Tag: censorship

Chris Hedges: The most important battle for press freedom in our time

If Assange is extradited and found guilty of publishing classified material, it will set a legal precedent that will effectively end national security reporting, allowing the government to use the Espionage Act to charge any reporter who possesses classified documents, and any whistleblower who leaks classified information, under the Espionage Act. For the past two… Read More Chris Hedges: The most important battle for press freedom in our time

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Bharat Bhushan – Fear factor: Corporates must resist intimidation

An alarming report by the news agency Reuters quotes corporate India to say “everyone is scared” of the Narendra Modi government and does not want to run afoul of it. It reported several industry executives claiming that “a public diatribe against two Indian business giants by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s officials and his ideological allies… Read More Bharat Bhushan – Fear factor: Corporates must resist intimidation

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Hannah Ellis-Petersen: Death threats sent to participants of US conference on Hindu nationalism

An academic conference in the US addressing Hindu nationalism is being targeted by rightwing Hindu groups, which have sent death threats to participants and forced several scholars to withdraw. The conference, titled Dismantling Global Hindutva, which is co-sponsored by more than 53 universities including Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Berkeley, the University of Chicago, the University… Read More Hannah Ellis-Petersen: Death threats sent to participants of US conference on Hindu nationalism

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Apoorvanand; Gauhar Raza: The bully that is destroying India’s academic culture

The withdrawal of Dr Hari Singh Gour University in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, from an international seminar on “Cultural and Linguistic Hurdles in the Achievement of Scientific Temper” due to bullying by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the local police must not be treated lightly. The university had approved the topic, the collaboration and the speakers,… Read More Apoorvanand; Gauhar Raza: The bully that is destroying India’s academic culture

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George Monbiot – Asymmetric force: Pegasus spyware is the latest tool autocrats are using to stay in power

Democracy depends on an equality of arms. If governments acquire political weapons unavailable to their opponents, they become harder to dislodge. They now possess so many that I begin to wonder how an efficient autocracy, once established, might ever again be overthrown. The Pegasus spyware, whose widespread use by governments the Guardian has helped reveal, is… Read More George Monbiot – Asymmetric force: Pegasus spyware is the latest tool autocrats are using to stay in power

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Tavleen Singh: History shows, raiding newspapers never works

Whipping the Indian media into obedience has been an important project of Narendra Modi’s government. Inconvenient journalists have lost jobs, been threatened by tax inspectors, charged with ‘anti-national’ activities and silenced in all sorts of other ways. But, the Income Tax raids on the offices of Dainik Bhaskar last week sets a scary new bar.… Read More Tavleen Singh: History shows, raiding newspapers never works

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Bharat Bhushan: Has government compromised national security through Pegasus? / Spyware: the export of self-censorship / Saudi Government used Pegasus to murder journalist

Where is the central repository of the leaked information located, and who controls it?   While it is par for the course for governments in India to put political opponents, media persons and diplomats under surveillance, the recent use of Israeli-origin Pegasus software may be particularly egregious. Its plug-and-play spyware converts a mobile phone into a… Read More Bharat Bhushan: Has government compromised national security through Pegasus? / Spyware: the export of self-censorship / Saudi Government used Pegasus to murder journalist

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Pegasus Project: Leak uncovers global abuse of cyber-surveillance weapon / Shoshana Zuboff: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

Human rights activists, journalists and lawyers across the world have been targeted by authoritarian governments using hacking software sold by the Israeli surveillance company NSO Group, according to an investigation into a massive data leak. The investigation by the Guardian and 16 other media organisations suggests widespread and continuing abuse of NSO’s hacking spyware, Pegasus,… Read More Pegasus Project: Leak uncovers global abuse of cyber-surveillance weapon / Shoshana Zuboff: The Age of Surveillance Capitalism

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Sahitya Akademi's so-called editorial 'death knell' for Gujarati writers' free expression / Litterateurs demand withdrawal of Gujarat Sahitya Akademi editorial

In a strongly-worded statement, more than 170 Gujarat cultural personalities, activists and academics have strongly protested against “threats” issued against Gujarati writers in the Gujarat Sahitya Academi journal “Shabdsrushti” through an anonymous writeup under the titled “No, This Is Not a Poem, It Is Misuse of a ‘Poem’ for Anarchy…” Supposedly an editorial, published, ironically on page… Read More Sahitya Akademi's so-called editorial 'death knell' for Gujarati writers' free expression / Litterateurs demand withdrawal of Gujarat Sahitya Akademi editorial

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LT GEN H S PANAG (RETD): Opposition weakened, Modi govt now fears domain expertise of retired security officers

The ‘Pension subject to future good conduct’ rule must be challenged in the courts and in the interim disregarded with contempt.    On 31 May, the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, which is headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, issued a gazette notification amending Rule 8 – Pension subject to future good conduct – of the… Read More LT GEN H S PANAG (RETD): Opposition weakened, Modi govt now fears domain expertise of retired security officers

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