New Delhi, India – Stand-up comedian Brijesh Jha recently found his Instagram post removed after he used satire to protest the deletion of his name from a voter list in West Bengal. The video, which accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of disenfranchising millions at the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), had garnered 1.7 million views by September 29.
Two days after its publication, Meta took the video down, citing compliance with “local laws” but providing no further justification. “I felt very helpless that day,” Jha, a Mumbai-based artist, told Al Jazeera. “I have only one thing in this country – that I can vote. If you take that away from me, then I have nothing left. As an artist, I can just make art, or I can protest.”
Jha attributed the takedown to the government’s sensitivity following an Indian Express investigation revealing that two members of the Election Commission had formally objected at least 14 times to key decisions regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls.
Launched in June of last year, the SIR exercise aims to remove deceased, duplicate, or suspicious voters from electoral lists. To date, the process has excluded more than 130 million individuals—approximately 14 percent of India’s total electorate. Critics note that a significant majority of those removed are Muslim voters, a demographic that typically does not support Modi’s Hindu nationalist party.
The opposition has accused Kumar, an appointee of the Modi government, of acting on behalf of the BJP and has called for an independent inquiry. These allegations have triggered widespread street protests demanding Kumar’s resignation. On Tuesday, police in New Delhi briefly detained main opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and other Congress party figures as they attempted to march to the Election Commission office.
“The country has been hijacked by Narendra Modi through vote theft,” Gandhi stated. “What has been done to our country is called treason. Nobody is going to escape.”
In response, a BJP spokesman accused opposition parties of deliberately attacking India’s democracy and constitutional institutions in a coordinated effort to change the government. Despite the arrest, Congress protesters and their allies returned to the streets on Wednesday, continuing demonstrations that have been fueled by satirical groups such as the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and left-wing student organizations since October 2.
The CJP has scheduled another protest in New Delhi for October 10 if Kumar does not step down. These rallies have been characterized by an inventive style of dissent utilizing humor, art, and music, often shared alongside physical protests.
However, this creative expression faces increasing suppression. According to the Indian Express, the government issued nearly 195,000 content-blocking orders to Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube between March and July—a frequency averaging one order every 68 seconds. The government defended these actions, stating that with 600 million users posting up to 78,703 items in the same timeframe, it is reasonable to expect some content may be unlawful.
This crackdown intensified after February regulations required social media platforms to remove content declared “unlawful” by authorities within three hours, a significant reduction from the previous 36-hour window.
Among those targeted was political cartoonist Satish Acharya. Several of his cartoons, some dating back three years, were removed, and his Instagram account was blocked in India from September 28 until October 5. “At different phases of history, people used cartoons as a tool to express their protest and question the people in power,” Acharya said. “I have a lot of hope in Gen Z. They are fearless, they are creative and they care for the country.”
Jha, who attended a CJP protest in Mumbai, observed that “the more cruel the power is, the softer, more humorous and more artistic the protest becomes.” Nevertheless, he has refused to reapply for reinstatement on the voter list, fearing detention. Instead, he delivered a satirical message to Modi: “Please give back my right to vote. You are a great leader with a 56-inch chest. You shouldn’t be scared of one video,” referencing a well-known boast about the Prime Minister’s physique.
The connection between the voter list deletions and the censorship of satirical content is too obvious to ignore.
Does this mean Meta is just complying blindly with local laws without any accountability? The lack of justification is concerning.
Stand-up comedians are often the last free press we have. It’s sad but not surprising that their voices are being muted.
I had no idea the government issued nearly 195,000 content-blocking orders in just five months. That’s one every 68 seconds!
This is alarming. Removing 130 million voters while silencing artists suggests a coordinated effort to weaken dissent.