Privacy of the individual

I am a victim of character assassination, disinformation, propaganda and defamation by so many individuals and organizations on internet. My enemies left no stone unturned to spread rumours about me, malign my character and portray me as somebody which is not even remotely like me. I remember that i could find no way to tell people that what they were saying was not true. Nobody was willing to listen to me, my family was getting embarrassed and blaming me for all the hoopla, when i had no hand in it. Clearly, somebody wanted to destroy my reputation, my dignity and my self respect. They nearly succeeded. But for my strong belief in God, I would have broken down, descended into depression. One of my "well wishers " also suggested suicide as a possible solution when i was at my lowest ebb. But then , We must all remember that God, the Almighty , most gracious, most merciful, is also the greatest Conspirator. Nobody can be smarter than him, and you can fool the whole world, but you cannot fool Him. He will see to it that justice is done through any instrument of his choosing. So i lived. And survived. through the deceit, the conspiracy, the backstabbing of seemingly close friends. When I tried clarifying my name through the print media, nobody helped me. nobody wanted to help me. The only thing that came to my rescue, where i found the freedom of expressing my thoughts, was the cyberspace. Here was a universe where all were equal and had the same rights to express themselves. No references or exploitation was a part of airing your views. And apart from my thoughts, i had so much to say about the world that I live in, our society, my work, my other passions, the causes that i believe in.Cyberspace made me free. It made so many others like me feel that they had a voice, that it could be heard, and that what they thought mattered and they had a right to express themselves rather than toeing other's lines. Cyberspace is all about individual freedom and having access to information and rights, if you are looking for them. It is the ultimate level playing field. To each his own choice of using the internet, which we may not like or dislike, but we have no right to take away their freedom or right of expression. If we are in the right, we do not need to be afraid of what they say. we just need to change the narrative. But now the government wants to pass the Cybercrime Bill which has no room for the concept of privacy of the inividual. Such intrusions on the basic human rights of people should be weeded out of the Bill. dissent is the essence of democracy and personal freedoms should be guarded jealously. I and so many persons like me have a voice. It should not be gagged. ]