RESEARCH STARTER

History of Censorship in India

The history of censorship in India reflects the country’s complex socio-political landscape, shaped by its diverse ethnic groups and religious communities. From ancient times, rulers have suppressed dissent, a trend that intensified during British colonial rule, where stringent laws controlled the press and penalized criticism. Notable acts from this period, such as the Gagging Act of 1857 and the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867, laid the groundwork for modern censorship practices. Following independence in 1947, the Indian Constitution promised freedom of the press but included restrictions aimed at safeguarding national security and maintaining diplomatic relations. Over the decades, various laws, including the Defense of India Act and the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, have further empowered the government to censor media. Significant events, like the Emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, led to extensive press censorship, reinforcing the ongoing struggle between media freedom and governmental control. In contemporary India, while print media has gained some autonomy, television and film still face strict regulations, with ongoing debates about censorship indicative of the country's vibrant but contentious discourse on freedom of expression.

Full Article

DESCRIPTION: Independent South Asian republic whose territory included modern Pakistan and Bangladesh when it was under British colonial rule before 1947.

SIGNIFICANCE: Although India has a long and complex history of censorship, it has allowed one of the freest presses among developing nations.

Within India—which is the world’s largest democracy—the diversity of ethnic groups speaking sixteen hundred languages and a rancorous relationship between the country’s majority Hindu and minority Muslim populations have contributed to making censorship a constant threat. From ancient times to the Mughal dynasty, Indian rulers ruthlessly suppressed all dissension. After Great Britain began colonizing India, its regime also found censorship a useful tool for governing. After India won its independence in 1947, its central government, its various state governments, and diverse pressure groups have invoked censorship on the media, fine arts, and films.

The British Period

During Britain’s long period of rule, it hardly mattered whether newspapers were published by Indians or British nationals. Colonial authorities never hesitated to punish publications criticizing British rule. One of the earliest censorship incidents occurred in 1780, after India’s first officially recognized modern newspaper, the Bengal Gazette (also known as the Calcutta General Advertiser or Hicky’s Gazette) published an article attacking the wife of Governor General Warren Hastings. The government had the press’s types confiscated and the newspaper’s postal privileges removed, and James Hicky, the paper’s publisher, was fined and jailed. Thereafter, the British regime embarked on regulating the press. The first of a number of censorship laws, enacted in 1799, required preapproval of publication from the government’s secretariat. Licenses for publishing newspapers were mandated by the Regulation of the Press Ordinance of 1823, promulgated by Acting Governor General John Adam. The first law regulating the establishment of printing presses was popularly known as the “Gagging Act of 1857.” It came in the wake of the great mutiny of Indian soldiers that year.

The law that had the most far-reaching consequences for the Indian subcontinent was the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867, which helped to shape the modern press laws of independent India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; in India, the colonial-era act was repealed and replaced for periodical registration by the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, which came into force in 2024. This law historically mandated printing press owners and newspaper publishers to secure declarations from magistrates. As demands for self-rule became vocal, the colonial regime cracked down on the vernacular papers with the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. Unable to stop the ever-growing anti-British sentiments, Viceroy Lord Minto attempted to buy good relations with some vernacular newspapers by paying them subsidies. Many other press and press-related laws followed. Under provisions of these acts, publications deemed objectionable had their declarations revoked, they were forced to pay security deposits, and their journalists were jailed. Despite strict government controls over newspapers in the last years of British rule in the mid-twentieth century, several underground publications appeared that reported details of the independence struggle and the performance of British troops on the World War II battlefields.

Modern India

On attaining independence in 1947, many Indian leaders—including Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, called for press freedom. Unlike the First Amendment of the US Constitution, India’s new constitution of 1950 guaranteed freedom of the press within the larger provision of free speech and expression that was accompanied by a number of restrictions, including the disallowing of speech undermining the security of the state. A constitutional amendment was subsequently passed to disallow free speech that could hurt friendly relations with foreign countries.

After independence, the Indian press vigorously covered the political scene. The national government’s Press (Objectionable Matters) Act of 1951 rescinded a British law of 1931 and the press acts of thirteen states. The new law empowered the government to demand forfeitable security deposits from newspapers, to seize unauthorized printing presses for printing unauthorized news sheets, to confiscate certain newspapers, and to deny privileges to offensive publications. Other laws restricting the press followed, such as the Press and Registration of Books (Amendment) Act of 1955, the Defense of India Act of 1962, the Sixteenth Amendment to the constitution, and the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. States also adopted their own versions of the Special Powers (Press) Act. Between October 1962 and November 1965, the state governments censored eighty-two newspapers.

