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Social platforms have transformed how we communicate, often encouraging users to share without reflection. Rather than appealing to our reasoning faculties, these systems exploit cognitive biases, fostering addictive behaviours that erode our capacity for focused thought. This manipulation of attention has far-reaching implications, not only for individual cognition but also for collective autonomy.

https://theleaflet.in/digital-rights/in-the-age-of-algorithm-we-must-revitalise-the-conversation-on-the-freedom-of-thought 

Justice Anthony Kennedy of the U.S. Supreme Court once noted, “Minds are not changed in streets and parks as they once were. To an increasing degree, the more significant interchanges of ideas and shaping of public consciousness occur in mass and electronic media”. This observation underscores a shift from traditional public discourse to algorithmically mediated interaction, where information flows are technology driven.

A darker potential looms in the prospect of technologies capable of influencing, interpreting, or even controlling thought itself—akin to the phenomenon of “Doublethink”, to borrow from  Orwell’s ‘1984’, where individuals were compelled to abandon personal perception in favour of officially sanctioned narratives. In such a world, privacy of thought vanishes, replaced by surveillance so pervasive that even dreams or diary entries could incriminate.

The United Nations raised red flags in 2021 about the ethical risks of emerging neurotechnologies designed to decode, predict, or alter human thought. Companies like Meta and Neuralink are racing to develop brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that can convert neural activity into digital output in real-time. 

These systems could allow users to control devices with their thoughts but they also risk breaching the last bastion of human freedom: the mind itself. 

Despite its critical importance, the right to freedom of thought (‘FoT’) remains underdeveloped in both law and discourse.

Importantly, safeguarding FoT is not just the duty of governments. Citizens, too, must recognise its value. Thinking critically is neither easy nor always comfortable. It requires effort, courage, and openness to uncertainty. 

As noted, “Relatively few people want to think. Thinking troubles us; thinking tires us.” But the cost of neglecting this right may be far greater. If freedom of thought is eroded by invasive technologies, coercive platforms, or passive disinterest we risk losing not only our dignity and democracy, but our humanity itself. As we navigate the complexities of the digital age, we must ensure that the last refuge of freedom “the human mind” remains protected from prying eyes and manipulative hands.

by Mahima Garg

02/06/2025

India's Adani denies sanctions evasion or Iran LPG trade after WSJ reports US probe https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-billionaire-gautam-adani-comes-under-new-scrutiny-us-prosecutors-wsj-2025-06-02/ By Reuters June 2, 2025

 America में अब नए केस में भंयकर फंस गए Adani, जांच शुरू!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyCyhBIwPNY Ashok Wankhede | Ashish Chitranshi
The News Launcher

https://nypost.com/2025/06/02/business/indian-billionaire-gautam-adani-facing-new-doj-probe-over-iran-oil-trading-report/

https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/oil-and-gas/gautam-adani-under-new-scrutiny-from-us-prosecutors-wsj-reports/121574958 

The curious India tourism paradox. Domestic pilgrims opt for luxury, foreigners go budget https://theprint.in/ground-reports/the-curious-india-tourism-paradox-domestic-pilgrims-opt-for-luxury-foreigners-go-budget/2640086/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-intl ..  Udit Hinduja 29 May, 2025  Once seen as the preserve of pensioners or the devout poor, pilgrimage travel has gone mainstream. College students, middle-class families, and high-end travellers alike are scrambling to book temple-centric trips, from Kedarnath in Uttarakhand to Mahabalipuram in Tamil Nadu. A post-Covid reality check and pivot toward faith, government-led temple-infrastructure development and better access to pilgrimage cities is redefining India’s tourism sector

India’s pilgrimage business is booming, with choppers for the rich and dorm beds for the poor. But the days of wooing foreigners to the Taj, Jaisalmer, and Palace on Wheels are over. In Modi’s decade, the priority has shifted to the domestic base.