By Ranjona Banerji
“India for example, India is one of the countries which had many requests around the farmers protests, around particular journalists which were critical of the government. And it manifested in ways such as ‘We will shut Twitter down in India, ‘we would raid the homes of your employees’, ‘we will shut down your offices if you don’t follow suit’. And this is India, a democratic country.”
This is Jack Dorsey, founder and former owner of the social media platform Twitter, in a recent interview.
Before all the Clever Clogs jump into the argument, let’s make it clear than unlike all Clever Clogs, Jack Dorsey is far from perfect. He even went as far as to predict that billionaire Elon Musk would do a great job with Twitter, when Musk bought the platform. And all of us on Twitter know exactly how third-grade that prediction was.
But this is Dorsey on his experiences as the owner of Twitter. And he says that maximum demands for censorship of certain accounts critical of the government came from three countries – India, Turkey and Nigeria.
https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/india-turkey-nigeria-threatened-to-shut-down-twitter-founder-says-8659844/
Don’t worry, though. If there are any incendiary TV “debates” on this issue, they will only be to cover up for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his claims that India is the “mother of democracy”.
Since however there are no Hindu-Muslim angles to Dorsey’s comments, and at best our TV channels can manage short anti-Sikh segments, Dorsey may be ignored or washed over. Dorsey can be called part of a western capitalist plot or conversely a George Soros-funded communist plot or possibly both at the same time. Then our TV channels will immediately quote some survey which makes Modi the post leader in the Universe.
For journalists, Dorsey’s comments are a further confirmation of what we already know. That the Modi government – more than any other government in the past, I say this before the Clever Clogs Club reminds me of the Emergency and so on – has it in for journalists, for dissenters, for upholders of democracy and for all critics.
Some print journals have released the CAG report of 2021 which states that the Railways misused a special safety fund set up in 2017 to buy foot massagers, crockery, winter clothes, develop gardens, build toilets and more such safety imperatives.
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/modi-governments-special-fund-for-railway-safety-spent-on-foot-massagers-crockery-winter-jackets-cag-report/cid/1943871
Governments have fallen for less. Especially if a terrible three-train collision had just taken place, the worst in 20 years, as in Balasore on June 2. But instead of accountability, we have most of the mainstream media, especially television and our intrepid both-sides commentators, providing a protective shield – a “kavach” is it? – around the Modi government. Accountability will bring no results, they have been so good at safety, the railway minister is a sweet chap, can Modi be responsible for everything that goes wrong, don’t ask for resignations, let them do their jobs – these are the excuses being thrown around.
If the media does the work of the BJP IT and Propaganda Cell, then the BJP is bound to laugh itself silly at the polls.
The fact that personal data of thousands of Indians who logged into the CoWin app or website to get vaccinated during the pandemic has been hacked into, is also just one more news story. And the excuses made by the government?
Well, it is heartening in some small sense to see this counter:
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/cowin-data-leak-why-the-govt-statement-raises-more-questions-than-it-answers-8659412/
Meanwhile, in Uttarakhand where I live, communal violence is being created and Muslims are being targeted. There have been several BJP governments here in the past. No other has been so successful in creating such divisions. No other has even tried.
https://www.reporters-collective.in/trc/meet-uttarakhand-leaders-targeting-muslims-while-police-turn-a-blind-eye
The Prime Minister goes to the US soon, where it is possible he will be questioned by the media.
Or not. Depends on how his team organizes his protection.
Some anti-Indian organisations are doing this, of course.
https://www.reuters.com/world/rights-groups-screen-bbc-modi-documentary-washington-ahead-indian-pms-visit-2023-06-12/
Time for the Indian TV to put on its combat gear and attack Human Rights Watch, Amnesty and everyone who attends.
I give the last word to the Clever Clogs: tell us how all this has happened before and give this government a free pass.
Ranjona Banerji is a senior journalist and commentator. She writes on MxMIndia on Tuesdays and Fridays. Her views here are personal.