173. @INCIndia BANNED Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's play Mahesh and Rabindranath Tagore's plays Gora and Bisarjan.
174. @INCIndia BANNED fourth part of Utpal Dutt's serial, Insurgent Theatre.
175. @INCIndia BANNED dozens of channels for, among other things, showing "obscene and women degrading content" that for it included lingerie, Hawas, Sizzling Hits. (via @centerofright)
176. @INCIndia BANNED Balraj Sahni's iconic play Jadoo ki Kursi that lampooned Nehru.
180. @INCIndia BANNED import of Masani's biography of Indira Gandhi; pressurised the publisher. One objection related to treatment of Mrs Gandhi's taste in clothes. Book released only after the Emergency. (via @prasannavishy)
186. @INCIndia initially CENSORED, REFUSED to broadcast on national television the late Shashi Kapoor's iconic and landmark film New Delhi Times, directed by @rameshfilms. indiancine.ma/AACM/info
187. @INCIndia BANS @TimesNow from attending @OfficeOfRG's press conference.
188. @INCIndia's Mani Shankar Aiyar, who collected money for the Chinese during the 1962 war - an allegation denied by him - ORDERED the removal of a plaque commemorating VD Savarkar at the jail where he spent a decade in solitary confinement. The plaque was REMOVED.
204. @INCIndia CM ORDERED a ban on giving advertisements to a newspaper because he was unhappy with its news reports and coverage. @INCIndia DEFENDED its action, saying that the news reports were anti-national. books.google.co.in/books?id=0vekq…
207. @INCIndia CONFISCATED copies of the Dalit magazine Aakrosh, ARRESTED four persons, including the Editor for publishing poems critical of the Swaminarayan sect in the wake of the burning alive of a Dalit. books.google.co.in/books?id=0vekq…
208. @INCIndia BANNED the book Oppression in Punjab, got CFD secretary ARRESTED, filed SEDITION charges against the authors of the book. Read the book here: unipune.ac.in/snc/cssh/Human…
209. CBFC under @INCIndia BANNED Ashvin Kumar’s film Inshallah, Football. It went on to win a National Award after the ban was later revoked.
210. CBFC under @INCIndia BANNED Nobel nominee @Callum_Macrae's acclaimed documentary No Fire Zone because it could have "strained friendly relations between India and Sri Lanka." blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/…
211. CBFC under @INCIndia BANNED Shyam Benegal's iconic film Nishant despite it being India's official entry to the Cannes Film Festival. Film was cleared after Benegal personally persuaded Indira Gandhi to watch it.
213. @INCIndia lodges a complaint under section 66 with Bhopal Police cyber cell against BJP spokesperson @SureshNakhua for circulating a spoof video that parodied @RahulGandhi.
215. @INCIndia BLOCKED appointment of judges to the Supreme Court if they were in ANY WAY associated with the ideology of @RSSorg, or even so much as attended the funeral of an RSS person. [From Supreme Whispers, Chandrachud, 2018]
216. @INCIndia asked its members to take a “positive stand AGAINST criticism" of Nehru and "emphasised that those who criticise him are TRAITORS.”
