Legal, political & technological developments set up year long debate on free speech in India
Morung Express News
Dimapur | January 17
In 2015, government agencies in India played a “hyperactive” role in censoring the expression of opinion and information.
Summing up the role played by state agencies in censoring information, a recent report from the media watchdog website, The Hoot stated: “between the Central Board of Film Certification, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Ministry of Home Affairs, a hyperactive government did more than its share of censorship and policing.”
It further informed that the there were 21 films censored, 4 instances of censorship of broadcast media, 3 instances of censorship of print media, 2 instances of censorship of music, and 13 instances of censorship of cyber media.
The report slammed the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry and censured it for becoming an “image manager for the government’s leaders and a censor rather than a provider of information.”
It cited how the I&B Ministry resorted to bans on certain media on various grounds. It particularly referred to the ministry banning a documentary on beef and issuing notice to a Gujarat channel for sullying the PM’s image.
The report further mentioned that Tamil Nadu based channel Sthiyam TV received a show cause notice alleging that 2 of their broadcasts had portrayed Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in poor light.
3 channels were issued show cause notice on why they should not face action for Yakub Memon execution coverage. The government had also issued advisory to news channels not to telecast the documentary ‘India’s Daughter’ and served legal notice to the BBC for airing the film. Regarding the resistance of students of the Film and Television Institute of India to the appointment of a director at the international film festival of india, the ministry decided to drop the student section at the festival.
The Hindu had reported that the I&B Ministry will also monitor footage showing the IB Minister and Minister for IB State, which is an unprecedented move, the Hoot report said.
Meanwhile, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) censored some 21 films over the year, one of which came in for 218 cuts. The CBFC made most news for shortening the duration of a James Bond kiss. Consequently on the first day of 2016, the government announced a 6 member panel to review the functioning of the CBFC.
The report noted that Leela Samson had resigned on January 16 as Chairperson of the CBFC reportedly over interference, coercion and corruption of panel members and offices who are appointed by the Ministry. 9 members resigned the day after in show of support.
Two cases from the North East region highlighted by the report included how on November 23, newspapers in Nagaland carried blank editorials to register misgivings at a directive of the Assam Rifles that they should not cover banned groups. It further cited that on May 29, the Meghalaya High Court imposed ban on media coverage of bandh calls issued by insurgent groups.
Meanwhile, 2015 also saw India witness several developments that involved censorship of information on the internet.
On May 9, the Nagaland government blocked internet and mobile data services and banned circulation of videos and photographs regarding the lynching of a person by a mob in Dimapur on March 5.
On September 24, internet services were suspended in Jammu and Kashmir to “stop miscreants from posting objectionable pictures” of beef slaughter during the Eid festival. The ban on internet was re-imposed in November for the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On September 2, the internet was blocked in Manipur after outbreak of violence in Churanchandpur Further on December 21, the Rajasthan government blocked internet services in some districts after communal clashes in the districts of Nagaur, Dungarpur, Udaipur, Bhilwara and other parts of the state.
The report further stated that Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Communications had informed Parliament that the government has blocked 844 social media pages till November under the IT Act.
With these developments, the report observed that India in 2015 saw several legal, political and technological developments that set the tone for issues on free speech to be debated all year round.
