News Analysis India

Tag: hate speech

  • ‘We can’t hold people to ransom by violent protests’: Bengal cleric’s body to Mamata

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: Stating that people cannot be held to ransom by violence, an association of Muslim clerics on Sunday night urged West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee not to grant permission to any more rally to protest against controversial comments on Prophet Mohammad by two BJP leaders.

    The Bengal Imams Association also asked members of the community not to fall into the traps of vested interests and indulge in violence.

    President of the association Md Yahia said in a video statement that violence, arson and attacking properties and police personnel by a section of minority community members in the name of agitation have hurt the economy and caused great hardships to the general public.

    “While the comments of Nupur Sharma and another BJP leader are unacceptable and we are awaiting administrative action, we cannot hold people of the state to ransom by violent protests that are taking place in pockets of Howrah, Murshidabad and Nadia districts.

    Setting on fire properties and pelting the police with stones and being lathi-charged by the police cannot boost the image of a devoutly religious man or his icon,” he said.

    Yahia had on Thursday called for protests inside mosques across the state, demanding the arrest of the two BJP leaders, but said the administration is free to take action against people who are blocking roads and inconveniencing the public.

  • ‘High time PM breaks silence on proliferation of Islamophobic incidents’: Tharoor

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Amid outrage over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by the BJP’s now-sacked two functionaries, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said it is high time Prime Minister Narendra Modi broke his silence on the “proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents” in the country, asserting that his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.

    In an interview with PTI, Tharoor said the irony is that in recent years the Indian government has taken “impressive steps” to strengthen relations with Islamic countries, but that risks being “seriously undermined”.

    The former Union minister also weighed in on the ongoing debate on the need for blasphemy laws in the country, and said he is not a fan of such laws because the history of such laws elsewhere is littered with their misuse and abuse.

    “The existence of a blasphemy law tends to encourage both excessive frivolous litigation and mob misconduct by those who take the law into their own hands. I think our current hate speech laws and Section 295A are quite adequate to deal with such misbehaviour,” Tharoor said.

    The issue is of the willingness of the police and local authorities to enforce the law, without fear or favour, against whoever violates it, he said.

    “Exemplary action against any and all offenders will have a salutary effect in reducing such cases in future,” the Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.

    Asked about the outrage and condemnation from a number of Muslim-majority nations over the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad and calls that Prime Minister Modi should have intervened in the matter when the comments were made, Tharoor said, “I believe it is high time the PM broke his silence on the proliferation of hate speech and Islamophobic incidents in our country, because his silence is interpreted by some as condoning what has been happening.”

    “I am sure he (Modi) understands that this kind of divisive rhetoric is undermining his own vision for India’s development and prosperity,” he said.

    Social cohesion and national harmony are a must for any nation to progress and grow, Tharoor asserted.

    “That is why, in the name of ‘sabka saath, sabka vikas, sabka vishwas’, he must publicly call for a stop to such behaviour,” he said.

    Asked about the impact of the row over diplomacy and foreign policy, Tharoor said the irony is that in recent years the Indian government has taken impressive steps to strengthen relations with Islamic countries, especially in the Gulf.

    “That risks being seriously undermined, as the media in these countries is replete with stories about the increasing ‘demonisation’ of Muslims in our country,” the former minister of state for external affairs said.

    The BJP had last Sunday suspended its national spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled its Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal after their controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad.

    Two persons succumbed to gunshot wounds in Jharkhand capital Ranchi and fresh demonstrations were held in West Bengal’s Howrah on Saturday as tension prevailed in several parts of the country, a day after the violent protests against the controversial remarks.

    On the protests, Tharoor said section 295A of the Indian Penal Code clearly makes it a criminal offence to outrage “the religious feelings of any class of citizens of India”; anyone who by ‘words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representations or otherwise, insults or attempts to insult the religion or religious beliefs’ of Indians should have been prosecuted by the police.

    “I am glad to see that action is being taken, even if belatedly, against those who injected such toxic elements into our national discourse,” he said.