217. @INCIndia's Nehru unsubscribed and BANNED @timesofindia from his house because he thought they were on a mission to criticise him. He DEMANDED an apology from Blitz for reporting that Indira had received expensive sarees from an unknown businessman. [Reminiscences, Mathai]
218. @INCIndia's Nehru told @htTweets editor that he was the LOWEST form of human existence. Nehru then approached the employer and got the editor FIRED, his column BANNED. Possibly the first (non-digital) case of tagging the employer. [Reminiscences of the Nehru Age, Mathai]
219. @INCIndia's Sonia Gandhi DEMANDED all studies coming out of Rajiv Gandhi Institute for Contemporary Research be politically vetted after a study ranked Gujarat No. 1 in economic freedom. The director, @bibekdebroy, REFUSED, said he was made to QUIT. huffingtonpost.in/2015/11/05/bib…
221. @INCIndia ORDERED massive raids at the @IndianExpress building and its owner R Goenka's guesthouse, incensed at the paper's investigative reports on Reliance-Govt nexus courtesy Arun Shourie & @sgurumurthy who was ARRESTED under Official Secrets Act. nytimes.com/1987/09/13/wor…
222. @INCIndia ORDERED the COMPLETE takeover of the @IndianExpress building & press after the raids [following @sgurumurthy's reports] that were widely condemned. The UNPRECEDENTED annexation of the entire building was in VIOLATION of Supreme Court orders. books.google.co.in/books?id=hDmn6…
224. @INCIndia's Pandey & Pandey HIJACKED a plane carrying 126 passengers, shouting "Indira Gandhi Zindabad" and demanding that she be released & all cases against her withdrawn. @INCIndia REWARDED both Pandeys with election tickets. (h/t @NupurSharmaBJP) indiatoday.in/magazine/india…
225. @INCIndia comprehensively RIGGED the 1987 J&K elections through rampant malpractices, arrests, curfews; even recalling a defeated candidate (GM Shah) who had trudged back home dejected and declaring him the winner.
Here is @ShashiTharoor himself ADMITTING to the Rigging.
226. @INCIndia leaders file a petition in the National Herald Case (in which they stand accused of monumental fraud) to RESTRAIN @Swamy39 from tweeting, particularly the acronyms and sobriquets invented by him, like TDK and Buddhu. (via @jgopikrishnan70) financialexpress.com/india-news/nat…
230. @INCIndia's Indira Gandhi got @Swamy39 SACKED from his job just because she didn't like his books, theories, and ideas. Dr Swamy went to court and won. It took him 22 years.
231. @INCIndia government decides to pass a BARBARIC "Blasphemy Law" that makes the sacrilege of all religious texts punishable with LIFE IMPRISONMENT.
232. @INCIndia intimidated, hounded, harassed journalist @chitraSD while she investigated the Bofors Scam, resulting ultimately in her getting fired. forbes.com/forbes/1997/07…
233. @INCIndia (through Vincent George, PA to Sonia Gandhi) attempted to threaten and censor journalist @KanchanGupta for writing his Pioneer column Rome Rajya Vs Ram Rajya.
234. @INCIndia's Indira Gandhi hinted at crackdown on Marxism. (h/t @shakkuiyer)
235. @INCIndia wanted to BAN the Communists from taking part in democratic elections. (via @IndiaHistorypic)
236. @INCIndia's Nehru DISMISSED the first ever democratically elected Communist govt, of Kerala, in 1959. Congress was part of Vimochana Samaram, that instigated violent protests, police action. The US Ambassador went on record saying CIA FUNDED Cong to foment trouble in Kerala.
238. @INCIndia's PM Manmohan Singh personally SCOLDED, then ORDERED @PrannoyRoyNDTV to pull an @ndtv story (Ministers' report card) critical of the UPA. The story was ALTERED and criticism removed. ( h/t @iNiranjan86; @barugaru's Accidental Prime Minister) opindia.com/2018/09/senior…
@INCIndia's Kamal Nath disclosing to American officials his government's plans to ged rid of one of the staunchest critics of the Emergency, the legendary CR Irani of the newspaper @TheStatesmanLtd. wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/1…
241. @INCIndia and its leader Shaktisinh Gohil supported the BAN on Joseph Lelyveld's The Great Soul ordered by the then CM of Gujarat @narendramodi, calling it “perverse and baseless, and an insult to the father of the nation." Gohil also wanted to BURN Lelyveld's effigy.
