NEW DELHI: The founders of some of India’s largest new-age technology companies have signed a petition urging PM Narendra Modi to ensure net neutrality in India, emphasising that failing to do so would hurt the very startups he champions.The petition, signed by about 700 entrepreneurs and addressed to Modi, offers extensive reasoning on why discriminatory treatment of content on the Internet would be a deterrent to the growth of India’s startup ecosystem. Signatories include Paytm’s Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Zomato’s Deepinder Goyal, GOQii’s Vishal Gondal, Prime Venture Partners’ Sanjay Swamy and Sharad Sharma of iSPIRT.The petition comes after criticism from some quarters that the government may have chosen to keep mum about the raging issue during the Start Up India event in the Capital on January 16 — where many of the signatories shared the dais with Modi.“We urge you to ensure that the recently announced initiative, Start Up India, addresses the concern of Net Neutrality, with clearly defined policies and firm rules,” the signatories said in the petition.Adding that the startup fraternity shares a common concern about discriminatory practices that harm an open Internet and their ability to innovate, they said, “We have turned to you because we believe that the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office) should come out strongly in support of safeguarding of the principle of net neutrality.”The letter, dated January 25, 2016, began circulating on Monday morning and gained traction quickly.By evening, about 1,400 people had signed the petition, including 700 startup founders, about 200 startup employees and 164 aspiring entrepreneurs.“We must not let the misdirection and private interests of large incumbent telecom or online service companies undermine the digital rise of Start Up India — and must push back against their efforts to frustrate the clear rules on net neutrality that we all need,” they said in the petition.India should not be a target for digital colonisation or gate-keeping but a significant hub powering the global Internet, they said.Stakeholders of the Indian Startup Fraternity, a significant number of whom have joined the ‘Savetheinternet’ campaign, urged the prime minister to “ensure that all wings of the government of India and relevant public agencies act to protect net neutrality”.A prominent investor, however, said he was surprised by the timing of the petition, saying it seemed an “afterthought”. “The larger point is why was it not raised and addressed at the main event,” said this person, asking not to be identified.A day after a road map for startups was announced by PM Modi at the Start Up India event, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh issued a statement saying the prime minister’s “silence on this vital issue (of net neutrality) is deafening”. In meetings that Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi has held with startups, the most important policy requirement expressed was the need to maintain the neutrality of the Internet between big business and startups, Ramesh said.Paytm’s Sharma said the topic of net neutrality was not broached during the January 16 event since there was no intention of “shadowing” the main announcements around the startup ecosystem. “Now that it is evident that the PM is in sync with the startup agenda, and there is no better champion of startups than the PM himself, we feel he can guide the decision-makers in the right direction,” Sharma said.Another signatory said the petition was a signal to politicians that they could lose the support of the startup community if they don’t back net neutrality.“Digital colonisation is a real risk. The only way to manage this risk and have free digital marketplace is to have right protective policies in place. This includes net neutrality, startup-friendly (intellectual property rights) and support for digital identity,” said Sharad Sharma, cofounder of software product think tank iSPIRT, which spearheaded the petition along with Savetheinternet campaign volunteers.