    Asked about the Congress being accused of peddling in ‘soft Hindutva’ in the past and if the party needs to take an aggressive stance on issues of the minorities such as the row over the comments on the Prophet, Tharoor said he believes the Congress has been clear in its denunciation of this recent incident.

    “We believe in an inclusive idea of India and should and must speak up whenever that idea is violated by word or deed — whoever does it,” he asserted.

  • Prophet row: BJP Bengal chief holds demonstration in Kolkata; Suvendu prevented from visiting violence-hit Howrah

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP president Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday held a sit-in before the statue of Mahatma Gandhi here protesting against the alleged failure of the West Bengal government to contain violence in Howrah district.

    The Gandhi statue at the Mayo Road-Dufferin Road crossing in central Kolkata has been witness to numerous protests.

    Majumdar, who started his agitation around noon, also flayed the alleged attempt of the TMC-run government to stop opposition leaders from meeting people, hit by the recent violence.

    Widespread violence broke out in Howrah district on Friday over inflammatory comments by now-suspended BJP functionaries Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal.

    The BJP leader alleged that the police had not taken prompt action to prevent the violence from spiralling in Panchla, Uluberia, Dhulagarh in Howrah district, and Beldanga in Murshidabad district at the outset.

    Majumdar and his supporters were arrested on Saturday while trying to visit Howrah district where several saffron party offices were attacked, as the district was under prohibitory orders and gatherings of five or more people were banned there.

    The BJP leader and his companions were, however, later released.

    TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh told reporters, “The BJP has no moral right to talk on the issue as the comments of Nupur Sharma and Naveen Jindal triggered the outrage and hurt the sentiments of people of a particular community and lowered the image of the country abroad.”

    High drama was witnessed at Tamluk in Purba Medinipur district on Sunday afternoon as West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari was prevented by police from visiting violence-hit areas in Howrah.

    He was later allowed to proceed after a two-hour-long stand-off on the condition that he would go straight to Kolkata, without making any pit stop in violence-hit areas in adjoining Howrah district.

    Adhikari said he would move the court on Monday over being prevented from visiting the areas affected by violent protests over controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by now suspended BJP spokespersons.

    Police claimed preventing him from travelling to Howrah was a “precautionary measure” as prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been clamped in many areas in the district and his visit may have caused law and order problems.

    Adhikari was moving with his security entourage when he was stopped by a huge police team at Radharani More in Tamluk.

    He was not accompanied by any other BJP leader.

    “We have received information that Adhikari was planning to visit Howrah district, in parts of which Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed. So, as a precautionary measure, we had to prevent him from going there as his visit may have caused a law and order problem,” a senior police officer told PTI.

    Adhikari remained seated inside the vehicle, claiming he had no intention of visiting Howrah.

    He was also reluctant to return to his hometown Kanthi in Purba Medinipur district from where he had started.

    He engaged in heated arguments with police officers present at the spot, stating that he wanted to have lunch and take rest at a guest house in Kolaghat in Purba Medinipur district, before proceeding to Kolkata.

    “I have been unlawfully obstructed by @WBPolice on NH 116 at Radhamoni under Tamluk PS. @MedinipurSp is there a Curfew in place in Purba Medinipur District or Section 144 has been imposed? I am moving towards Kolaghat for having lunch. How is it prohibited?” Adhikari said in a series of tweets from the spot.

    “I wonder why @WBPolice DGP @mmalaviya1 is using the Police personnel to obstruct @BJP4Bengal leadership when the need of the hour is to deploy them across WB where rioters are having a free run destroying & looting public & private properties,” he added.

    Adhikari said he has a programme to attend at Indian Museum in Kolkata in the afternoon and assembly session will take place on Monday.

    After this, police allowed him to proceed but on the condition that he won’t make any pit stop in troubled areas in Howrah district and go straight to Kolkata, ending the two-hour-long stand-off.

