and the country”.

A Web Regulatory Board should be created, so that side effects or shortcomings of the WWW available in India could be rectified and its contents made lawful and useful to all, the VHP said in a letter to Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar.

The VHP secretary-general, Milind Parande, said: “WWW is an easy and quick available medium of information, knowledge, wisdom, achievements and news but there are also many pervert contents in it.”

“Various unrighteous, sinful, criminal activities, misdeeds, addictions, misdemeanours and even terrorism, communalism, antipathy, enmity, treason, sedition, etc are easily encouraged. ‘Dharmik’, social and national ‘maanbindus’ (values and sacrosanct points of honour and sentiment) are ridiculed.  Little children, teenagers and young people have been seen falling prey to them easily. Due to this, many people have been seen becoming alienated from their national ethos and fundamental duties, and also becoming enemies not only of their own country, Dharma, society and justice system but also of themselves,” Parande said. 

Parande said innumerable websites, videos, web series, applications, Tik Tok, etc had their merits and demerits but there is no one to critique or assess their substance.

“These are part of a completely unruly, wilful anarchy. There is a Film Certification Board to certify films and also TV serials are closely scrutinised prior to their telecast. But, unfortunately, there is no such mechanism for the Web world,” he said demanding a proper system for checking and certifying the contents of “all material uploaded or shown in India to prevent its side effects or shortcomings and make it completely useful for all citizens”.