242. @INCIndia's Law Minister M Veerappa Moily declared that the Central govt would BAN Joseph Lelyveld's The Great Soul. Both he and the Congress backtracked after an appeal by Mahatma Gandhi's grandson to not ban the book. dnaindia.com/india/report-c…
243. @INCIndia (UPA) either ignored the request or refused to give a No Objection Certificate to Peter Heehs' The Lives of Sri Aurobindo, that was BANNED by @Naveen_Odisha, despite a request by the High Court to "take a decision ASAP". (h/t @gchikermane) thefreelibrary.com/Sri+Aurobindo%…
245. @INCIndia objects to some scenes in the upcoming film Kedarnath, says the film violates the faith of crores of Hindus, DEMANDS some scenes be removed immediately. "NO ONE has the right to violate our beliefs." (h/t @NeerGopal) swarajyamag.com/insta/kedarnat…
247. @AkashvaniAIR under @INCIndia FIRED the iconic music director Hridaynath Mangeshkar for his musical composition because it was based on Veer Savarkar's Marathi song. (via @SrBehere)
248. @INCIndia's @IYCHimachal President files complaint against a man for his Facebook post on @RahulGandhi and Priyanka Vadra. Police file charges under the dreaded Section 295A. The accused would soon be arrested, says DSP Shukla, Himachal Police. news18.com/news/india/shi…
249. @INCIndia's Maharashtra Youth Congress President DEMANDS that #AccidentalPrimeMinister be shown to his party BEFORE release, or else they will NOT allow the film to be screened anywhere in case they disagree with some scenes. (via @NeerGopal)
250. @INCIndia workers DEMAND suspension of a school headmaster for calling CM Kamal Nath 'Daaku' (Dacoit). Within hours, the headmaster is SUSPENDED. (h/t @MeShivPrakash) timesnownews.com/india/article/…
251. @INCIndia workers workers storm in, disrupt the screening of the film The Accidental Prime Minister, vandalise the theatre, tear apart the screen; this on the day their leader @RahulGandhi speaks of rising intolerance in India. (h/t @AdvaitaKala) dnaindia.com/india/report-c…
253. @INCIndia, holding power at the Centre, stayed SILENT when, not one, not a hundred, but EIGHT-THOUSAND activists were charged under the dreaded Sec 124 for SEDITION by a State govt. (h/t @abhijitmajumder) [Note: violation-count stays same as it wasn't the INC that charged.]
255. @INCIndia threatens defamation suit against Rocky Mittal for his song "Sonia Ka Baccha Akal Ka Kaccha". Cong Mahila Pradesh Chief had earlier demanded that Mittal be sacked; threatened to burn his effigy. (h/t @LillyMaryPinto)
256. For calling Nehru a traitor, and accusing the Congress of not addressing poverty, @INCIndia CHARGED Ram Nandan with SEDITION under the dreaded Sec 124A. He was imprisoned for THREE YEARS.
257. @INCIndia charged freedom-fighter Kedar Nath for SEDITION under the dreaded Sec 124A, for asking people to "throw these Congressi goondas from their gaddi" because they were corrupt and impeding land distribution. Kedar Nath was jailed for ONE YEAR. indiankanoon.org/doc/111867/
259. @INCIndia's @RahulGandhi vows to REMOVE all individuals who have links to the @RSSorg, from EVERY institution, once the Congress comes to power. (h/t @rgchennai)
260. @INCIndia workers and leaders shouting the slogan Chowkidar-Chor-Hai (Modi is a thief) mercilessly THRASH an onlooker (a heart patient) who asked them Chowkidar-kyon-chor-hai (Why is Modi a thief). (h/t @TheSamirAbbas)
263. @INCIndia brazenly reinstates its lumpen goons who VICIOUSLY abused and threatened their own party spokesperson in an open meeting. Suspension order revoked in consultation with, or through the decision/intervention of, @JM_Scindia. (via @priyankac19)
264. @INCIndia workers during the time of the Rajiv Gandhi govt THRASHED a professor, blackened his face, got him ARRESTED, all for posing the factual exam question: "Which AIR station broadcast the sentence - Rajiv Gandhi Chor Hai?" (h/t @rahulroushan) opindia.com/2019/05/rajiv-…
265. @INCIndia government SUSPENDS university professor for his Facebook post predicting big win for the BJP in Lok Sabha polls, after a Youth Congress leader files a complaint. (h/t @whereismabeer) financialexpress.com/elections/kama…
268. Police under @INCIndia ARRESTS a man under the DREADED charge of sedition - yes, SEDITION - for his FB post on power-cuts in Chhattisgarh. They also apprehend and CHARGE a journalist under IPC 505 for writing about power blackouts. (h/t @iAnkurSingh) indiatoday.in/india/story/ch…
269. Police under @INCIndia registers an FIR against @Swamy39 for his alleged remarks that @RahulGandhi takes cocaine. Complaint was filed by @INCIndia district president under sec 511 that carries life imprisonment. [Representative image] news18.com/news/india/fir…
270. Police under @INCIndia serves notice, puts under surveillance, and warns a man to not tweet anything which is against the ideals of the Constitution. (h/t @kushal_mehra)
274. @INCIndia government in Punjab BANS the film 'Shooter'. CM @capt_amarinder ORDERS the police to initiate action against the producer. (via @rahulroushan)
275. @INCIndia and its leaders and workers, including minister Nitin Raut, call for arrest, file multiple FIRs against @republic owner and editor Arnab Goswami for his comments on Sonia Gandhi.