    Upon reaching Kolkata, Adhikari straightaway went to the site of party colleague and state BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar’s sit-in demonstration against alleged failure of the Mamata Banerjee government in containing violent incidents in Howrah.

    “I did not get down from my vehicle, even while passing by our gutted party office in Uluberia. I offered by tributes with folded hands as the car slowed down. We will later purify it with Ganga water,” he said.

    Adhikari alleged that he was not treated in a proper manner and such treatment was never meted out to the then LoPs Pankaj Banerjee or Partha Chatterjee during the previous Left Front rule.

    He also alleged that Majumdar was prevented from visiting Howrah on Saturday to “hide” torching of properties by a mob in Panchla.

    Majumdar was arrested on Saturday afternoon when he was heading towards Howrah district.

    He was later released.

    In an apparent reference to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew and TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Adhikari said, “Only aunt and nephew are given security by police in the state.”

    Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar also sought an update from Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi over Adhikari not being allowed to visit Howrah.

    “Chief Secretary @chief_west has been called to effect immediate response to the communication sent by Hon’ble Leader of Opposition. This in context of earlier curtailment of his rights is inappropriate. Why have undeclared emergency!” the governor tweeted, sharing an image of a letter earlier written by Adhikari to Dwivedi urging the administration not to prevent him from visiting damaged BJP party offices.

    In the letter, Adhikari wrote, “many BJP party offices in Howrah district have been vandalised and as the LoP, I will be visiting such vandalised offices alone. The question of violating Sec 144 of CrPC does not arise. I will hereby require your good office to ensure I am not prevented from visiting the vandalised party offices in Howrah.”

    Before leaving his home, Adhikari had said he would move the court on Monday if he was stopped from visiting vandalised BJP offices in Howrah district.

    His assertion came after Kanthi Police Station in Purba Medinipur district issued a letter asking him not to visit Howrah as prohibitory orders are clamped in several areas in the district.

    The letter, issued by the officer-in-charge of Kanthi Police Station, stated that concern over his security was the main reason for asking him not to visit parts of Howrah district where Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed.

    “I will visit our party offices in Howrah district that were ransacked. Police have asked me not to visit areas where Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed. But I will not violate prohibitory orders as I will go there alone.”

    “If I am stopped by the police, I will move the court tomorrow (Monday). An LoP can’t be stopped from visiting a trouble-torn area,” Adhikari said before leaving his Kanthi residence.

    “After putting BJP WB President Sukanta Majumdar under detention, Mamata Banerjee is now ensuring that LoP Suvendu Adhikari is not able to visit Howrah, where BJP offices have been gutted.

    Her entire focus is on the opposition, not on rampaging ‘Dudhel Gais’ (milch cows), as she calls them,” BJP’s West Bengal co-in charge Amit Malviya tweeted.

    Reacting to the development, senior TMC leader Kunal Ghosh alleged that Adhikari wanted to visit Howrah with the intention of fanning trouble.

    “What is the need for visiting areas where Section 144 of CrPC has been imposed? He wanted to visit Howrah to create trouble.

    The BJP wants to destroy the peaceful atmosphere in the state,” he said.

    State minister Sashi Panja said that Adhikari should cooperate with the state administration for maintenance of law and order.

    “Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC is already imposed in the areas Adhikari wanted to visit. He should not visit those places as it might cause trouble,” she said.

    Protests erupted in several parts of Howrah district on Friday over controversial remarks by suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and expelled leader Naveen Jindal on Prophet Mohammad.

    Agitators resorted to stone-pelting, setting police vehicles on fire and damaging public property during violent protests and clashes with the law enforcers in the district.

    Fresh violent protests were reported in Panchla on Saturday.

    Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of CrPC have been clamped in several areas of Howrah including Uluberia, Panchla and Domjur till June 15 and internet services have been suspended in the entire district till June 13 to prevent the spread of misinformation.

    A lawyer has filed a complaint against suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma with the Contai police station, police said here on Sunday.

