- Published
For the second time in three weeks, Indian cartoonist Satish Acharya found himself effectively invisible on Instagram in his own country.
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himself → publish → country
The 55-year-old discovered on Tuesday that his account had once again been briefly blocked in India, allegedly with no explanation from the platform.
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account → discover → platform
Just a few weeks ago, another cartoonist, Manjul, had found that Instagram had restricted a post criticising India's election commission over its controversial revision of voter rolls.
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Instagram → find → rolls
His profile remained accessible.
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profile → remain → ?
The cases have raised concerns about the use of legal orders to restrict political satire in India, with cartoonists saying they are often given little explanation for why their work has been blocked.
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work → raise → explanation
Acharaya's account was first restricted from 28 September to 6 October, when users in India could neither find his profile through search nor access it through a web link.
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users → restrict → link
Anyone trying to access his profile saw a message saying it was unavailable under India's Information Technology Rules.
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it → try → Rules
The rules allow authorities and courts to order social media platforms to remove or restrict content.
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authorities → allow → content
The government says they help tackle unlawful material, but artists and free-speech advocates warn they can stifle India's rich tradition of political satire.
"Meta platforms have been restricting the reach of my cartoons for some years," Acharya told the BBC.
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Acharya → say → BBC
"But when my entire profile was restricted in India, I was a little sad."
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I → restrict → India
He wrote to Meta, Instagram's parent company, but received no reply.
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He → write → reply
He says he was preparing to go to court when his account became accessible again in early October, only to be blocked again earlier this week for three days.
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account → say → days
In a statement, Meta told the BBC that may temporarily restrict accounts to comply with India's IT Rules but did not explain the specific reasons for restricting Acharya's account or Manjul's post.
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that → tell → account
Critics say the restrictions come as humour and satire play an increasingly visible role in political dissent in India, particularly among younger people.
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humour → say → people
Memes and Gen-Z humour helped fuel protests over education and jobs in July, which led to the resignation of India's education minister.
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which → help → minister
Online debate has also intensified over a controversial revision of voter rolls that removed 130 million names.
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that → intensify → names
The political significance of social media has not been lost on the government.
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significance → lose → government
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has urged ministers to strengthen their online presence and connect with younger audiences.
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Party → urge → audiences
At the same time, technology policy expert Prateek Waghre says the government is increasingly using legal orders to regulate online content.
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government → say → content
The Indian Express reported, external that government agencies sent nearly 195,000 blocking and content-restriction orders to platforms including Instagram, Facebook and YouTube between March and July through the federal government's Sahyog portal.
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agencies → report → portal
The figures, obtained through a right-to-information request, do not show how many posts were ultimately restricted or removed.
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posts → obtain → request
The BBC has not seen the original response.
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BBC → see → response
Waghre says that some platforms, particularly Meta, "seem more willing to comply", he says, while X appears more willing to push back.
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X → say → ?
But limited public data makes comparisons difficult.
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comparisons → make → ?
Meta declined to comment on his assessment.
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Meta → decline → assessment
The government has also reportedly sought greater scrutiny of how social media platforms recommend content.
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platforms → seek → content
Earlier this week, several media outlets reported, external that authorities had asked Meta to ensure its systems did not steer users towards "a single or limited set of narratives" and strengthen checks on content that could "cause public disorder or incite violence".
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that → report → violence
The BBC has sought comment from India's IT ministry on the restrictions and reported instructions to Meta but has not received a response.
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BBC → seek → response
Of course, political satire has a long history in India - as do attempts to curb it.
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attempts → have → it
Cartoons have been a fixture of Indian journalism since independence, with RK Laxman's Common Man becoming one of its most recognisable characters.
But cartoonists have also faced censorship.
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cartoonists → become → censorship
During the Emergency in the 1970s, when civil liberties were suspended and the press was tightly controlled, Abu Abraham continued drawing, even as dozens of his cartoons were stamped "not passed by censors".
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dozens → suspend → censors
In 2012, cartoonist Aseem Trivedi was arrested on sedition charges over cartoons allegedly mocking the Indian constitution.
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Trivedi → arrest → constitution
The charges were later dropped.
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charges → drop → ?
Today, concerns about restrictions on political expression extend beyond cartoonists.
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concerns → extend → cartoonists
India ranks 157th in Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index, while critics accuse the government of putting growing pressure on independent media.
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critics → rank → media
The government rejects the criticism, saying India's media remains free and vibrant.
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media → reject → criticism
Comedians have also faced controversy over political satire.
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Comedians → face → satire
Kunal Kamra, known for his jokes about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party, has faced threats, cancelled shows and legal action.
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Kamra → know → threats
For cartoonists, however, challenging those in power is central to their work.
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challenging → challenge → work
"We are among the default opposition," says Sandeep Adhwaryu, a cartoonist at a leading Indian newspaper.
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Adhwaryu → say → newspaper
…and 25 more, not listed.
The Aporia
