‘Hindutva Watch’ X Account Withheld In India (image-facebook/hindutva watch)The X (formerly known as Twitter) withheld an independent research project ‘Hindutva Watch’s account on Tuesday following a legal demand from the Government of India.
Raqib Hameed Naik, Kashmiri journalist, and the founder of the research initiative, shared on X, “Today, our @X account was withheld in India following a legal demand from the Government of India. Three hours after the withholding of our account, we received an email from X notifying us of this action.”
🚨 Update from Hindutva Watch
Today, our @X account was withheld in India following a legal demand from the Government of India.
Three hours after the withholding of our account, we received an email from X notifying us of this action. pic.twitter.com/YPAwBl1QdP
— Raqib Hameed Naik (@raqib_naik) January 16, 2024
Naik received an email from X stating that the removal of the account was following a legal demand from the government of India alleging that the contents in the account violate India’s Information Technology Act, 2000.
“In the interest of transparency, we are writing to inform you that X has received a legal removal demand from the government of India regarding your X account, @HindutvaWatchIn, that claims the following content violates India’s Information Technology Act, 2000”, the mail read.
Naik who moved to the United States in 2020, founded the website in April 2021. The project focuses on tracking the crimes and human rights abuses committed against minority groups in India. The organization documents videos and news snippets about violent attacks, hate speech, and human rights violations against communities based on their faith.
After the removal of the account, Naik expressed his shock on X, “While shocking, it’s not surprising, considering Prime Minister Modi regime’s history of suppressing free press & critical voice”.
While shocking, it’s not surprising, considering Prime Minister Modi regime’s history of suppressing free press & critical voices.
This won’t deter us!
We remain committed!
The suppression of our account in India only fuels our determination to continue our work undeterred
— Raqib Hameed Naik (@raqib_naik) January 16, 2024
Determined to continue with the project, he said ‘This won’t deter us.’
“While shocking, it’s not surprising, considering Prime Minister Modi’s regime’s history of suppressing free press & critical voices,” Naik added.
Since the inception of Hindutva Watch, they have documented and cataloged over 1,000 instances of violent attacks, hate speech, and other forms of human rights abuses against minority and marginalized communities in India.
The account provides critical source evidence for activists, journalists, and lawmakers who aim to combat hate crimes in the country.
As per their official website, Hindutva Watch is an independent research initiative to monitor the reports of attacks on the members of minority and marginalised communities for their faith by the radicalised Hindus and the Hindutva militia groups in India.
As per X, there are laws laid to posts and for X account content. Some contents are withheld by X in a particular country from time to time. “Such withholdings will be limited to the specific jurisdiction that has issued the valid legal demand or where the content has been found to violate local law(s),” the website says.