    Abu Sohel, who stated that he is a lawyer, filed the complaint through an e-mail dated June 11 to the inspector in charge of Contai police station in Purba Medinipur district.

    He sought that an FIR be registered against Sharma for her remarks.

    A senior officer of Contai police station said that the e-mail has been received.

    Sharma who made an objectionable statement about the Prophet during a TV debate on the Gyanvapi controversy was suspended by the saffron party after many Islamic countries raised objections to it.

  • Amid Prophet remarks row, two arrested in UP’s Bhadohi over ‘objectionable’, ‘inciting’ Facebook posts

    By PTI

    BHADOHI: Two people were arrested on Sunday in Bhadohi district on charges of ‘inciting religious sentiments’ through Facebook posts, police here said.

    According to Superintendent of Police Dr Anil Kumar, one Chaudhary Azhar, a resident of Suryawa Police Station area, had made some “caste-specific” posts on Facebook against Nupur Sharma after some people took out a procession in her support on Saturday.

    Durgesh Singh, the second accused, from Kotwali area, had also made a post on the same site “hurting the religious sentiments of a particular community,” he said.

    The SP said that police took note of the posts made by the two men and booked them under relevant sections.

    He also appealed to the general public to avoid making objectionable remarks on social media and maintain peace, warning them of “strict legal action” if they do otherwise.

    People in Gopiganj Police Station area of the district had taken out a procession in support of Nupur Sharma, a former spokesperson of Bharatiya Janata Party, on Saturday evening.

    Police have registered an FIR against 46 people in this matter for violation of Section 144, the SP said.

    Eleven people have been named in this FIR and 35 are unidentified persons – all of whom are alleged to have participated in the procession.

    Police is in the process of initiating their arrest, the senior police officer added.

  • Bengal BJP president arrested on way to violence-hit Howrah; Governor appeals for peace

    By PTI

    KOLKATA: BJP’s West Bengal unit president Sukanta Majumdar was arrested on Saturday afternoon when he tried to visit violence-hit Howrah district, police said.

    Majumdar, the MP of Balurghat in Uttar Dinajpur, was arrested near the toll plaza on Vidyasagar Setu, they said.

    “Mr Majumdar was trying to travel to Howrah where prohibitory orders under CrPC 144 have been clamped. His visit could have created a law and order situation. This is a preventive arrest,” a senior police officer told PTI.

    Violence rocked parts of Howrah on Friday following the inflammatory remarks of now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma on Prophet Mohammed.

    Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Saturday expressed concern over the “worsening law and order” situation in the state, following protests in several parts of Howrah district.

    He asked Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to deal sternly with the problem and take action against lawbreakers.

    “Concerned at worsening law & order situation. Inaction @chief_west@WBPolice @KolkataPolice is unfortunate endorsement of the criminality of law violators. Appeal #MamataBanerjee to sternly deal with lawbreakers. All involved be identified and arrested,” Dhankhar wrote on Twitter.

    The situation in Howrah, which witnessed violent protests against controversial remarks of suspended BJP spokespersons, was peaceful on Saturday morning, officials said.

    Protesters clashed with police personnel in Dhulagarh, Panchla and Uluberia areas when law enforcers tried to end a blockade on a national highway stretch on Friday.

    They set police vehicles on fire and damaged public property during the agitations.

    Internet services have been suspended across the district till June 13 and prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC imposed in several areas such as Uluberia, Domjur and Panchla till June 15.

    Commuters had to face problems as road and railway tracks were blocked by protesters in the district.

    Several local and express trains were cancelled due to the violence.

  • ‘Receiving death threats on social media, urge Delhi Police to take note’: Expelled BJP leader Naveen Jindal

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Days after being expelled from the BJP over his controversial remarks against Prophet Mohammad, party’s former Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal on Tuesday claimed that he and his family members have been receiving “death threats” on social media platforms.

    Jindal had come under attack on social media after his tweet about Prophet Mohammad on June 1.