Wartime Measures

During India’s 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, the Defense of India Rules were used to censor the press. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi invoked the law to impose a state of national emergency that lasted from June 26, 1975, to March 20, 1977. A major facet of this emergency declaration was its blanket imposition of censorship on the press. The measure was enforced by cutting off electrical power to certain newspapers, by arresting journalists, by forcing foreign journalists to leave—or not enter—the country, and by subjecting sixty newspapers to precensorship. Also, the Press Council was dissolved, and new restrictive laws were passed. Most of the new restrictions were lifted after Gandhi was defeated in the 1977 elections, allowing the press to renew its watchdog role. The press then exposed a scandal in which government officials were involved in a bribery scheme to purchase weapons from a Swedish firm.

After Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, government economic and political pressures on Indian newspapers continued. The government has supported friendly newspapers through such means as favorable allocations of scarce newsprint and government advertising. As part of an effort to fight terrorism in rebellious Indian states, the government passed the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). This law was widely used against the press, especially in states with centers of anti-government rebels, such as Punjab, Jammu, and Kashmir. Anti-government separatists in those states have also imposed a form of censorship by murdering journalists and physically stopping the printing and distribution of publications.

The Broadcast Media and Films

In contrast to the press, radio, and television have remained under the direct control of the national Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, broadcasting in India has been significantly liberalized since the 1990s, with private television networks and digital platforms playing a major role alongside public broadcasters. Neither medium had been allowed to air critical news or commentaries about the government hsitorically. A change came in the 1990s, when as many as seventy channels of uncensored satellite television programming became available, including limited broadcasting of the US-based Cable News Network.

The government’s film censor board, another British legacy, certifies every film exhibited in India. Cultural reservations about public displays of sexuality have kept even displays of kissing off the screen or limited.

During the 1990s, Indian print advertising started using models in erotic poses and positions for products such as “Kama Sutra” condoms and MR Coffee to the ire of law enforcement authorities. Censorship of books has not been uncommon. The most famous case was the 1989 banning of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses. International publications containing critical articles about India have been seized or kept out of the country. However, sexually explicit magazines, such as Debonair and Fantasy, have been openly circulated.

In the summer of 2021, debates around film censorship were further ignited in the industry upon the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s proposal of a new bill that would allow for government review, based on complaints, of films that had received certification from the board. Many, particularly filmmakers, argued that this would only allow for even greater censorship by weakening the authority of the board.

The Internet and Media Censorship in the Twenty-First Century

In 2008, an amendment to the Information Technology Act of 2008, Section 66A, authorized the punishment of any individuals accused of using the internet to send offensive or menacing information. Over the years, activists accused the police of misusing the amendment to arrest people who had posted dissenting comments regarding social and political issues on social media sites. Eventually, in early 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment as an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech. However, concerns about the government’s encroachment on freedom of expression through censorship increased later that year following two incidents. Within one week, the government required internet service providers to block more than 850 pornography sites and threatened to revoke the licenses of three television networks for allegedly having jeopardized the integrity of the country’s judicial system.

By the early 2020s, international and national critics’ concerns about internet censorship by the Indian government had continued if not increased, particularly following the release of a new set of comprehensive information technology rules in February 2021. Some took issue with the timing of the release, as it occurred during a period of high-profile protests by farmers that had led to what were considered controversial responses by the government that included orders for social media companies to remove or block posts that were critical in nature; according to reports, the rules had been under consideration and drafting for some time. Many contended that the rules, several of which were perceived as granting more power to the government rather than social media companies for content removal decisions and directives, were dangerously authoritarian and created a path for even greater digital censorship, including self-censorship by individuals. By mid-2021, several legal challenges against the rules had commenced. That same year, the government controversially directed certain social media platforms to take down at least one hundred posts that were critical of the government’s handling of the drastic spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country, arguing that they represented misinformation.

In the mid-2020s, the Indian government continued to amend existing laws and pass new legislation, such as the 2023 Telecommunications Act, to cement its authority to censor online content. However, in September 2024, the Bombay High Court struck down this provision as unconstitutional. In some cases, the government used its power to limit internet access in specific regions. The state of Manipur experienced an internet shutdown lasting over 200 days in 2023 due to ethnic violence.

