New Delhi: Based on the order from the Union information and broadcasting ministry, YouTube has blocked from viewing in India a documentary about the alleged role of the Narendra Modi government in targeting of Indian diaspora in Australia through Indian intelligence agencies.
The documentary, which is part of ABC TV’s long-running show called Four Corners, brings to the fore accounts of several members of the Indian diaspora community in Australia who have allegedly been targeted by Indian spy agents. The documentary is titled ‘Infiltrating Australia – India’s Secret War’.
Most of the persons who have been at the receiving end are members of the Sikh community who have been working for the cause of the separatist Khalistani movement and critics of the Modi government.
ABC News quoted its news director Justin Stevens as saying that ABC “fully backs and stands by this reporting”. The documentary was uploaded onto YouTube on June 17 and has since been geo-blocked at the behest of the order from India’s I&B ministry.
YouTube sent out a notice to ABC News based on a “confidential” order it had received from India’s I&B ministry under the country’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules and its Information Technology Act.
The ABC was given the option to block the video from being played in India itself, which the Australian broadcaster declined. Eventually, the video was blocked in India by YouTube as of 11.59 Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST) on July 27.
ABC director Stevens said, “It’s the second time this year the Indian government has issued an instruction to YouTube to remove ABC public interest journalism about its country. Last time it was a Foreign Correspondent report, this time it is a Four Corners program. We’re dismayed at efforts to silence strong journalism. It won’t deter us from continuing to report any and all issues in the public interest.”
In March, YouTube had similarly blocked a documentary episode about the Modi government’s alleged role in killing Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
On March 24, YouTube had emailed ABC saying that it had received an order from the Union information and broadcasting ministry regarding the episode, which is titled ‘Sikhs, Spies and Murder: Investigating India’s alleged hit on foreign soil’.
The latest documentary to get blocked from viewing in India (Infiltrating Australia – India’s Secret War) features members of the Sikh community in Australia who accuse Indian authorities of visiting their families in India to threaten them due to the activism of their loved ones in Australia.
