Life’s an open book

It is unheard of that we praise the government in any of its attempts to curtail the freedom of expression. But the latest diktat from the ministry of external affairs that no one should tweet from office will find sympathisers among us.

It is unheard of that we praise the government in any of its attempts to curtail the freedom of expression. But the latest diktat from the ministry of external affairs that no one should tweet from office will find sympathisers among us. When a minister chooses to go on Twitter, could we expect that we will gain some insights into international diplomacy? No, we learn that the minister is fond of mangoes and eats as many as six a day.

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The Chinese whose hacking propensities have led the ministry to crack down on tweets must be intrigued. How do we compete — inscrutable mandarins in Beijing will ask — with those whose constitution can absorb so many mangoes while we get the runs every time we overdo the chop suey? But honestly, do we need to know so much that is irrelevant about people? We are surprised that the Chinese thought it fit to hack into all this cornucopia of ghastly information about the dietary and other habits of our leaders. In fact, many of us are ready to hack to death anyone sending us more inane twitter on their underwhelmingly boring lives. Do you want to suffer someone’s holiday stories, see pictures of their unphotogenic families, learn of their professional woes or personal passions? If yes, chances are you are not gainfully employed.