India’s tax officials searched BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai Tuesday, weeks after it aired a documentary critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the U.K., the broadcaster said. (AP)
Two BBC journalists in New Delhi, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said their colleagues’ phones were being confiscated. The raids, which mirrored previous government actions against Indian news outlets perceived as critical, compounded growing fears about shrinking press freedoms and rising authoritarianism in India. (WaPo)
Although the documentary was broadcast on television only in the U.K., India’s government has attempted to block people from sharing India: The Modi Question online, calling it “hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage” with a “colonial mindset.” Last month, police in Delhi detained students as they gathered to watch the film. (BBC News)
After the documentary aired, a Hindu nationalist organization petitioned the country’s Supreme Court to ban the BBC in India. The Supreme Court dismissed it. (NPR)