Let's begin with a flashback...
It is June 2011, and a well-meaning group - Anonymous or someone claiming to be them - hack one of the websites of the National Informatics Centre, an Indian government IT organisation.
They were, they said, protesting the police action on Baba Ramdev's protest venue in Delhi. (Now, I have nothing against Anonymous (or any other group) throwing their collective hat into the Lokpal circus ring - but I do question their motives.)
Here comes the obligatory comedy sequence...
The following is their list of demands...
The demand for "The complete removal of corruption in all its forms..." seems like extreme naiveté at best; and "clearance of pending court cases in all courts of India swiftly, and fairly" makes me stop and question their intellect.
But the one that, both made my jaw drop and raised my hackles, was this: "Unique ID number (like citizenship) for everything. All data must get store (sic) under single ID."
First, the UID has nothing to do with citizenship - it is for all residents of India. Second, once the UID is made a necessary pre-condition (something the Indian governement is trying hard to do) for services that are actually a citizen's right, it does not bode well for anyone who those with access to the 'delete' button disapprove of!
But finally, and this one's a real knee-slapper... To have all of one's data stored and collated under a single ID is ipso facto the abolition of privacy. It strikes me as either a little odd for such a demand to come from a group calling itself "Anonymous"!
Anonymous also claim they took down the Indian Army's website - and end up being blitzkrieged by outraged Indians on facebook. They quickly hit 'Control Z' on their keyboards, but it was too late! (Apparently, the Indian Army manages to keep a decent public image notwithstanding the efforts of Arundhati Roy.)
Finally, we cut to the climax in the villian's lair (minus the plaid jackets, flashing coloured zero-watt bulbs, and tank full of hungry crocs)...
In true Bollywood ishtyle, the heroes (calling themselves 'Real Anonymous') burst-in in the nick of time. They 'unmask' the villianous first group for what they really are - and save Mother India's izzat!
The End.
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