Why can't NRIs see the Gujarat govt website supposedly meant for them?

Neeraj Nanda

By Rajiv Shah

In continuation of my previous blog, my friend in Melbourne, Neeraj Nanda, on reading it, tried to see if a Gujarat government site of the General Administration Department (GAD), which I opened sitting in Ahmedabad, is opening in Australia, too. Ironically, this site introduces itself as “Towards Smart Governance: Department’s main objectives lay strong foundations for citizens and fulfill their expectations and gain trust by finding measures through effective and responsive administration”.

The site, interestingly, has photographs of Gujarat chief secretary Anil Mukim, additional chief secretary (personnel) Kamal Dayani, and secretary (administrative reforms and training/non-resident Indians) Dhanjay Dwivedi, among others, in the right-hand panel. Despite the fact that the NRI secretary is one of the top three in the GAD list, my NRI friend failed to open the site!

Nanda phoned me up – of course on WhatApp – to tell me I was right. The Gujarat government sites were not opening. Editing South Asian Times from Melbourne, he sent me across a screenshot to confirm the message he got – that this site “can’t be reached” and that it is taking “too long to respond”. Nanda wondered, why was the state government – calling itself “smart” and a “model” for the rest of India – had “fire-walled” the its sites for countries other than India.
“We are interested in finding out what is happening in India, particularly in Gujarat, from where India’s Prime Minister and Home Minister hail, and if the state government does not wish showcase what it is doing, then what is the point?”, he asked. “Is it a technical glitch or are they afraid of the state government sites might perhaps be hacked? Don’t they have good software engineers to take care of the issue?”

I smiled, but didn’t respond. Even in 2016, when I first wrote a piece on the state government sites were not opening in countries other than India, I had approached Nanda to find out whether this was true for Australia, and he immediately responded saying, I was right. He agreed, things have not changed over the last five years, but wondered: “Why?”
I scratched my head, and decided to see if the state government’s propaganda site, Directorate of Information, was available elsewhere in the world. I put the site address in GeoPeeker, which tells me which places in the world a particular site could be seen. Of the six spots that it scanned today, Singapore, Brazil, Virginia, California, Ireland and Australia, it could be opened only in Virginia, on the eastern coast of the USA.

Comments

Telangana government urged to stop 'unconstitutional' relocation of Chenchu tribes

By A Representative The Nallamalla forests are witnessing a renewed surge of indigenous resistance as the Chenchu adivasis , a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), have formally launched the Chenchu Solidarity Forum (CSF) on the eve of World Earth Day to combat what they describe as unlawful and forced relocation from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve .

Kolkata dialogue flags policy and finance deficit in wetland sustainability

By A Representative Wetlands were the focus of India–Germany climate talks in Kolkata, where experts from government, business, and civil society stressed both their ecological importance and the urgent need for stronger conservation frameworks.

Dhandhuka violence: Gujarat minority group seeks judicial action, cites targeted arson

By A Representative The Minority Coordination Committee (MCC) Gujarat has written to the Director General of Police seeking judicial action in connection with recent violence in Dhandhuka town of Ahmedabad district, alleging targeted attacks on properties belonging to members of the Muslim community following a fatal altercation between two bike riders on April 18.

Cracks in Gujarat model? Surat’s exodus reveals precarity behind prosperity claims

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The return of migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, particularly from Gujarat, was inevitable. Gujarat has long been showcased as the epitome of “infrastructure” and the business-friendly Modi model. Yet, when governments become business-friendly, they require the poor to serve them—while keeping them precarious, unable to stabilize, demand fair wages, or assert their rights. The agenda is clear: workers must remain grateful for whatever crumbs the Seth ji offers.

'Fraudulent': Ex-civil servants urge President to halt Odisha tribal land dispossession

By A Representative A collective of 81 retired civil servants from the Constitutional Conduct Group has written to the President of India expressing alarm over what they describe as the wrongful dispossession of tribal lands in Odisha’s Rayagada district. The letter, dated April 19, 2026, highlights violent clashes in Kantamal village where police personnel reportedly injured over 70 tribal residents attempting to protect their community rights.

India 'violating international law obligations' over Israel ties: UN rapporteur

By A Representative Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, has alleged that India is “violating its obligations under international law” through its continued association with Israel, including defence ties and alleged arms exports during the ongoing conflict in Gaza.

Chromatographies of the self: Gender, labour, and resistance in Deepti Kushwah's verse

By Ravi Ranjan* Any sensitive reader of contemporary Hindi poetry will find it impossible to overlook the eight poems by Deepti Kushwah recently published in Samalochan . This suite—comprising works such as ‘Ekākelī ābha’ (A Solitary Radiance), ‘Praśna mem camaktā huā’ (Glowing in the Question), and ‘Ek ankahī tapis’ (An Unspoken Heat)—constructs a multidimensional collage where colour transcends mere visual experience.

The soundtrack of resistance: How 'Sada Sada Ya Nabi' is fueling the Iran war

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* The Persian track “ Sada Sada Ya Nabi ye ” by Hossein Sotoodeh has taken the world by storm. This viral media has cut across linguistic barriers to achieve cult status, reaching over 10 million views. The electrifying music and passionate rendition by the Iranian singer have resonated across the globe, particularly as the high-intensity military conflict involving Iran entered its second month in March 2026.

Why Tamil Nadu, Periyar, and the Dravidian model aren't just regional phenomena

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The election campaign in Tamil Nadu this season is strikingly different. The alliance led by the DMK is consistently referred to as the “ DMK alliance ,” not the “INDIA alliance.” This distinction is unsurprising given the state’s history: Tamil Nadu remains the only state to decisively reject “national” parties. The AIADMK’s surrender to the BJP after J. Jayalalithaa ’s death represents, in many ways, a betrayal of the politics of Tamil identity—an identity Periyar envisioned as Dravidian, not narrowly Tamil.

Search This Blog