Last week one of Tamil Nadu’s most prominent publication houses, the 99-year-old Vikatan Group was in the eye of a storm. On 10 February, the digital magazine Vikatan Plus released its cover—a cartoon of Modi and Trump. In it, Modi was shown cowering in chains—a clear reference to the recent deportation of illegal Indian immigrants from the US.
The Tamil Nadu unit of the BJP was not amused. On 15 February, its State President K Annamalai sent letters to the Press Council of India and MoS, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, L Murugan demanding action against Vikatan for having published the “defamatory” cartoon. Few hours later, the Vikatan website became “inaccessible” to users in India, though it remained accessible to those outside the country.
The Vikatan management vowed to fight legally what they saw as illegal blocking of their website without any formal notice. Their managing director, B Srinivasan said they were not even sure who had ordered the blocking but that they would challenge it in court. He added that the day after the site became inaccessible, they received an email from the I&B Ministry seeking a “clarification regarding the cartoon” but the mail did not confirm an official blocking of the website. The assumption though was that the Centre had blocked the website.
The ruling DMK and its INDIA bloc partners came out in strong support of Vikatan and condemned the Centre for what they called an assault on press freedom.
Organisations like the Editors Guild also came out in support and asked for the website to be restored.
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Heap of irony
The blocking of the Vikatan website is in many ways emblematic of the lack of media freedom in the state of Tamil Nadu. With the mainstream media in the state being largely subservient and even pliant, the only real journalism has come from YouTubers and social media channels.
And the state government, led by DMK, has cracked down on them. Many YouTubers have been arrested on the flimsiest of grounds (in some cases the arrests were made in the dead of the night, almost like apprehending terrorists.)
YouTuber ‘Savukku’ Shankar is one of the many anti-DMK voices who’ve been booked under the Goondas Act.
Thus, it was more than a bit ironic when the same DMK and its allies strongly condemned the Centre’s alleged action against Vikatan.
The state BJP also shot itself in the foot with the letter asking for action to be taken. It would have been easier for them to file a defamation case against Vikatan. But by supporting the blocking of the website, the state BJP showed that it was no less than the DMK.
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A power move?
The Vikatan Group is one of the hallowed publishing houses of Tamil Nadu. Founded in 1926 and taken over in 1928 by the legendary media mogul SS Vasan, it has long been an institution in the state.
It’s why action against the media house led to popular outrage. This was not like locking up a YouTuber or taking down a social media channel. The ham-handed action is likely to cost BJP votes in Tamil Nadu, a state which it is yet to crack.
The conspiracy theorists were also out in force. Some saw it as Annamalai’s attempt to embarrass his party colleague L Murugan. By demanding action against Vikatan, or so the theory went, Annamalai was showing that Murugan was weak by not acting when PM Modi had been “insulted”. This may have forced Murugan’s hand. It comes at a time when the announcement of the new State BJP President is expected and since Annamalai is batting for a second term, there were takers for such a theory.
The centre has scored a self-goal by its heavy-handed approach to the cartoon. Serious questions about media freedom have been raised in this case, especially as Vikatan said they have received no formal intimation regarding the blocking of their website.
There is little doubt that if the block is not lifted Vikatan would go to court. But the very fact that online content can be blocked without any warning or even acknowledgement is a matter of grave concern. The media needs to confront this grave threat to its existence.
The author is a political analyst, doctor, and healthcare IT professional. Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)