No Technology !!!

By Zahra Shirpurwala

The government has brought in a new policy without the people’s notice. All devices and the internet will shut down every year for fifteen days. While the urban kids find this treacherous, it ultimately does not bother the rural livelihood.

It is 2023! It has been two years since the government passed the new law of shutting down all devices for fifteen days. So, from the thirteenth to twenty-eighth December, India is a free soul where any technology means our sealed, locked, fastened with no escape! What is wrong with the government? Rajya Sabha recognised this law as the best one for reducing screen time and overcoming technology addiction. For fifteen days, finally, the rural and the urban are connected, and the great barrier of the digital divide breaks. Schools reopened at the beginning of 2022 as all students were vaccinated, so online classes are not an issue. As for the adults, they were back in office during the year 2021 itself.

The children are now inculcating habits such as reading, playing sports, spending time with family and more. “No Technology” is not such a big disaster. Yes, the entire nation was chaotic for the first few days, but our democratic government doesn’t bother about it. They say that the citizens will learn and calm themselves down. Did the constitution include such injustice in its pages? Oh, there was never technology in India during 1947. Worst of them all, do you know who thought about this idea? Niti Aayog! The one to come up with brilliant solutions to problems such as hampering our country’s economy is now hampering our lives! No Netflix and chill for fifteen days; what a tragedy!

Domestically disadvantaged kids use to face issues during the pandemic, but it is now our turn! This piece is entirely fictional but imagine if such an incident occurred in real life. Can we think of a day in our lives without using technology, especially in this digital era? Are we changing the world with technology, or is technology changing us?

By Zahra Shirpurwala