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Social media platform X said on Tuesday that the Indian government earlier this month directed it to block 2,355 accounts, including two handles of the Reuters news agency, in the country. Hours later, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that it had not “issued any fresh blocking order” and “has no intention to block any prominent international news channels”.

X has stated that the Indian government asked it to block the accounts on July 3 “within hours”. The accounts of Reuters were blocked on the evening of July 5. “After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,” claimed the platform. “We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.”

X stated that it was limited by India’s law in its ability to legally challenge orders to block accounts. “We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,” it added. Read on.

Why India’s censorship of news media online without stating reasons is unlawful

The Bihar Cabinet has made domicile status mandatory for candidates to avail of the 35% reservation granted to women in state government jobs. Until now, even those who are not residents of the state could also be beneficiaries of the quota.

The state government also announced the formation of a Bihar Youth Commission, a statutory body aimed at providing employment opportunities to the state’s residents.

The decisions come ahead of the Assembly elections expected to be held in Bihar in October or November. Read on

Meat shops in Delhi will stay closed during the Kanwar Yatra pilgrimage, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kapil Mishra has said. In Uttar Pradesh too, Chief Minister Adityanath has directed officials to ensure that no meat is sold along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state.

“Most of these meat shops are illegal anyway and should not be operating as per law,” Mishra told reporters. “But during the Kanwar Yatra, they will be especially kept shut.”

During the Kanwar Yatra, devotees walk hundreds of kilometres to collect water from the Ganga near Haridwar and carry it back to their home states. They mainly come from Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi and Madhya Pradesh. The pilgrimage will take place between July 11 and July 23 this year. Read on

Two human rights organisations have alleged that Muslim residents of several villages in Maharashtra’s Pune district were forced to flee their homes and shut businesses in the past two months amid boycott calls by “majoritarian forces”.

The People’s Union for Civil Liberties and the Association for Protection of Civil Rights have urged the Pune divisional commissioner to act against those creating a “sense of insecurity” in Paud, Pirangut, Kolvan, Suatarwadi and the surrounding villages of Mulsi taluk.

The two groups had conducted a fact-finding exercise in the district on July 2 after reports emerged that residents of the villages were told “not to allow any Muslim to work or employ him/her in any business or profession or allow them to stay as a tenant”. This came after a Muslim boy allegedly desecrated an idol of the Hindu deity Annapurna in Paud village on May 2, the groups said. Read on

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