Uncertainty and Insecurity in Privacyless India: A Despotic Push towards Digitalisation

In November 2016, an unexpected imposition of a demonetisation policy in India by Modi’s government changed the role of digital technologies in mundane lives. It was unfolded with a discourse of its potential to generate a trail of long-term benefits; such as reduced corruption, enhanced governance and greater digitizing of the economy which could eventually lead to development of the nation. This road to development was radical, coercive and even authoritarian as it drove individuals to adopt digital technologies. Such a despotic push in one of the world’s largest democracies had consequential effects on individuals’ privacy and altered the nature of surveillance. The grand digitalisation project was veiled and fanatically endorsed with a tunnel vision while any robust privacy legislation to protect the flow of data was absent. This article intends to investigate the political dimensions and consequences. It will trace the contours of a despotic and authoritarian push by the government to digitise mundane lives. Therefore, it will unravel the nature of governance under the new emerging technologies, legalities, and interlinking policies to understand the persistent uncertainty and perpetual fear of insecurity under this Privacyless India.