Special | MEITY Flags Human Rights Activism in J&K as ‘Anti-India’ Content in Communication With X
New Delhi: Communication from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s (MEITY) Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) provides a window into what lies behind the spate of controversial takedown orders issued by the Union government recently, and the kind of human rights work deemed “anti-India”.
On March 9, The Wire has learnt, CERT-In asked social media platform X to provide “Basic subscriber registration and access log details (Phone number/Email address, IP address, date and time stamp, port number & GPS information) for the last three months” for seven handles who were posting about Jammu and Kashmir.
The documentation attached and the tone adopted by the government makes clear that the government’s allegations of “disseminating anti-India propaganda, separatist narratives, and attempting to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere” in J&K are in fact being made against those who are talking (and openly) about the human rights situation in the Valley.
One of the people at the centre of the discussion is human rights defender Khurram Parvez, arrested in 2021 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Pervez worked with the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society that monitors, investigates and reports human rights violations. Several domestic and international groups, including the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, have called for his release and labelled his detention ‘arbitrary’ and unfair.
One of the accounts listed by CERT-In, @FreeKhurram2021, shares posts and information on Parvez’s incarceration. The screenshots included in the document sent by MEITY to X have links to news articles published by portals including Caravan magazine and Kashmir Times, and talk about the incarceration of Parvez and journalist Irfan Mehraj.
Ironically, one of the posts also talked about the suppression of civil society voices in Kashmir and its effects.
“The account amplifies anti-India narratives related to alleged human rights violations without verification, with the apparent intent to incite hatred and hostility against the Government of India and Indian security forces,” MEITy says about the handle.
While this account is still accessible in India, one account on the list, @BasharatRehan1, has been withheld and another, @Friendsofkmr, appears to have been wiped.
Apart from anonymously-run accounts, CERT-In has also mentioned the account of Raqib Naik, executive director of Centre for Study of Organized Hate (CSOH). CERT-In tells X, “The account amplifies false claims of alleged harassment, media suppression, and unlawful actions by the Government of India without verification, thereby creating a misleading narrative. Further, the account is reposting and promoting content of handles that consistently project India in a negative light, including allegations of communal violence, hate speech, and human rights violations”.
Naik’s posts listed by MEITY included his comments criticising RSS mouthpiece Organiser, support for news portal The Chenab Times and posts around CSOH research into Hindu nationalism and the spread of disinformation.
Other accounts that are flagged in the list are @ZaffarQuraishi, @nasirkhanukpnp and @Shaista_safi. MEITY has accused these accounts of “encouraging hostility and unrest”.
While some of the accounts listed do post views which could be considered objectionable, the fact that the Union government has equated those with posts defending human rights raises several red flags.
This communication comes in the wake of a spate of takedown orders to muzzle content on social media that has been critical of the government or used satire by invoking the Information Technology Act, 2000.
A day after this particular communication to X, MEITY published proposed amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, to block news content on social media by users, influencers and content creators.
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