They won't be reading this in India

As India’s financial capital, Mumbai, observed a moment of silence today to commemorate the serial bombings of its commuter trains seven days ago, a blistering silence blanketed the Indian blogosphere.

For reasons yet unexplained by the authorities, the Indian government has apparently directed local Internet service providers to block access to a handful of outlets that host blogs, including the popular blogspot.com. Indian bloggers have reacted with anger and confusion, accusing the government of censorship and demanding to know why their sites have been jammed.

Nilanjana Roy, a Delhi-based writer who runs kitabkhana.blogspot.com, a literary blog, called the seeming censorship “a dangerous precedent.”

“You have a right to know what is being banned, and why it’s being banned,” she said. “I can understand if it’s China or Iran or Saudi Arabia. I’m truly appalled when it’s my country doing this.”

India Blocks Blogs in Wake of Mumbai Bombings - New York Times