    “Me and my family members have been receiving death threats on social media platforms. I would like to request Delhi police to kindly take note of it,” Jindal wrote on Twitter.

    On Sunday, a communication from Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta to Jindal said his views on social media vitiate communal harmony and are in violation of the party’s fundamental beliefs.

    He has acted against the party’s policies and ideology, Gupta had said.

    “Your primary membership is immediately terminated and you are expelled from the party,” Gupta had said in the communication.

    Jindal said that he had tweeted asking a question to those attacking and insulting Hindu deities and it was not aimed at hurting the religious sentiments of any community.

    Jindal, a former journalist with over two decades of experience, has attracted controversy through his social media posts in the past too.

    Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has provided security to suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and her family after an FIR was registered on a complaint that she was getting death threats over her controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad, officials said.

    She had requested the police to provide security citing harassment and threats she had been receiving.

  • ‘Why are Muslim countries silent on China?’ asks a section of activists amid Prophet remarks row

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: A section of activists and experts on Monday questioned the “silence”‘ of Muslim nations on China’s treatment of minorities and alleged violation of human rights there after some of these countries lodged a protest with India over the remarks of two BJP functionaries on Prophet Mohammad.

    The row over the alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammad escalated on Sunday with protests from countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Iran, prompting the BJP to take action against its functionaries and assert that it respects all religions.

    But after the reaction of the Islamic countries, questions are being asked in some quarters on whether these nations will raise similar objections against China, which has been accused by many human rights groups of targeting Muslims and other minorities.

    Bejing has been denying these allegations.

    Brahma Chellaney, Professor Emeritus of strategic studies at the Centre for Policy Research (CPR), said, “Some Muslim states that have been mute on China’s assault on Islam, including incarcerating over a million Muslims and confiscating Korans, have played up the anti-Muslim remarks of two Indians now expelled from the ruling party.

    “Is it because they perceive India as a soft state?” Kasturi Shankar, an activist and lawyer, also took to Twitter echoing similar sentiments.

    “Nations that claim to stand for the sentiments of the world’s two billion Muslims do nothing for Muslims in Afghanistan, Syria, China or Burma.”

    “We can do nothing against ISIS or China or Taliban, so let’s pick on a lone woman in a TV debate instead,” Shankar said.

    Former Rajya Sabha MP and BJP member Balbir Punj took to Twitter saying, “World knows how China treats its minorities- specifically Muslims & Tibetan Buddhists. China violates all human rights, international conventions while dealing with Islam & Muslims in Xinjiang. None in the world even squeaks about it. Why? Why? (sic)”.

    He alleged that the Congress, the communists and “jihadis” were celebrating as their “‘relentless campaign on manufactured intolerance against Modi & India has worked for now”.

    “‘We have to work harder to expose the real character of this lot & neutralise them to save plural India,” he said.

    Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran and Kuwait expressed their condemnation of the controversial remarks against the Prophet by former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma and former Delhi media head Naveen Kumar Jindal, and called for “respect for beliefs and religions.”

    Indian ambassadors were summoned and handed over protest notes.

    As the row intensified domestically and abroad, the BJP on Sunday suspended Nupur Sharma and expelled Jindal.

    Sharma’s comments, made in a TV debate nearly 10 days ago, and Jindal’s now-deleted tweets also sparked a Twitter trend calling for a boycott of Indian products in some countries.

    “I condemn hate speech of any kind. I condemn hate speech by anyone. What piques me is the selective outrage and double standards.”

    The world needs to put humanity before religion,” Shankar said.

    “Nupur Sharma was way out of line. I cannot imagine the party had any other option but to expel her. That said, I don’t hear any of these countries condemn the manchester massacre, Charlie Hebdo or Islamic terrorist acts,” she said in a series of tweets.

    Divya Kumar Soti, security affairs analyst and columnist, also raised the issue of Uighurs and restrictions on Muslims imposed by the Chinese regime.

