3 Jan 2013 | Asia and Pacific, India
From journalists murdered for chasing stories of illegal mining to exploding packages delivered to newspaper offices, India battled with a range of free expression and censorship issues in 2012, a report released this week by media watchdog The Hoot shows.
Harassment in the form of stone-throwing, physical assault and even bullets was meted out to journalists exposing the underbelly of India, especially when reporting on cases of deep corruption by politicians.
The arts also saw censorship in the form of cancelled shows due to objections of themes such as homosexuality, and the much-publicised cancelled visit of Salman Rushdie to the Jaipur Literary Festival due to “security concerns”.
Section 66A of the IT Act 2000 also made headlines when ordinary citizens were arrested for criticising politicians on social media platforms, leading to massive public outrage.
Read the full report here
More on this story:
Salil Tripathi on why India must choose to defend free speech
The threat of colonial-era sedition laws
3 Jan 2013 | Africa
David Cecil
David Cecil, who faced jail for putting on a “gay” play, has seen charges dropped after an Index campaign. Milana Knezevic reports (more…)
1 Jan 2013 | Events
Date: Tues 15 January, 6-8pm
Venue: Seminar Hall, 1st floor, the India International Centre, Delhi
Tickets: Please contact [email protected]
Index is partnering with the Editors Guild of India and the India International Centre for a debate on the subject, ‘Is freedom of expression under threat in the digital age?’ Who, if anyone, can or should police the web? How do we protect freedom of expression online in the face of demands to respect religious, political and cultural sensititivies? How do we stop new technology turning the web into a snoopers’ paradise for police and governments?
Chaired by renowned journalist and editor TN Ninan, our panel will include Ajit Balakrishnan (founder and Chief Executive of rediff.com), Sunil Abraham (Executive Director of the Centre for Internet and Society), Kirsty Hughes (CEO of Index on Censorship), Lokman Tsui (Policy Advisor to Google, Asia Pacific) and Professor Timothy Garton Ash (Director of Free Speech Debate at Oxford University).
This is the first in a series of international events organised by Index on Censorship, designed to raise the issue of free expression in key countries around the world.
This event is made possible by the generous sponsorship of SAGE India. We are very grateful for their support.
Watch the event live here at 18:30 IST and 12:30 GMT.
