Free Speech

Parts of central Delhi where internet was first shut off on July 20, continue to suffer from a lack of internet connectivity, on day four, July 23. https://thewire.in/rights/this-is-the-fourth-day-that-central-delhis-internet-connectivity-continues-to-be-restricted 

Mobile data is severely weak in the areas including Jantar Mantar, where protesters are gathered in response to police brutality, the failing education system, and the Cockroach Janata Party’s demand for the education minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation.

“An unpublished order is an unaccountable order. It cannot be challenged before a court, and the judicial review guaranteed by the Supreme Court becomes illusory,” the Internet Freedom Foundation had said, decrying the astounding lack of transparency.

According to the Hindustan Times, directions were issued to telecom service providers, including Airtel, Jio and Vi. Officials at two major telecom companies confirmed the government’s unpublished directive, the report said. Services were shut at 10 am and restored around 6 pm, the officials said.

23/072026

The event had opened with a session on “Caste in Society and University”, addressed by Habib, who spoke on what the All India Students’ Association described as “attempts to rewrite history and marginalise discussions on caste within higher education”, The Indian Express reported.

Bucket filled with water thrown at historian Irfan Habib during speech at Delhi University

The All India Students’ Association also accused the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad of “attacking the stage” while Habib was speaking and shouting “violent and threatening slogans”, Hindustan Times reported.

The association described the incident as a “deliberate, organised attack on a platform dedicated to equality, social justice and the voices of marginalised”, the newspaper reported.

The ABVP rejected the allegations as “baseless and false” and accused Left-wing student groups of spreading “misleading and distorted narratives”, The Indian Express reported.

13/02/2026

Organisers of Mumbai’s famous Kala Ghoda Arts Festival have cancelled a book discussion featuring scholar and civil rights activist Anand Teltumbde on the orders of the Mumbai Police. Participants of this discussion have also been instructed to delete all social media posts related to the event, according to a report by Scroll.in.

‘Cancel culture’: Teltumbde’s session at Kala Ghoda scrapped after objection from Hindutva accounts

04/02/2026

The lecture was organised by a Bengali little Magazine, Anustup, and was scheduled to take place on August 14. The lecture was to be delivered by renowned economist Jean Dreze, the Hindu reported. Viswa-Bharati Denies Permission for a Lecture on Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen - The Wire

While Visva-Bharati PRO Atig Ghosh said that the lecture was cancelled as it overlapped with another heritage event being held at the university, Visva-Bharati professors said that there was no such overlap.

“The real reason for the refusal to grant the auditorium is that both Amartya Sen and Jean Drèze are regarded as eyesores by the BJP-led government at the Centre,” a professor, who did not want to be named, told the Hindu.

19/08/2025