The government used the Information Technology Act in 2023 to block access to the independent news outlet, The Kashmir Wallah. Shortly after, authorities arrested its editor, Fahad Shah. In early 2023, authorities raided the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai, and around the same time, the government restricted access to a BBC documentary that criticized Prime Minister Modi. In October 2023, police arrested Prabir Purkayastha, founder of NewsClick, alleging he received foreign funding to publish pro-Chinese content. India’s Central Board of Film Certification blocked the film Santosh in 2024 because it depicted police brutality.

In March 2025, social media company X (formerly Twitter) filed a lawsuit against India’s government for its censorship practices.


Bibliography

“Bollywood: Filmmakers Cry Foul over Censorship Proposals.” BBC News, 1 July 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57676214. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Burke, Jason. “India Supreme Court Strikes Down Internet Censorship Law.” Guardian, 24 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/24/india-supreme-court-strikes-down-internet-censorship-law. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Chauhan, Rishabh. “How India’s First Newspaper, Hicky’s Bengal Gazette, Started in Kolkata 245 Years Ago.” India Today, 29 Jan. 2025, www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/how-indias-first-newspaper-hickys-bengal-gazette-started-in-kolkata-245-years-ago-2671809-2025-01-29. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“India: Freedom on the Net 2024.” Freedom House, freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-net/2024. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“Indian Government Suspends MediaOne TV for Unspecified ‘Security Reasons.’” Committee to Protect Journalists, 31 Jan. 2022, cpj.org/2022/01/indian-government-suspends-mediaone-tv-for-unspecified-security-reasons. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“India Threatens to Suspend TV News Channel.” Committee to Protect Journalists, 24 Aug. 2011, cpj.org/2015/08/india-threatens-to-suspend-tv-news-channels-follow. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Merrill, John C., editor. Global Journalism: A Survey of the World’s Mass Media. Longman, 1983.

Nyrop, Richard F. India: A Country Study. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986.

Purnell, Newley. “India Accused of Censorship for Blocking Social Media Criticism amid Covid Surge.” The Wall Street Journal, 26 Apr. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/india-accused-of-censorship-for-blocking-social-media-criticism-amid-covid-surge-11619435006. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Saaliq, Sheikh, and Krutika Pathi. “India Internet Law Adds to Fears over Online Speech, Privacy.” AP, 15 July 2021, apnews.com/article/technology-entertainment-business-music-india-2458a729cff255c8a8f83d84101372d8. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“Unveiling the Veil: Evolution of Censorship in Indian Cinema and the Quest for Artistic Freedom.” IP and Legal Filings, 5 June 2024, www.ipandlegalfilings.com/unveiling-the-veil-evolution-of-censorship-in-indian-cinema-and-the-quest-for-artistic-freedom. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Full Article

DESCRIPTION: Independent South Asian republic whose territory included modern Pakistan and Bangladesh when it was under British colonial rule before 1947.

SIGNIFICANCE: Although India has a long and complex history of censorship, it has allowed one of the freest presses among developing nations.

Within India—which is the world’s largest democracy—the diversity of ethnic groups speaking sixteen hundred languages and a rancorous relationship between the country’s majority Hindu and minority Muslim populations have contributed to making censorship a constant threat. From ancient times to the Mughal dynasty, Indian rulers ruthlessly suppressed all dissension. After Great Britain began colonizing India, its regime also found censorship a useful tool for governing. After India won its independence in 1947, its central government, its various state governments, and diverse pressure groups have invoked censorship on the media, fine arts, and films.

The British Period

During Britain’s long period of rule, it hardly mattered whether newspapers were published by Indians or British nationals. Colonial authorities never hesitated to punish publications criticizing British rule. One of the earliest censorship incidents occurred in 1780, after India’s first officially recognized modern newspaper, the Bengal Gazette (also known as the Calcutta General Advertiser or Hicky’s Gazette) published an article attacking the wife of Governor General Warren Hastings. The government had the press’s types confiscated and the newspaper’s postal privileges removed, and James Hicky, the paper’s publisher, was fined and jailed. Thereafter, the British regime embarked on regulating the press. The first of a number of censorship laws, enacted in 1799, required preapproval of publication from the government’s secretariat. Licenses for publishing newspapers were mandated by the Regulation of the Press Ordinance of 1823, promulgated by Acting Governor General John Adam. The first law regulating the establishment of printing presses was popularly known as the “Gagging Act of 1857.” It came in the wake of the great mutiny of Indian soldiers that year.

