MUMBAI: Tamil media publication Vikatan managing director B Srinivasan was a little taken aback when on 15 February his website became inaccessible to him and the 80 lakh readers who access it daily. A notice displayed on the home page said the website had been blocked as per the direction of law enforcement agencies.
On what grounds?
Well, the publication had put out what it considered a harmless political satirical cartoon on 10 February, which depicted prime minister Modi in chains alongside US president Trump . This apparently upset BJP Tamil Nadu president K Annamalai who filed a formal complaint with the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) and the Press Council of India, claiming the cartoon was objectionable on 15 February.
By 6:00 PM that evening, Vikatan's website became inaccessible to many users, though the organisation received no immediate explanation for the outage.Since then, the website either has taken forever to open or when it does, it says it is an insecure website and a security risk.
The 99-year-old publication, which has a history of standing up to government pressure, promptly sought clarification from the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) and the National Informatics Centre (NIC) regarding the domain blockage. Officials from the Press Bureau of India also visited Vikatan's registered office to enquire about the print availability of Vikatan Plus, which was confirmed to be a digital-only publication.
The MIB subsequently informed Vikatan about an upcoming inter-departmental committee meeting under the IT Rules, 2021, scheduled for 20 February to review the blocking of content. While granting Vikatan until this date to prepare their response, the ministry maintained that the emergency blocking orders would remain in effect.
Vikatan has stated it will present its case at the hearing and is prepared to pursue legal action if the decision conflicts with press freedom principles. The publication cited its long history of speaking truth to power, noting previous instances of government action, including being shut down by the British in 1942 and having its editor imprisoned in 1987.
The case has drawn significant attention as it may set a crucial precedent for media freedom in India, with Vikatan emphasising the need for transparency in actions against media houses.
The blocking has drawn widespread condemnation from political leaders across party lines. Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin, along with prominent figures including MDMK general secretary Vaiko, actor Kamal Haasan, and author Arundhati Roy, have denounced the action as an attack on press freedom.
Said: Srinivasan "For over a century, Vikatan has been a steadfast advocate for freedom of expression and has consistently upheld journalistic integrity.”
