Censorship in India
Censorship in India has taken various forms throughout its history. Although the Constitution of India de jure guarantees freedom of expression, de facto there are various certain restrictions on content, with an official view towards "maintaining communal and religious harmony", given the history of communal tension in the nation. According to the Information Technology Rules 2011, objectionable content includes anything that "threatens the unity, integrity, defence, security or sovereignty of India, friendly relations with foreign states or public order".
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In 2021, the Freedom in the World report by Freedom House gave India a Civil Liberties Rating of 39/60 (a higher number is currently a better score). In the subcategories, India got a rating of 2/4 on 'free and independent media', 2/4 on 'individual's freedom to practice and express their religious faith or non-belief in public and private', and a score of 2/4 on 'academic freedom, and the educational system's freedom from extensive political indoctrination'. In 2016, the report Freedom by Freedom House gave India a press freedom rating of "Mostly Free", with a Press Freedom Score of 54 (0-100 scale, lower was better at the time). Analysts from Reporters Without Borders rank India 140th in the world in their 2023 Press Freedom Index, classifying it as a "Serious" situation.