276. @INCIndia Youth Congress leader files an FIR in Congress-ruled State of Chhattisgarh against @BJP4India leader @TajinderBagga for his comments on Rajiv Gandhi, under the dreaded section 505 that carries imprisonment upto 3 years.
277. @INCIndia's AICC Legal department serves a legal notice to @firstpost and to @abhijitmajumder for his article "China jibes: Congress plays to English-speaking social media fans as grassroots support wanes".
278. @INCIndia's Home Minister @PChidambaram_IN called protesters and environmental activists non-violently protesting against the Kudankulam Nuclear Plant as ANTI-NATIONALS. More than 8000 activists were charged with SEDITION and WAGING WAR against India. indiatoday.in/india/video/ch…
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Any social media platform operating in India should have just ONE rule: "Anything you post here is subject to Indian laws and can be acted upon, never by us, but by Indian legal authorities."
Anything more is an instrument for control and prone to bias.
It is that simple.
Our Constitution doesn't guarantee absolute Freedom of Expression. It has spawned laws that are draconian and subjective and tailor-made for misuse.
But the monopoly of bias should rest with the Constitution not the platform.
I'd much rather a judge ban me than a platform.
Using "dehumanising" language against religious groups will now be Hate Speech.
So does Twitter consider dozens of verses, including 5:59, 7:166, 2:63, that dehumanise believers of other religions as apes, pigs, monkeys, rats, and cattle, as Hate Speech?
India needs immediate economic as well as structural reforms. We need to cut down on the fiscal deficit, move our labour force away from agriculture; invest more in healthcare and education. We need large scale privatisation.
It took a pandemic for us to realise that the Health of a nation overrides every other necessity. 137% increase in the Health budget is phenomenal. Fantastic news, this.
Remembering Sir CV Raman, born this day in 1888. Known for discovering the eponymous Raman Effect, his genius was reflected in diverse fields. He had the child's eye.
And here Sir CV Raman struts into @StPaulsLondon and emerges with the now iconic Nature paper, explaining the real reason behind the whispering-gallery phenomena, thereby disproving Lord Rayleigh.
And here is Sir CV Raman doing what he loved most - dress up as a magician on weekends and have children gather round him. His magic shows were all the rage.
He holds in his hand a quartz crystal. (From the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit, @iiscbangalore.)
Twitter is like a Public Sector Bank. Its losses mount year on year; the organisation is run by pompous individuals; the rules & regulations are confounding & absurd; the complaints are seldom heard; the decisions go mostly against your wishes; but everyone who hates it uses it.
The threat of censorship is worse than censorship; for it is better to be blind than to be looking constantly over your shoulder.
The Indian courts MUST step in and restore the sanctity of freedom of speech. They must step in and restore @Twitter to being just a platform.
We are living in a world where you believe what you see, but unfortunately what you see is written by those who see what they believe.
Rate of Crime against Dalits (2019, NCRB data; Chargesheet rate: 80%).
UP: 28.6
Kerala: 28.2
West Bengal: 0.6.
Well-done, Bengal. But Now the Kerala communists are in a bind. Do they tell & mock their Bengal comrades that Bengal doesn't report Dalit crimes whereas Kerala does?
Calling out selectivity is important because it exposes nefarious agendas. But it can never be an excuse for wrongful conduct by those calling it out.