The latest order from the Indian Government’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has sparked a fierce debate over censorship and freedom of expression in the country. The Ministry has reportedly issued orders to block multiple YouTube videos of the first episode of the BBC documentary, “India: The Modi Question”, as well as more than 50 tweets linking to the videos.

The BBC documentary on Modi is critical of the Prime Minister and his government, and opposition leaders have widely criticised the orders to block the videos and tweets as “censorship”. The decision was reportedly taken by I&B Secretary Apurva Chandra on 20 January 2023 under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

YouTube and Twitter have complied with the orders and removed the videos and tweets.