An article in Times of India today begins thus: “Legally, you aren’t supposed to come within arm’s length of India’s military bases…” You already know what it’s about. (Article reposted here.)
Did Indian bloggers revel in the fact that they finally had free access to military secrets previously privy only to Pakistan and other nations with military satellites? Not at all. Race for Perfection has no Finish Line is the most sanguine, mentioning in passing that this news has meanwhile made it to Indian TV. Google Earth is “in trouble” according to this blogger, and “this kind of tool can be a boon to the people involved in anti social activities.”
Vasanth Dharmaraj’s Blogs writes “I read in the local newspaper that Google Earth reveals all the vital defense units located in Bangalore. Hopefully the authorities contact Google to blur them.”
Why? Why hopefully? And finally, Shwetanshu’s Blog writes:
Google Earth creates tension as Indian sensitive areas such as INS Viraat docked at Mumbai, IAF Bases and Rashtrapati Bhawan to name a few are clearly shown, whereas the White House is missing from the map.
Sigh. Doesn’t anyone factcheck anymore, or is it true if you’ve read it in a blog?
The problem is that India and Pakistan are still emprisoned in a kind of cold war thinking that previously gripped the US and USSR. Snap out of it already — there is nothing in Google Earth that Pakistan doesn’t already know. if Google Earth makes you feel vulnerable, that’s because everybody is when two nuclear powers antagonize one another.
Watch this space for the reaction by politicians, tomorrow.
Google Earth: Indian Reactions
Once more into the breach. India is the latest country where concerns are being expressed about the high-resolution imagery in Google Earth, now that several Indian cities have had their photos updated. As usual, the concern is about sensitive installa…
Such sensationalist style articles are typical to the indian press – especially the Times of India, which revels in being the first to find some extraordinary fact that has been common knowledge for quite some time and as in this case you point out, usually wrong as well!
Such reports say a lot about the closed thinking in India at the moment, which is merely reflected by the press (indeed exponentiated as a result as well). What can we do, well I just hope one day my fellow Indians will wake from the socialist mentality that has wrapped them so well for so long..*sigh*..