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Comment by FrankenPC | Hacker News Reader

I'm not a India software industry expert, so excuse me if this sounds like a dumb question.

Isn't it a terrible economic idea for India to block access to Github? I thought India was really big into software engineering?

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I am an Indian citizen so I can offer some perspective. Atleast 50% of those in software engineering don't vote. Going to voting station, standing in queue and voting is a painful process and most of us don't take the trouble. Hence, their concerns are not really heard in the govt. These people will not go to concerned authorities and explain them how it will affect the economy. They will just whine for a few days and then find a workaround. Most of those affected by these blockades are mom and pop shops aka startups. Govt doesn't listen to people in startups. It only listens to big guys like Infosys and TCS. These big guys don't use github to host their code.

In India, the moment you say security, all logic and reason stop. And police is always looking for quick fixes. That is why google street view is still not available in India.

Also, one more point.. if you watch any local news item in US, the dominant theme in it is "How much money will it pump into economy". In India, The dominant question is..."How much safety and security will this cause". Unfortunately, There is never a discussion of the benefits vs costs of this security.

"Going to voting station, standing in queue and voting is a painful process and most of us don't take the trouble."

Not exactly cupcakes and candy in America either. But I suspect the voting process is easier here. But our numbers are also very low. In 2014 I think 36% of the voting population voted? Which means, the current government doesn't represent the American people.

But whose fault is that? Well ours (Americans), of course. Most don't take the time (or care too) too vote. But man, when it comes time to bitch about issues everyone steps to the front.

This is news to me. I didn't know voting percentage in US was so bad. In India, its actually much better. About 50-60% most of the time but thats because candidates pay $20 per vote!

Yes, it is a terrible idea. But you are assuming that the people running the country and the ones electing them are competent individuals who have the best interests of the country in mind.

Ofcourse it's a terrible idea. There will be an uproar. And then someone from the govt. would actually take the time to carefully look into the decision and then the govt will have to take an embarrassing U-turn.

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