    “China sent millions of Uighur Muslims to reeducation camps, banned hijab and beard, restricted namaz and Ramzan. Did any Arab country ever dare summon a Chinese ambassador?” Soti said.

    Filmmaker Ashoke Pandit also took a swipe at the Arab countries over their reaction.

    “So Arab countries will now decide who should be a member of @BJP4India & what should be the basic principles on which the party should function,” he tweeted.

    Shankar said those who issue statements on behalf of all the Muslims of the world “should logically take responsibility for all the crimes by any and all Muslims too”.

    Several other Twitter users echoed the same sentiments.

    “Kuwait and Qatar never bothered about the actual torture of Uighur Muslims by China. But a TV debate on an Indian channel where the opponent was also insulting Hindus left right center rattled them,” said Monica Verma.

    Vishwas Mehta, another user, tweeted, “As an Indian, my respect to China on this matter because no Muslim country dares to say a word to the Chinese government for making concentration camps, atrocities on Muslims.

    They just make it look so simple and peaceful”.

    Pakistan, which has often drawn flak over the treatment meted out to minorities on its soil, had also summoned the Indian chargé d’affaires over the remarks by the two BJP leaders.

  • UP polls: EC notice to BJP candidate Sharan Singh over inflammatory remark

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Election Commission on Sunday issued a notice to a BJP candidate in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly making an inflammatory statement, and said he prima facie violated the model code and the electoral law.

    The poll watchdog gave Mayankeshwar Sharan Singh, the BJP candidate from the Tiloi assembly constituency in Amethi, 24 hours to respond.

    According to the transcript of a purported video clip made part of the notice, Singh broadly said in Hindi that “If you have to live in India, (you will have) to chant ‘Radhey-Radhey’, else like all those who went to Pakistan during Partition, you can go too, you are not needed here.”

    The video is being circulated on social media, the EC said.

    The commission noted that an FIR was lodged against Singh on February 18 under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act.

    “Take notice that in the event of no response from your side within the stipulated time, it will be presumed that you have nothing to say in the matter and the Election Commission will take appropriate action or decision in the matter without making any further reference to you,” the poll panel asserted.

  • Meta vows to combat misinformation, hate speech on platform as states head for polls

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Facebook-parent Meta on Thursday said it will be activating its Elections Operations Center to watch out for potential abuses that could emerge across the platform related to state elections, as the social media giant outlined its firm resolve to curb hate speech, harmful content and misinformation on its platforms.

    Meta, in a blog, said it has been preparing for these elections in India, and has a comprehensive strategy in place to keep people safe and encourage civic engagement.

    The move assumes significance as big social media platforms have drawn flak in the past over hate speech, misinformation and fake news circulating on their platforms.

    The government had notified IT rules last year to make digital intermediaries more accountable and responsible for content hosted on their platforms.

    IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has recently said social media needs to be made more accountable and stricter rules in this regard could be brought in, if there is political consensus on the matter.

    Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa will be held between February 10 and March 7 in seven phases, with the counting of votes on March 10.

    In its blogpost on Thursday, Meta underlined its commitment to combating misinformation, harmful content, voter suppression and fake news, while improving transparency of political and social advertising.

    Meta said it is launching the security megaphone before elections to remind users to protect their accounts against online threats by activating two-factor authentication.

    This will be available in three Indian languages, including Hindi.

    “We’ll be activating our Elections Operations Center so we can monitor and respond to potential abuses that we see emerging related to these elections in real time,” Meta said.

    Facebook’s parent company recently changed its name to Meta.

    Apps under Meta include Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

    Meta said it has a comprehensive strategy in place for these elections, which includes detecting and removing hate speech and content that incites violence, reducing the spread of misinformation, making political advertising more transparent, and partnering with election authorities to remove content that violates local law.

    Meta acknowledged that is well aware of how hate speech on its platforms can lead to offline harm.

    The backdrop of elections, makes it even more critical for the platform to detect potential hate speech and prevent it from spreading, it pointed out.

