' In an official communication dated December 24, seen by Scroll.in, a government department cautioned employees against taking political stands on social media. In the order, issued by the state’s elementary education department, employees were warned there would be disciplinary action against those “indulging and participating in political activities” on social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram”.
'“No leader probably anywhere in the world is as obsessed with social media as Modi is, he even gets a detailed list of which social influencer has tweeted what about him every evening,” claims a former government official. Every prime-ministerial tweet is vetted by more than one individual before being officially “cleared”, each tweet is aimed at shoring up Modi’s stature as the country’s tallest leader.
'With protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) continuing on educational campuses across the country, the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has asked all technical education institutes and universities to keep a tab on the social media accounts of students and teachers. The educational institutions have been asked to monitor Twitter and Facebook accounts, and also WhatsApp groups, of students and teachers to keep themselves abreast of the activities happening on the campuses in the wake of the CAA.
'In the wake of massive protests across various cities over the Citizenship Amendment Act and the NRC, a set of photographs has been posted on social media with the claim that it represents a massive crowd that gathered in West Bengal in support of the act... The text in Tamil, with which the photos have been posted states, “குடியுரிமை சட்டத்திற்கு ஆதரவாக திரண்ட மேற்கு வங்கத்தின் தேசபக்தர்கள்” (Patriots of West Bengal who rallied in support of Citizenship Act. Terrorists are on sight- Google translation).
'The police here have registered an FIR against an Aligarh Muslim University professor for sharing posts on social media that allegedly hurt the morale of the security forces in the Valley. The FIR cited an “inappropriate post” in which the assistant professor, whose husband is based in Kashmir, referred to the communication blackout in the Valley immediately after the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. “Sach mein sampark toot jana kitna khatarnak aur dukhad hota hai, chahe Chandrayaan ho ya Kashmir,” the post said on the “pain” caused by losing contact.
'A Rashtriya Janata Dal leader was arrested on Tuesday, October 29, in Bihar for posting a video on Facebook, where he questioned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's ban on liquor and criticised him for his wrong policies, according to the police. Opposition RJD leader Sachin Kumar Choudhary was arrested in Madhubani district after his video criticising the CM had gone viral. Choudhury, who is the vice president of the district RJD unit, was arrested from his village by Madhubani Police IT cell in charge Shailesh Kumar.
'A doctor attached to the Agartala Government Medical College & GBP Hospital has been suspended by the Tripura government for a social media comment directed at chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb. The tweets and a Facebook post furnished by the government to the doctor, Kaushik Chakraborty, also include a comment opposing the BJP’s attempt to bring the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill prior to the last general elections. Among other portfolios, the chief minister is also in charge of the health and family welfare department.
'The Jharkhand high court on Friday declined to quash an FIR against four tribals for allegedly ‘seditious’ Facebook posts supporting the Pathalgadi movement of Munda tribal community, according to a report in LiveLaw... The prosecution, arguing that the petitioners had incited hatred and violence, cited Facebook posts by the petitioners which said, “I don’t want your Aaadhar card; My identity is ‘Pathargari'” and “All constitutional steps should be taken so that England, USA and UNs feel compelled to act for the freedom of tribals”.
'The Union home ministry has asked central law enforcement agencies to monitor social media platforms and identify those spreading rumours or hateful content online in the aftermath of the government’s decision to scrap Jammu and Kashmir’s special status. Sources said the ministry was also keeping an eye on social media content critical of the decision to split the state into two Union Territories...'
'On February 26, Ashish Joshi, a department of telecom (DoT) official, was suspended. The suspension came one day after Joshi filed a complaint against Kapil Mishra, a controversial MLA, reporting a Facebook video posted by the latter. In the video, Mishra calls for attacks on several prominent actors, activists and politicians including Barkha Dutt, Prashanth Bhushan, Kamal Hassan and Naseeruddin Shah. He claims these individuals are “enemies of the nation” and that they support Pakistan. Additionally, he suggests that they should be dragged out of their homes onto the streets...'
