Satire silenced: Indian artists face censorship as anti-Modi protests grow

What the report says

Al Jazeera reports that Indian artists, comedians and cartoonists are facing growing censorship as protests against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and the country’s election authorities expand online and on the streets. The article centers on New Delhi-based stand-up comic Brijesh Jha, whose Instagram parody about being removed from a voter list in West Bengal drew widespread attention before Meta took it down, citing local laws. Jha said the episode reflected a wider effort to suppress criticism after questions were raised about a large voter-roll revision known as the Special Intensive Revision.

The report says the controversy intensified after an Indian Express investigation found internal objections within the Election Commission to parts of the revision process, which has deleted more than 130 million names from the rolls. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have accused the election chief of acting in the BJP’s interests, while the party denies attacking democratic institutions. Protests calling for the election commissioner’s resignation have followed in New Delhi, Mumbai and elsewhere.

Al Jazeera also highlights a broader online crackdown. It says the government tightened content-removal rules in February and that platforms have received large numbers of blocking orders this year. Political cartoonist Satish Acharya told the outlet that several of his cartoons were removed and that his Instagram account was temporarily blocked in India. The article suggests that humor, art and satire are becoming an important form of dissent as public criticism of Modi’s government grows.