After the X (formerly Twitter) account of Hindus for Human Rights was withheld in India, the nonprofit organisation said that the Narendra Modi government was “scared of a movement of progressive Hindus and their supporters speaking up to save Indian democracy”.
The X account of Hindus for Human Rights and its partner, the Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC), was withheld early on October 14 “in response to a legal demand”.
The organisation said in a press release that the move showed that its “truth-telling” and “constant insistence on justice” had become a thorn in the BJP-led Union government’s side.
“What’s clear is that there is a coordinated plan of transnational repression by the Modi government, assisted by their eager partners in the diaspora – and their action against us may well represent the beginning of a massive clamp down of anti-Modi voices prior to the 2024 elections in India,” the press release said.
The group vowed not to be silenced, adding that the movement against Hindutva would continue.
In a separate statement, IAMC said that Elon Musk was “working hand in glove with Modi’s authoritarian regime” to block a US-based organisation and that X was “accelerating the suppression of free expression and democracy”.
The suspensions were part of the Indian government’s broader crackdown on critical voices, IAMC said, referring to the raids on NewsClick, the arrest of its editor Prabir Purkayastha and giving the sanction for prosecution of writer-activist Arundhati Roy.
It said, “The Modi government is attempting to silence our voice by shutting down our Twitter account in India in collusion with Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter).”
“In the early hours of October 14, we learnt that X had “withheld” our Twitter account in India, “in response to a legal demand,” presumably by the Government of India. Our ally, Indian American Muslim Council’s Twitter account has also been “withheld” similarly. There was no prior intimation by X, nor does it have an appeal process for this type of suspension, except in a court of law,” a Hindus for Human Rights statement said.
“The mighty Modi raj is scared of a movement of progressive Hindus and their supporters speaking up to save Indian democracy … The truth frightens them,” it added.
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