It was recently brought to my attention by an individual who I assume is an Indian citizen that the Indian government is soliciting for opinions on Internet neutrality. I am not sure if your government will receive, read, or consider my opinion, but I hope that it does, as I consider it my duty to ensure, however I can, that the Internet remain a free institution.
The Internet is unique in human history as it forms (or is capable of forming) a connection between all people and provides them all with services so varied that any analogy we can attempt to draw from historic legislation or jurisprudence will almost certainly be inadequate on grounds of exclusion; there is so much that happens on the Internet that it cannot simply be equated to a marketplace or a highway or any other sort of thing with which governments are accustomed to dealing. It is no easy task to decide how society will treat this institution.
I have made up my own mind, however; I believe that the Internet must regard all traffic as equally valuable and necessary. It is a dangerous path to travel down in either direction; on one hand, government runs the risk of choking the development of the Internet, and on the other, corporations gain the ability to close the market until the beginning of another cycle. With regard to those options any solution must have balance. However, at this juncture I must argue that the latter is all the more dangerous. If a company complains that their infrastructure is being overwhelmed, is that not their fault? As providers of a service, they must either provide or not. They cannot claim that some individuals must receive special consideration in order to traffic in what amounts to Boolean values. They, as proprietors, may choose to refuse service, but they must provide that service equally. If these providers are allowed to decide who is allowed to play the game of commerce, it will do enormous harm to the future of India; you will lose the intellectual and economic dynamism you need to countries where it is valued more highly.
I thank you for reading and wish your people wisdom in their decision. Best regards.
~Josh Warnick