The law that had the most far-reaching consequences for the Indian subcontinent was the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867, which helped to shape the modern press laws of independent India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh; in India, the colonial-era act was repealed and replaced for periodical registration by the Press and Registration of Periodicals Act, 2023, which came into force in 2024. This law historically mandated printing press owners and newspaper publishers to secure declarations from magistrates. As demands for self-rule became vocal, the colonial regime cracked down on the vernacular papers with the Vernacular Press Act of 1878. Unable to stop the ever-growing anti-British sentiments, Viceroy Lord Minto attempted to buy good relations with some vernacular newspapers by paying them subsidies. Many other press and press-related laws followed. Under provisions of these acts, publications deemed objectionable had their declarations revoked, they were forced to pay security deposits, and their journalists were jailed. Despite strict government controls over newspapers in the last years of British rule in the mid-twentieth century, several underground publications appeared that reported details of the independence struggle and the performance of British troops on the World War II battlefields.

Modern India

On attaining independence in 1947, many Indian leaders—including Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, called for press freedom. Unlike the First Amendment of the US Constitution, India’s new constitution of 1950 guaranteed freedom of the press within the larger provision of free speech and expression that was accompanied by a number of restrictions, including the disallowing of speech undermining the security of the state. A constitutional amendment was subsequently passed to disallow free speech that could hurt friendly relations with foreign countries.

After independence, the Indian press vigorously covered the political scene. The national government’s Press (Objectionable Matters) Act of 1951 rescinded a British law of 1931 and the press acts of thirteen states. The new law empowered the government to demand forfeitable security deposits from newspapers, to seize unauthorized printing presses for printing unauthorized news sheets, to confiscate certain newspapers, and to deny privileges to offensive publications. Other laws restricting the press followed, such as the Press and Registration of Books (Amendment) Act of 1955, the Defense of India Act of 1962, the Sixteenth Amendment to the constitution, and the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. States also adopted their own versions of the Special Powers (Press) Act. Between October 1962 and November 1965, the state governments censored eighty-two newspapers.

Wartime Measures

During India’s 1965 and 1971 wars with Pakistan, the Defense of India Rules were used to censor the press. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi invoked the law to impose a state of national emergency that lasted from June 26, 1975, to March 20, 1977. A major facet of this emergency declaration was its blanket imposition of censorship on the press. The measure was enforced by cutting off electrical power to certain newspapers, by arresting journalists, by forcing foreign journalists to leave—or not enter—the country, and by subjecting sixty newspapers to precensorship. Also, the Press Council was dissolved, and new restrictive laws were passed. Most of the new restrictions were lifted after Gandhi was defeated in the 1977 elections, allowing the press to renew its watchdog role. The press then exposed a scandal in which government officials were involved in a bribery scheme to purchase weapons from a Swedish firm.

After Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984, government economic and political pressures on Indian newspapers continued. The government has supported friendly newspapers through such means as favorable allocations of scarce newsprint and government advertising. As part of an effort to fight terrorism in rebellious Indian states, the government passed the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). This law was widely used against the press, especially in states with centers of anti-government rebels, such as Punjab, Jammu, and Kashmir. Anti-government separatists in those states have also imposed a form of censorship by murdering journalists and physically stopping the printing and distribution of publications.

The Broadcast Media and Films

In contrast to the press, radio, and television have remained under the direct control of the national Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, broadcasting in India has been significantly liberalized since the 1990s, with private television networks and digital platforms playing a major role alongside public broadcasters. Neither medium had been allowed to air critical news or commentaries about the government hsitorically. A change came in the 1990s, when as many as seventy channels of uncensored satellite television programming became available, including limited broadcasting of the US-based Cable News Network.

The government’s film censor board, another British legacy, certifies every film exhibited in India. Cultural reservations about public displays of sexuality have kept even displays of kissing off the screen or limited.

During the 1990s, Indian print advertising started using models in erotic poses and positions for products such as “Kama Sutra” condoms and MR Coffee to the ire of law enforcement authorities. Censorship of books has not been uncommon. The most famous case was the 1989 banning of Salman Rushdie’s novel The Satanic Verses. International publications containing critical articles about India have been seized or kept out of the country. However, sexually explicit magazines, such as Debonair and Fantasy, have been openly circulated.

In the summer of 2021, debates around film censorship were further ignited in the industry upon the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s proposal of a new bill that would allow for government review, based on complaints, of films that had received certification from the board. Many, particularly filmmakers, argued that this would only allow for even greater censorship by weakening the authority of the board.

