Silencing Satire: Indian Artists Face Growing Censorship Amid Anti-Modi Protests

New Delhi, India – Stand-up comic Brijesh Jha posted a parody video on Instagram last week to protest the removal of his name, along with his father’s and sister’s, from a voter list in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. The video, which alleged that India’s Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had disenfranchised millions of voters at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), garnered 1.7 million views after it was posted on September 29.

Two days later, Meta, the United States-based company that owns Instagram, took the video down, citing “local laws” without giving further explanation. “I felt very helpless that day. I have only one thing in this country – that I can vote. If you take that away from me, then I have nothing left,” the Mumbai-based artist told Al Jazeera.

Jha said his parody song was removed because the Modi government is “scared” after an investigation by the Indian Express newspaper revealed that two of the election commission’s three members had raised serious concerns over a controversial revision of voter rolls. The exercise, known as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), has deleted more than 130 million voters, an overwhelming number of them Muslims.

The revelations have led to street protests across India demanding Kumar’s resignation. In New Delhi, police briefly detained opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and other leaders of his Congress party. Meanwhile, the BJP accused opposition parties of attempting to change the government and attack constitutional institutions.

Amid the political turmoil, artists like political cartoonist Satish Acharya have also faced a severe crackdown. Acharya’s Instagram account and cartoons were blocked in India as the government continues to enforce strict new rules governing online content and issues massive content-blocking orders to social media platforms.