Welcome to the Sunil Abraham Project (TSAP). This space brings together notes, essays, research, and reflections on technology, policy, and society. It aims to make knowledge freely accessible, encourage collaborative learning, and preserve insights.
The project reflects years of engagement with digital rights, open technology, and social research in India and beyond. It seeks to connect individual thought with public understanding, bridging ideas across disciplines and communities. Each page is designed for clarity, readability, and reuse, keeping the focus on substance rather than design.
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Rev. Athanasius Mathen Abraham Ayrookuzhiel (1933–1996) was an Indian theologian, priest, and scholar whose work bridged faith, culture, and social justice. Educated in philosophy and theology in Pune, Rome, and Oxford, he combined pastoral life with a deep interest in the moral and social struggles of ordinary people. His ministry in the Church of England and later in India reflected a conviction that religion must respond to the realities of oppression and inequality.
After returning to India, he joined the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society in Bangalore, where he became Associate Director. Working closely with theologian M. M. Thomas, he explored how Christian thought could engage with caste and class through the lived experiences of Dalit communities. His research on folk religion, ritual, and oral traditions offered new ways of understanding theology as a form of cultural expression and resistance.
Among his major works are The Sacred in Popular Hinduism, Swami Anand Thirth: Untouchability, Gandhian Solution on Trial, and the posthumous Essays on Dalits, Religion, and Liberation. Until his death in 1996, Ayrookuzhiel remained dedicated to a theology rooted in the struggles of the marginalised—a vision that continues to shape Indian Christian and social thought.
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Sunil Abraham (IAST: Sunīl Ābrahām; IPA: suːˈniːl ˈɑːbrəˌhɑːm, born 17 June 1973) is an Indian internet researcher, public policy advocate, and social entrepreneur known for his work at the intersection of technology, society, and governance.
Sunil is a co-founder and former executive director of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bangalore-based non-profit research organisation established in 2008 to explore the relationship between the internet and social change. CIS brings together scholars, technologists, and activists to study issues such as internet governance, privacy, accessibility, and freedom of expression.
In 1998, he co-founded Mahiti Infotech, a social enterprise designed to make technology affordable and effective for the voluntary sector through Free and Open Source Software (FOSS). Under his leadership, Mahiti has supported hundreds of civil society organisations with digital tools, training, and open technology solutions.
His contributions extend to advising governments, UN agencies, and advocacy groups on open standards, internet policy, and digital rights. A frequent lecturer and writer, Sunil's work highlights issues of openness, equity, and accountability in technology. His lifelong mission remains to ensure that innovation strengthens democracy and social inclusion rather than deepening inequality.
Read full biography...This talk explores Aadhaar from a technical angle. It examines how biometrics work as identification and authentication tools, looks at the UIDAI's claims of openness, and discusses alternative identity system designs that could offer the benefits of digital identity without the risks of centralised biometric databases.
Sunil posted this video on 𝕏 (then known as Twitter) on 17 October 2016 with the note: "Dear #FriendWithoutAadhaar — If you have an hour to waste. Please watch this:". It has remained pinned since then, as the debate around Aadhaar continues to be relevant and important.
... that the concept of religious colonisation was used by theologian A. M. A. Ayrookuzhiel to describe how Dalit gods and myths were absorbed into a Brahmanical order?
... that the movement Students for Peace (1993) brought together 5,000 students on Bangalore's M. G. Road for a candlelight protest promoting unity and non-violence after the Ayodhya and Bombay riots?
... that Aadhaar reverses the logic of transparency — making citizens visible to the state while keeping the state opaque?
... that India's 2011 Intermediaries Guidelines require online platforms to remove content within 36 hours of a complaint, creating a culture of over-compliance and silent censorship?
... that the Shreya Singhal judgment (2015) marked a significant doctrinal shift in Indian law, moving from a 'tendency' test to an 'imminence' test when judging if speech incites violence?
... that intermediary liability law has been described as a form of 'private censorship', since platforms can decide what stays online without clear legal transparency requirements?
... that the policy brief Artificial Intelligence: A Full-Spectrum Regulatory Challenge (2019) rejects one-size-fits-all AI ethics and instead proposes context-specific regulation based on who uses the technology and the harm it can cause?
This project serves as a living documentation space for research, writing, and reflection. This is built to create, organise, and publish documentation in a structured yet flexible manner, enabling continuous learning and open exchange of ideas.
It aims to:
This documentation evolves over time, not as a static archive, but as a continuous process of thinking, writing, and sharing.
Whether you are a researcher, student, practitioner, or reader exploring questions of openness, equity, and digital transformation, this documentation offers a growing archive of material to study, share, and build upon.
Read more...Content are released under the Creative Commons Attribution–ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) licence, unless otherwise stated. You are free to share and adapt this material with proper attribution.