- India continue to claim to be a democracy, yet blocks free speech by censoring 16 Pakistani YouTube channels, major TV networks & celebrity social media accounts.
- Pakistan denies involvement in the Pahalgam attack and provides evidence, while India pressures the BBC over its coverage.
India imminently banned 16 Pakistani YouTube channels and several news outlets following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam (India-occupied Kashmir). The channels, including one with 14.6 million subscribers, were blocked for “spreading communally sensitive material, along with false, misleading narratives and misinformation targeting India, its armed forces, and security agencies”, claim India.
26 people tragically lost their lives in Kashmir, for which India blames Pakistan. Pakistan staunchly denies any involvement and presents accompanying evidence to support its claim.
In addition, India has blocked several social media pages of major Pakistani actors and made Pakistani entertainment channels inaccessible in India. This includes channels like HUM TV, ARY Digital, and Geo Entertainment, marking yet another escalation of India’s ongoing digital clampdown on cross-border content.
The Times of India reported that many Pakistani celebrity accounts were blocked in India, including those belonging to Mahira Khan (who has previously worked in the Bollywood film industry), Hania Aamir and Ali Zafar.
Users of social media platform X shared screenshots of the error message.
One Indian user responded, “Nuked their drama industry, both ARY DIGITAL and HUM TV have been banned.”
Another user showed disappointment:
Other channels which have been blocked are those run by Dawn, ARY, and Samaa, Bol, Geo News, as well as independent journalists and even cricket and podcast creators, including Irshad Bhatti, Raftar, The Pakistan Reference, Samaa Sports, GNN, Uzair Cricket, Umar Cheema Exclusive, Asma Shirazi, Muneeb Farooq, Suno News and Raazi Naama.
Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi voiced his frustration on Samaa TV, questioning why Pakistan is consistently blamed for atrocities with a lack of evidence. He also criticised the security measures of the Indian army.
However, not only is India silencing Pakistani voices but it’s also suppressing any opposition, including blocking prominent da’ee Mohammed Hijab’s YouTube channel. In a direct address to Indian Prime Minister Modi on X, Hijab affirms his unwavering commitment to speaking out against the injustice, oppression and plight of Indian and Kashmiri Muslims and declares that he will not be silenced.
Furthermore, the Indian Government penned a formal letter to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) conveying India’s strong objection on its coverage of the Pahalgam incident.
A spokesperson for the BBC stated that the organisation aimed to cover the incidents in Jammu and Kashmir with fairness, accuracy, and a sense of responsibility.
“We have included Prime Minister Modi’s response to the attacks prominently in our coverage. Our long-standing position, reflected in the BBC’s Editorial Guidelines, is to use the word terrorist with attribution. Anyone who has seen or listened to our coverage will have heard the word used in quotes and interviews,” the spokesperson said.
The Indian government continues to employ fascist tactics to silence opposition and manipulate how it is perceived both at home and on the global stage. Behind the mask of a so-called democracy lies a regime intolerant of criticism—where free speech is not protected, but persecuted.
In 2022, a chorus of voices, comprising European parliamentarians, IT experts, and officials, raised a resounding alarm regarding India’s persistent employment of troll farms across the digital world, exerting political influence and promoting Islamophobia. The venerated Meta whistleblower Sophie Zhang said that “India is embroiled in an escalating troll farm arms race.” Furthermore, from 2019-2022, the largest number of anti-Muslim tweets was in India.
