The Indian chapter of South Asian Women in Media (SAWM) has released a statement condemning the Indian government’s clampdown on select domestic media organisations and journalists in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack and consequent military actions between India and Pakistan.
“It is with great alarm that the South Asian Women in Media (SAWM, India chapter) notes the unwarranted action of blocking some journalists and news websites from disseminating information over the last few days. The act is a serious subversion of the freedom of the press, especially at a critical time in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terrorist attack, when the citizens of the country deserve credible information on ongoing action. SAWM (India chapter) is shocked at the move and outrightly condemns it,” says the statement.
It adds that journalists are a vital source of informing the public of the decisions made by their government and that it is the public’s right to remain well-informed during a conflict. Thus, suppressing an independent media infringes upon citizen rights, too.
Further, the Indian government’s censorship appears to be selective, primarily targeting media platforms and journalists that critique government actions and policies, including important names from Kashmir.
It says: “Anuradha Bhasin, who is a senior journalist from Jammu & Kashmir and a member of SAWM, found that her X account was withheld. Similarly, the X accounts of other Kashmir-based journalists and organizations like Muzamil Jaleel and Maktoob Media were withheld. BBC Urdu’s account has also been withheld by X in India.”
This comes against a backdrop when mainstream television channels in India have sensationalized India’s military operations and have telecast misinformation about the situation without repercussion or censorship from the Indian government.
On May 8, X (formerly Twitter) had announced that it had received “executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block 8,000 accounts in India.”
While disagreeing with the demands, X had also said through its Global Government Affairs handle that India had not specified “which posts from the account have violated India’s local laws. For a significant number of accounts, we did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts.”
The next day, news website The Wire announced that the Government of India had blocked access to its website across India. Their statement added that they were informed by Internet Service Providers that the action is as per the order of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology under the IT Act, 2000.
The SAWM statement also noted that, earlier, Kashmir-based journalist Hilal Mir was detained, allegedly for his posts on social media regarding the terror attack in Pahalgam.
“These cases present an unfortunate trend of arbitrary action against the media. Moreover, the opacity regarding the online suppression of information, with the government not having put the orders out in the public domain, adds another layer of concern for the media. We stand against any move to curtail the freedom of the press. As the fourth pillar of democracy, we take our contribution to India and the world with unwavering responsibility guided by our conscience and commitment. We urge the government to be transparent about its actions and lift the censorship immediately,” said the statement.
South Asia Union 
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