The Internet and Media Censorship in the Twenty-First Century

In 2008, an amendment to the Information Technology Act of 2008, Section 66A, authorized the punishment of any individuals accused of using the internet to send offensive or menacing information. Over the years, activists accused the police of misusing the amendment to arrest people who had posted dissenting comments regarding social and political issues on social media sites. Eventually, in early 2015, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment as an unconstitutional violation of freedom of speech. However, concerns about the government’s encroachment on freedom of expression through censorship increased later that year following two incidents. Within one week, the government required internet service providers to block more than 850 pornography sites and threatened to revoke the licenses of three television networks for allegedly having jeopardized the integrity of the country’s judicial system.

By the early 2020s, international and national critics’ concerns about internet censorship by the Indian government had continued if not increased, particularly following the release of a new set of comprehensive information technology rules in February 2021. Some took issue with the timing of the release, as it occurred during a period of high-profile protests by farmers that had led to what were considered controversial responses by the government that included orders for social media companies to remove or block posts that were critical in nature; according to reports, the rules had been under consideration and drafting for some time. Many contended that the rules, several of which were perceived as granting more power to the government rather than social media companies for content removal decisions and directives, were dangerously authoritarian and created a path for even greater digital censorship, including self-censorship by individuals. By mid-2021, several legal challenges against the rules had commenced. That same year, the government controversially directed certain social media platforms to take down at least one hundred posts that were critical of the government’s handling of the drastic spike in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country, arguing that they represented misinformation.

In the mid-2020s, the Indian government continued to amend existing laws and pass new legislation, such as the 2023 Telecommunications Act, to cement its authority to censor online content. However, in September 2024, the Bombay High Court struck down this provision as unconstitutional. In some cases, the government used its power to limit internet access in specific regions. The state of Manipur experienced an internet shutdown lasting over 200 days in 2023 due to ethnic violence.

The government used the Information Technology Act in 2023 to block access to the independent news outlet, The Kashmir Wallah. Shortly after, authorities arrested its editor, Fahad Shah. In early 2023, authorities raided the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai, and around the same time, the government restricted access to a BBC documentary that criticized Prime Minister Modi. In October 2023, police arrested Prabir Purkayastha, founder of NewsClick, alleging he received foreign funding to publish pro-Chinese content. India’s Central Board of Film Certification blocked the film Santosh in 2024 because it depicted police brutality.

In March 2025, social media company X (formerly Twitter) filed a lawsuit against India’s government for its censorship practices.


Bibliography

“Bollywood: Filmmakers Cry Foul over Censorship Proposals.” BBC News, 1 July 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-57676214. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Burke, Jason. “India Supreme Court Strikes Down Internet Censorship Law.” Guardian, 24 Mar. 2015, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/24/india-supreme-court-strikes-down-internet-censorship-law. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Chauhan, Rishabh. “How India’s First Newspaper, Hicky’s Bengal Gazette, Started in Kolkata 245 Years Ago.” India Today, 29 Jan. 2025, www.indiatoday.in/education-today/gk-current-affairs/story/how-indias-first-newspaper-hickys-bengal-gazette-started-in-kolkata-245-years-ago-2671809-2025-01-29. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“India: Freedom on the Net 2024.” Freedom House, freedomhouse.org/country/india/freedom-net/2024. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“Indian Government Suspends MediaOne TV for Unspecified ‘Security Reasons.’” Committee to Protect Journalists, 31 Jan. 2022, cpj.org/2022/01/indian-government-suspends-mediaone-tv-for-unspecified-security-reasons. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“India Threatens to Suspend TV News Channel.” Committee to Protect Journalists, 24 Aug. 2011, cpj.org/2015/08/india-threatens-to-suspend-tv-news-channels-follow. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Merrill, John C., editor. Global Journalism: A Survey of the World’s Mass Media. Longman, 1983.

Nyrop, Richard F. India: A Country Study. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1986.

Purnell, Newley. “India Accused of Censorship for Blocking Social Media Criticism amid Covid Surge.” The Wall Street Journal, 26 Apr. 2021, www.wsj.com/articles/india-accused-of-censorship-for-blocking-social-media-criticism-amid-covid-surge-11619435006. Accessed 4 May 2026.

Saaliq, Sheikh, and Krutika Pathi. “India Internet Law Adds to Fears over Online Speech, Privacy.” AP, 15 July 2021, apnews.com/article/technology-entertainment-business-music-india-2458a729cff255c8a8f83d84101372d8. Accessed 4 May 2026.

“Unveiling the Veil: Evolution of Censorship in Indian Cinema and the Quest for Artistic Freedom.” IP and Legal Filings, 5 June 2024, www.ipandlegalfilings.com/unveiling-the-veil-evolution-of-censorship-in-indian-cinema-and-the-quest-for-artistic-freedom. Accessed 4 May 2026.

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