Social media platform X has withheld the account of the independent research initiative Hindutva Watch in India “in response to a legal demand” from the Union government. The action was taken in the evening of Tuesday, January 16. The organisation’s founder Raqib Hameed Naik said that they received a notification of the same from X three hours after the account was withheld.
The email from X read, “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.”
Reacting to the action, Raqib Hameed said, “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. (sic)”
Hindutva Watch monitors “reports of attacks on members of minority and marginalised communities for their faith by the radicalised Hindus and the Hindutva militia groups in India” with the aim of exposing “ideology, institutions and people responsible for acts of violence and injustice”.