Aslah Kayyalakkath, Founding Editor of Maktoob Media, stated that the organisation has not been informed of the reason behind the government’s 'arbitrary' action.
Published May 08, 2025 | 8:59 PM ⚊ Updated May 08, 2025 | 8:59 PM
The development comes just months after the Tamil publication Ananda Vikatan’s website was blocked in India in February.
Synopsis: Maktoob Media, an independent news outlet based in Kerala, announced on Thursday that its X account has been withheld in India following a legal demand, with no explanation provided. This marks the second such case in four months, after Tamil magazine Vikatan’s website was blocked in February for publishing a satirical cartoon of Prime Minister Modi.
Kerala-based independent news organisation Maktoob Media said on Thursday, 8 May, that its account on social media platform X had been withheld in India following a legal demand.
This is the second such instance in recent months of a media organisation being restricted. In February, the Tamil-language magazine Vikatan had its website blocked after publishing a cartoon that satirised Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“We have learned that Maktoob Media’s X account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand. We have no knowledge of the reason for the government’s arbitrary action. It is an assault on press freedom. Maktoob pledges to continue its crucial work at a time when truth is becoming a casualty,” Aslah Kayyalakkath, Founding Editor of Maktoob Media, wrote in a post on X.
“At this hour of crisis, we ask our allies to share links from our website to help people access our reporting. We are many, many more than them.”
We have learned that @MaktoobMedia’s X account has been withheld in India in response to a legal demand. We have no knowledge of the reason for the government’s arbitrary action. It is an assault on press freedom. Maktoob pledges to continue its crucial work at a time when truth… pic.twitter.com/jjjggFt8ak
— Aslah Kayyalakkath (@aslahtweets) May 8, 2025
The development comes just months after the Tamil publication Ananda Vikatan’s website was blocked in India in February, after it published a cartoon depicting Prime Minister Modi chained next to former US President Donald Trump.
The cartoon was a satirical commentary on Modi’s alleged silence over the deportation of Indian nationals by US authorities.
The Vikatan management said it received no official explanation for the ban, despite formally requesting one.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting had reportedly issued instructions to block the site through internet service providers under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Orders under Section 69A are typically confidential, and Vikatan stated it had not been provided with a copy of the blocking directive.
The website was reportedly taken down without prior notice, following a complaint lodged by BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai.
In response, Vikatan filed a case at the Madras High Court challenging the action. Senior Advocate Vijay Narayan, representing the magazine, argued that the ban was an attempt to suppress media freedom and was not justified by national security concerns.
On 6 March, Justice Parthasarathy directed the Union government to lift the ban but also instructed the magazine to remove the cartoon.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
