Mannika Chopra is a New Delhi-based media columnist and contributor to The Tribune, Hindustan and The Statesman. She is also involved in setting up women media collectives and mentors international journalism students visiting India.
Early this month, newspaper offices in Indian-controlled
Kashmir received a note warning journalists to be more supportive of the
Kashmir independence movement, according to the leading national daily, The Times of India, citing
a news agency in the state's summer capital, Srinagar. No militants took
responsibility this time, but in mid-March insurgent groups issued a joint message
that urged journalists to "highlight the pain and suffering of Kashmiris
because of oppressive state policies."
To many in the Indian media community, the arrest of independent
journalist Syed Mohammad Kazmi by the Delhi police's Special Cell on March 6
for his alleged involvement in a bombing brings back troublesome memories.
Just how free should the Internet be in India? And whose job
is it to police the Web?
Two recent court cases turn on these questions and, more
specifically, whether Internet companies have a responsibility to filter
content. In a country where Internet usage is growing exponentially, but where
the scars of communal violence, terrorism, and identity politics are fresh, the
answers are likely to have deep
ramifications for years to come.
Because of criticism from Hindu fundamentalists, the showing of a documentary by filmmaker Sanjay Kak at the
Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce in Pune has been indefinitely postponed.
The conservative student organization Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parisha
protested Kak's film, "Jashn-e-Azadi" (How we celebrate freedom), which is
critical of the Indian army's role in Kashmir. In fact, the whole conference,
scheduled to start Friday, has been postponed, according to the investigative
magazine Tehelka
and the BBC.
The case of a cartoonist charged with treason and offending
India's national sentiments reflects a growing debate over what constitutes
freedom of expression in India. His accusers argue that while it is permissible
to make fun of politicians, you cannot make fun of the state. Not everyone
agrees.
As Internet penetration deepens, largely religiously and
socially conservative India is struggling to cope with concerns about
controversial web content and its easy accessibility to a vast population, all
with little oversight. Local courts have become the launching point for some of
the anti-Web offensives.
Amid a raging debate on Internet freedom and censorship in India, members of the government met last week with a clutch of website operators, including representatives of Yahoo, Google, Facebook and Microsoft. In a meeting scheduled to address a wider plan to leverage social media to empower the government, it's unclear whether the touchy subject of filtering content was addressed, and the government said the meeting's tone was conciliatory. In any case, there has as yet been no resolution of the question of who should be responsible for filtering content deemed offensive, or how such a determination should be made
Retired Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju is shaking
things up at the Press Council of India, where he was appointed chairman in October.
The statutory body, mandated to look at media freedom and address complaints
against the print media since 1966, has often been criticized for
ineffectiveness, its role limited to admonishing news outlets.
Do you believe the free flow of information must be protected? Sign the #RightToReport petition and demand that President Obama immediately:
1. Issue a presidential policy directive prohibiting the hacking and surveillance of journalists and media organizations.
2. Limit aggressive prosecutions that ensnare journalists and intimidate whistleblowers.
3. Prevent the harassment of journalists at the U.S. border.
Or click here to see the full petition, and join leading journalists like Christiane Amanpour, The Guardian’s Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the AP Kathleen Carroll, and Arianna Huffington in signing on.
