Commentaries

The Bombay High Court order upholding the suspension of TISS scholar KS Ramadas raises important questions about the extent of free speech allowed to students.  The Bombay High Court order upholding the two-year suspension of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) scholar KS Ramadas, despite UGC guidelines that do allow the right to free expression, […] Read More

While sweeping provisions with hefty fines and jail terms are hugely problematic, the drafting of the document without broader consultation is equally troubling.  – By Sanjeev Satgainya On January 30, as Nepal marked Martyrs’ Day to honor those who sacrificed their lives for democracy, a debate raged over the government’s latest move that could potentially […] Read More

by Timothy Koskie* (Republished from The Conversation )** When Pavel Durov arrived in France on his private jet last Saturday, he was greeted by police who promptly arrested him. As the founder of the direct messaging platform Telegram, he was accused of facilitating the widespread crimes committed on it. The following day, a French judge […] Read More

Note: The article “Prajwal Revanna Case, Sexual Violence & Leaked Videos : Tackling the Continuing Arc of Abuse” by technologist Rohini Lakshané, gathered widespread attention as it dealt with the pernicious issue of viral videos of abusive sexual content and how to curb its harm. Free Speech Collective is grateful to Vikas MK and Arun […] Read More

Note: The article “Prajwal Revanna Case, Sexual Violence & Leaked Videos : Tackling the Continuing Arc of Abuse” by technologist Rohini Lakshané*, gathered widespread attention as it dealt with the pernicious issue of viral videos of abusive sexual content and how to curb its harm. Free Speech Collective is grateful to Joy Bhattacherjee** for this […] Read More

(Editorial, PUCL Bulletin, Aug 01, 2024. Reprinted with permission) Erasure of Evidence of an Undeclared Emergency  The struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting                                                                                                        – Milan Kundera On 12th June, 2024,  the Government of India came out with a gazette notification, in which it declared  25th June as “Samvidhan Hatya Divas” (literally […] Read More

Delhi High Court orders Take Down of ‘False and Malicious’ Reports The Delhi High Court, in an ad interim injunction, has ordered that nine false, malicious and defamatory URLs of reports and posts on television channels Karma News and Jana TV and newspaper Janambhumi, be removed by July 25, 2024. A commentary by FSC. For […] Read More

Bebaak Collective’s report, Behind the Pixels: Social Silencing and Isolation of Indian Muslims in the Online Public, report throws light on the nature and prevalence of digital hate and violence against women. It documents and understands the ways in which Indian Muslims, particularly Muslim women, are being subjected to constant humiliation and forced into isolation […] Read More

Former Member of Parliament Prajwal Revanna is in jail, accused of rape and sexual assault by multiple women, but thousands of videos of the alleged assaults are freely available. Technologist Rohini Lakshané* explains how the free circulation of abusive content can be reduced. ‘Pen drive case’, as some news outlets are calling it, is a […] Read More

How people with limited journalistic understanding are ruling television newsrooms. By Kajal Iyer* In the past, which now seems rather distant, a ‘consulting editor’ in a newspaper or a television channel referred to someone who had years of experience or a specific expertise but he or she had a variety of pursuits and did not […] Read More

By Manish Modi Do bans have a place in a democracy? Especially in a secular democratic republic like India? Bans only provide a stage for macho posturing and blatant bullying, which in any case happens frequently enough on its own. Why give the bullies another excuse? Good governance means taking care of law and order […] Read More

With literally no serious debate and a deafening silence on important issues, why is media coverage so dismal, asks Kajal Iyer. This past week, three important new criminal laws sailed through the Lok Sabha with nary a concern. A few days before, an attack took place in the Parliament and opposition leaders were suspended for […] Read More

Prabir Purkayastha, founder editor of the news portal, ‘Newsclick’, was arrested on Oct 4, 2023, under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, along with the Human Resources head of the company, Amit Chakrabarty, after Delhi police raided more than 30 journalists in New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. The raids and the arrest followed the […] Read More

Welcome to Kashmir! The tourist paradise! What do we see in Kashmir? What do we hear? What do we know of this beautiful paradise on Earth? A Free Speech Collective campaign for World Press Freedom Day, May 3, 2023 Media Freedom in Kashmir after Art.370 abrogation What is the state of media freedom in Kashmir […] Read More

Even as the Supreme Court examines the issues raised in petitions against hate speech by hindutva organisations in Maharashtra, sections of the media continue to broadcast programmes and publish reports that seek to misrepresent, disinform and openly incite bias or hate. Complaints have been lodged with various authorities against these media. Here are a couple […] Read More

The UN-observed International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists on Nov 2 marks the struggle for justice for the killings of scores of journalists across the world. The UN reports that, between 2006 and 2020, over 1,200 journalists have been killed for reporting the news and bringing information to the public. Other attacks, including kidnapping, […] Read More