Chennai: The Government of India move to allegedly block access to the website of the Vikatan group has brought condemnation from the political opposition and journalists’ bodies. The action – taken without prior notice or official explanation – has sparked widespread outrage, with many seeing it as a blatant attempt to silence critical journalism. The measure targets a publication group with a legacy of a century.
The website became inaccessible soon after the Tamil Nadu cadre of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took exception to a cartoon published by its digital magazine earlier this week. The cartoon, published on February 10, showed Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting shackled next to US President Donald Trump.
Condemning the move, Tamil Nadu chief minister M.K. Stalin stated, “The action against the century-old Vikatan media group is a direct assault on press freedom and democracy. Such arbitrary censorship cannot be tolerated in a democratic society.”
Speaking to The Wire, N. Ram, eminent journalist and director of The Hindu group, also voiced strong criticism. “What they have done is utterly illegal and deeply concerning. Numerous readers have independently complained that quite of a sudden they could not get access to Vikatan’s website, www.vikatan.com. It was clear that the Union government was behind this traffic outage and that its arbitrary actions were linked to a cartoon published by the Vikatan group’s digital-only publication, Vikatan Plus, which is available only to paid subscribers. The cartoon appeared on February 10, before Prime Minister Modi’s two-day visit to the United States and meeting with US President Donald Trump. It related to the Indian government’s, and the prime minister’s, conspicuous silence over the US government’s inhumane treatment of Indian citizens who had been handcuffed and chained during the long flight on a US military plane,” he said.
“As editorial comment and satire, the cartoon was perfectly legitimate journalism — it was a symbolic depiction of the prime minister’s hands being tied as he sat for talks with Trump at the White House,” Ram continued.
The cartoon struck a chord with readers, gaining traction on social media, but also reportedly provoked backlash from the ruling BJP. Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai has lodged a complaint with the Press Council of India (PCI) and the minister of state for information and broadcasting, L. Murugan, seeking action against the website over the cartoon. In his complaint, Annamalai alleged that the cartoon was a deliberate attempt to undermine the diplomatic importance of Modi’s visit to the US and to appease the DMK government in Tamil Nadu. He argued that the depiction violated journalistic ethics and called on the ministry to take appropriate action against the publication.
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Meanwhile, the Vikatan group issued a statement acknowledging reports of access issues. “There are numerous reports stating that the Vikatan website has been blocked by the central government. Many users from different locations have reported that they are unable to access the Vikatan website. However, as of now, there has been no official announcement from the central government regarding the blocking of the Vikatan website,” the statement read. Vikatan confirmed that the February 10 Vikatan Plus cover cartoon had faced criticism from BJP supporters. The publication also noted that “For nearly a century, Vikatan has stood firmly in support of freedom of expression. We have always operated with the principle of upholding free speech and will continue to do so. The editorial team is currently seeking clarity on the reasons behind the website’s inaccessibility and is in the process of taking up the matter with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.”
Raising serious concerns about the legality and transparency of the government’s action, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi’s member of parliament D. Ravikumar has written to Union minister for electronics and information technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, urging immediate intervention. “In this instance, Vikatan has not been informed of any alleged violation, nor has it received a copy of the blocking order, thereby violating principles of natural justice and due process. Such opacity undermines the rule of law and sets a dangerous precedent for arbitrary executive action. Blocking the Vikatan website without justification has a chilling effect on legitimate journalism and stifles democratic discourse,” he wrote. Ravikumar further urged the government to clarify whether a blocking order was issued, restore access if blocked, and ensure strict adherence to Section 69A of the IT Act, which requires that no content is restricted without providing written reasons and an opportunity to appeal. He also called on the government to uphold transparency by publishing blocking orders, with necessary redactions for security concerns, to foster public accountability.
N. Ram cited a historical parallel, drawing on the Vikatan’s own history. “In 1987, Ananda Vikatan’s bold and versatile editor-proprietor, my friend S. Balasubramanian, published a reader-generated cartoon depicting some MLAs as knaves, thieves, etc. Balan was jailed for two days and then released in the face of a spirited journalists’ protest. Subsequently, the Madras high court ruled the arrest unconstitutional, striking a significant blow for freedom of speech and expression and for media freedom. That judgment remains a landmark. This time, the circumstances are of course different but the issue remains the same — censorship and the arbitrary and unlawful suppression of free speech. Five days after the cartoon’s publication, Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai escalated the matter to Union minister L. Murugan. Instead of due process – a formal blocking order, notice to the publisher, or legal justification under Article 19(2)’s provisions for reasonable restrictions by statute under eight heads – access to Vikatan’s entire website was, in effect, blocked for many thousands of users, subscribers and free readers alike. No statute was cited; no procedure followed. The opaque, extra-constitutional move reeks of vendetta against a century-old, widely respected news media group that is unafraid to criticise and question those in power.”
The Vikatan group, established in 1926, holds a distinguished place in Tamil journalism. The sudden and unexplained blocking of their digital presence has raised alarms about escalating state censorship and the shrinking space for dissent in India’s digital sphere.
The action has sparked criticism from various quarters. Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a prominent political party in Tamil Nadu, described the government’s action as a “fascist tendency” that reveals an intolerance toward legitimate criticism. Journalists’ collectives including the Chennai Press Club and civil rights organisations have also decried the move, warning that it represents a dangerous precedent where political pressure can dictate government censorship of the media.
Ram further emphasised the unprecedented nature of the digital blockade: “This is not a simple blocking move. By degrading and preventing access to digital news content through non-transparent ‘dirty tricks’ technical manoeuvres, it subverts media freedom and reader’s right to information. This arbitrary action, utterly devoid of legality, has wide implications for the media sector.”
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Ram added that on February 16, after technical censorship had been set in motion and the damage had been done, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sent a notice to the Vikatan group.
The notice states that the ministry had “received a request for blocking of certain content” published at a website affiliated with Vikatan; that a “meeting of the Inter-Departmental Committee constituted under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021” was scheduled for February 17; and that Vikatan could “appear and submit its comments/clarifications, if any, before the Committee.”
Ram commented that it was a case of “Sentence first, verdict afterwards” – a reference to the impatient declaration by the Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Critics argue that the alleged involvement of a BJP leader in initiating the block also shows the troubling overlap between political interests and state power. As Ram points out, this has been done through “extra-constitutional channels”.
In response to the growing outrage, media rights organisations and political parties have called for the immediate restoration of access to the Vikatan website. Ram further added, ” This shows that it is possible to hamstring the digital operations of any news provider one dislikes. They may deny this in court, but if so, the unbelievable coincidence of lakhs of readers losing access will be hard to explain.”
Kavitha Muralidharan is an independent journalist.
