New Delhi:
“Saffron intolerance” and acts of censorship across media platforms—including films, books, news telecasts and social media—continued to rise in India in 2014, with 52 instances recorded in the first three months of the year as opposed to 48 in the same period a year ago, according to media affairs website thehoot.org.Hoot report says 52 censorship cases in India during Jan-Mar
“Consistently, groups have been successful in censoring and putting pressure on government agencies to act on content that they deem as uncomfortable. That seems to be the trend that we are seeing,” said Geeta Seshu, consulting editor, The Hoot.
According to a Hoot study titled “Free Speech in India 2014”, protests by Hindu groups triggered censorship of books, films and performances in as many as 12 different instances—up from seven in first quarter 2013.
The case that attracted the most attention was the decision by Penguin Books India to withdraw Wendy Doniger’s book, “The Hindus: An Alternative History” after protests by a Hindu group.