Remember King Canute

Canute was the English monarch who used the sea as a demonstration of the limitations of regal power. The story goes that he got tired of incessant praise and glorification of his power and authority.

So he took his courtiers to the seashore and asked them whether, if his power were absolute, the sea itself would be bound to listen to his command. Surely, they said. He then commanded the waves to stop where they were. They ignored him. He simultaneously demonstrated the limits to his power and got his feet wet.

His legendary act has firmly divided the world into two groups of people: those who accept that some things are beyond their control, and others who continue to believe that they can still control the onward movement of inexorable forces.

The government of India occasionally manifests the behaviour of the second type. The most recent example is its reaction to the content of the website Google Earth, which allows the browser to view virtually any location on the globe in fine detail, thanks to satellite imagery.

Of particular concern seems to be the fact that important government structures are prominent in the visual display of Delhi. The possibility that such graphic pictures could be used to plan terrorist attacks naturally comes to mind. But the availability of free satellite imagery on the internet can hardly be the decisive factor in a terror plan.

More understandably, there is also a sense of violation of privacy and the intrusiveness made possible by technology. A line may need to be drawn somewhere.

That said, however, it is inconceivable that the line can be drawn by any one country, acting unilaterally. The government's indignation can be understood, but not its belligerence. It is truly in a Canute-ian situation.

The proliferation of satellites and the uses to which their products are being put are an undeniable sign of technological advancement. India itself has benefited enormously from satellite technology, be it in communications, weather monitoring or a host of other applications, including military intelligence.

The fact remains that once a satellite is in orbit, it is difficult to restrict the information it picks up and transmits. Unless there is a broad global consensus on censoring satellite transmissions, the kind of filtering that the Indian government seems to desire is not possible.

There is simply no alternative but to accept the unstoppable movement of technology and the fact that it can, and will, be put to uses that not everyone is comfortable with.

A realistic response by the Indian government should focus on two sets of factors. One, security systems and planning must take this new reality into account. Rather than trying to stop the proliferation of satellite imagery, it is better to accommodate it and beef up security systems accordingly.

Two, given India's own capabilities in the field, the emergence of a market for satellite feeds of various kinds may well represent a commercial opportunity for the country's space establishment. It would do well to exploit it.

Meanwhile, let those who can access the internet have the pleasure of looking at Lutyens' creations from angles that even he did not have the opportunity to see.