For the first time ever, much of India's now billion-plus population is suddenly aware of a website's name and address. That's some feat in a country with one PC for 200 people.
A pity it had to happen around corruption and that in the process, it shook up a nation's immense faith in the armed forces. But it established that information could make the difference to a population starved of it, and of transparency, and of hope.
Tehelka's 'sting-op' was more about months of plodding investigative journalism than about the Internet. But the immediacy and interactivity of the Web helped. The story and transcripts were released simultaneously, for people across the globe to browse and download. The Web server itself was away from Indian jurisdiction and from possible attempts to shut it down. People picked up and read in detail whatever concerned them the most. And the feedback was immediate.
A flood of people responded on Tehelka.com and on other sites reporting the expose. Most were strongly approving. Some offered to contribute, to carry such investigations further. Others said they felt empowered as common people; that the mightiest had been brought down.
It's a preview of the power of the Net, even with such amazingly low penetration in India.Â
The chief vigilance commissioner's website lists corrupt officials' names. Together with high-profile CBI raids of the type that happened in April on top customs officers houses, we can hope for a time when corruption will at least not be an acceptable fact of life at every level.
Government systems going online help, too. A website tracks passport applications, making unauthorized earnings a little more difficult. My extension booklet still took four months, but the fact of documenting its movement forced some transparency there. Now, if this happened at the corrupt transport directorates, forcing them to list license applications status and results for qualifying drivers. Those ad-hoc, bribe-inspired processes would surely be drastically cut down.Â
Despite the power of TV and print, the Web's role will grow steadily in public life. A mass of websites will help empower the common citizen. They will include government and service company sites, personal websites by disgruntled employees or customers, sites for the Indian consumer, and more. While the big media houses will continue to be the big influencers--online and offline--building up their reputations on credible reporting and analysis, the Internet will begin to play an increasingly crucial role: of bridging a gap.Â
They will help bridge the information gap between the haves and havenots, between rich and poor. They will help ensure that in an increasingly wired society, there are fewer and fewer secrets.