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F I
F T E E N
T
he positive role the Information Technology
(
IT) revolution is going to be playing in our livies is no longer a debatable issue. Most
countries today are beginning to understand the benefit that value-added IT is bringing
to economies—introducing both efficiencies and benefits.
There are, however, some notes of dissent where the issue of a digital divide is the
central point of discussion. Some industry critics are claiming that the IT wave
currently washing India’s shores is going to leave in its wake a land of IT haves and
have-nots. In my opinion, however, the reverse is going to be true. IT, in fact, can
be used successfully for a “digital unite,” provided the country’s leaders understand
the powers of technology and use it for shaping India’s future.
For one, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee needs to be complimented for this
early vision. He may not personally use a PC, but he did begin creating IT-friendly
policies as way back as 1998, when not many were talking about them. If our
leadership becomes IT-aware, IT-oriented and IT-friendly, the chances are that the
IT revolution in the country will achieve the success it deserves.
For this to happen, our politicians—the men who hold the reins of governments in
their hand—need to be made IT-literate. There’s an existing perception amongst
some politicians that IT is the prerogative of the “upper echelons” of India’s vast
populace. Meaning, IT is not something to be found in the hands of the “vote
bank.” While this perception might be true to some extent—we still boast a modest
base of 4.3 million PCs—desktop penetration is going to rise substantially in the
future.
Bowing to the dictates of the “trickle down theory” and the evident penetration of
Internet through 37 million cable TV connections, IT is certainly going to get
within the reach of India’s proliferating masses
—
the massive majority that decides
who will govern and who won’t. Early acceptance of IT’s myriad advantages by
the country’s political elite can provide them with a much needed edge, particularly
when they approach the IT-aware electorate of the future.
The Hindustan Times September 3, 2000
Bridging the Digital Divide
