Why I Pirate.
I pirate. I openly state that I pirate. You cannot do anything about it. I pirate not because I want to make the life of small indie creators and movie/music artists more miserable, but because the books I read are not available to download. Now, you might just think "Oh, that's not that bad". But really, I am doing what the millions of other pirates are doing. So that must make me a bad person, right?
Well, the answer is quite complex. I want to learn. That is it. That is the reason I pirate.
You see, I pirate books that are unavailable, unaffordable, or unjustly locked away. Academic texts priced at ₹3000 or more, when all I need is a single chapter for a test next week. Research papers behind paywalls thicker than bureaucratic concrete. Textbooks that haven’t been updated in years, but still demand payment like they’re fresh off the press. This is broken. This is unaccetable. Knowledge should be free, that should be the bare minimum of this new world.
Besides, I do not pirate for pleasure. I pirate for access. I’m not downloading the latest Marvel movie. I’m not ripping off indie game developers on itch.io. I’m not stealing an artist’s income from Bandcamp. Or you know, fair.
So what does that make me? A thief? Or a student with no other choice?
You tell me. Because I’m not here to glorify piracy. But I’m also not going to be shamed into silence for doing what half the world does in secret — especially when it’s the only way I can learn, grow, and compete.
Yes, piracy can be harmful. Yes, it can be unethical. But context matters. Intent matters. And systems that force people to choose between ignorance and illegality? Those systems are broken, not the people navigating them.
If I had another way that was accessible for me at a low cost, I'd take it. But until that happens, until knowledge is truly free, until books aren’t locked behind publishers, until digital education is democratized
I’ll keep doing what I need to do.
Call me what you want. But I know why I do it. And I’m not sorry.