Quest of Data Colonialism and Cyber Sovereignty: India’s Strategic Position in Cyberspace

Abstract

The dawn of the neocolonial project has seen the emergence of a new space: data. Data is a raw material that can be stitched, processed and marketed in the same way as the East India Company (EIC) used to do with India’s cotton. EIC, which started as one of the world’s first joint-stock companies, turned into a wild beast, building a corporate lobby with the help of lawyers and MP shareholders to amend legislation in its favor. The EIC became a particularly atrocious and innovative colonial project that directly or indirectly controlled continents, thanks to an army larger than the army of any nation-state at the time. The Drain Theory of Dadabhai Naroji have opened India’s eyes to how the EIC was taking raw material from the country and converting it into a finished product that was marketed in India again in the same way as raw data is being processed outside India and then marketed here today. In today’s digital era, big corporations need not own big armies, as companies are protected by nation-states and bailed out when required. Today, one does not need to travel overseas to explore and conquer Gold, God and Glory; instead, they are a click away. The neocolonial project runs on digital platforms, while the popular narrative of bridging the digital divide and giving internet access to millions of people resembles the idea of the “white savior” liberating the “noble savage” through modern Western education. Facebook’s grand plan of providing free internet to all can be best understood as a neocolonial strategy to mine the data of billions by equating it with water and land. Similarly, the Cambridge Analytica scandal provides an example of how neocolonial forces can influence the fundamental democratic process of electing a government. Therefore, nations endorsing democratic values should be especially wary of the trap of neocolonialist forces, as such nations are particularly vulnerable to their project. This paper critically study the cyber security infrastructure and policies in India and analyze the India’s approach towards cyber sovereignty and data colonialism and thereafter examine the India’s strategic position in cyberspace and suggest policy recommendations.