    “This is an area that we’ve prioritised and will continue working to address comprehensively for these elections to help keep people safe,” it pledged.

    Meta said it has invested more than USD 13 billion in teams and technology.

    “This has allowed us to triple the size of the global team working on safety and security to over 40,000 including 15,000 plus dedicated content reviewers across 70 languages,” it said.

    For India, Meta has reviewers in 20 Indian languages.

    Under the existing Community Standards, the platform removes certain slurs that it determines to be hate speech.

    “We are also updating our policies regularly to include additional risk areas. To complement that effort, we may deploy technology to identify new words and phrases associated with hate speech, and either remove posts with that language or reduce their distribution,” it said.

    Content that violates policies against hate speech are removed, it said, adding that even where it does not violate policies but can still lead to offline harm if it becomes widespread, the content is demoted so fewer people see it.

    Claiming it has made significant progress on its efforts, Meta said the prevalence of hate speech on the platform is now down to just 0.03 per cent, although “there is always more work to be done”.

    Meta will also be offering Election Day reminders to give voters accurate information and encourage them to share the information with friends on Facebook.

    Last December, it announced the expansion of ads enforcement, requiring ‘Paid By For’ disclaimers for ads about elections or politics, to include social issues.

    “The enforcement will be applicable on ads that discuss, debate, or advocate for or against important topics,” Meta said.

    Ahead of all elections, Meta said it trains political parties about the responsible use of WhatsApp, and party workers are cautioned about the possibility of their accounts getting banned if they send messages to people without prior user-consent.

    “We know that election periods are contentious and they can often be unpredictable. So while we head into these elections in India prepared and ready to meet the challenges we know will be present, we’re also ready to adapt to changing circumstances and unforeseen events,” it said.

    Meta emphasised it will not hesitate to take additional steps if necessary “to protect this important exercise of democracy in India” and keep the platform and the Indian people safe before, during, and after the voting ends.

    India is a large market for social media platforms.

    As per data cited by the government last year, India had 53 crore WhatsApp users, 44.8 crore YouTube users, 41 crore Facebook subscribers, 21 crore Instagram users, while 1.75 crore account holders were on microblogging platform Twitter.

  • Parl panel chairperson writes to Shah for taking effective steps to curb hate speech

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs Anand Sharma on Thursday urged Home Minister Amit Shah to take effective steps against hate speech and curb the practice.

    The senior Congress leader has written to Shah, asking him to sensitise chief secretaries and director generals of police (DGPs) of states to take prompt and firm action against those making such speeches.

    Sharma, who is deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha, has also asked the home minister to consider taking legislative action, including amendments in the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, to effectively counter all manifestations of hate speech.

    Drawing Shah’s attention towards the “growing incidents of hate speech”, Sharma said these are aimed at targeting certain sections of citizens, especially minorities and women, which is a matter of serious concern.

    They are also inflaming passions in order to create an environment of insecurity and distrust, he said.

    “Hate speech is being used as a tool to promote enmity and disharmony among between different groups on grounds of religion, caste, ethnicity etc. In my opinion, if left unchecked, this will severely undermine the rule of law and threaten the fundamental right of life, liberty and dignity of our citizens,” Sharma said in his letter.

    “I, therefore, seek your urgent intervention. It is requested that the home secretary be advised to sensitise the chief secretaries and DGPs of states to take prompt and firm action to enforce law and secure order,” he said.

    “Further, the government may consider legislative action including amendments in the Indian Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure to effectively counter all manifestations of hate speech in the larger national interest,” the Congress leader said.

    The Parliamentary Committee’s chairman said recent incidents and orchestrated acts of violence, are making headlines in both national and global media.

    “They also tarnish the image of our great country, which is the world’s largest democracy. Free speech, through the quintessence of democracy and enshrined in the Constitution, cannot be allowed to be misused to advocate, incite, promote or justify hatred and violence against a person or community,” he said.

    It is imperative that the spirit of the Constitution is reaffirmed and protected, Sharma asserted.