India’s Fraught Push for Digital Decolonization

Will the dream of indigenous technology be co-opted for political control?

Four men are standing in front of a display of silver laptops. November 24, 2025, 10:24 AM Comment icon View Comments ( )

India’s government is making a high-profile push to turn the country’s Swadeshi, or self-sufficiency, tech dream into reality. In October, Home Minister Amit Shah announced that he was switching to Zoho Mail, an email service from the Chennai-based Zoho Corp. He joined Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw , Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan , and 1.2 million government employees on the platform.

The government has framed its renewed push for homespun technology as part of a broader campaign against a global digita

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