'Satluj' row: Government panel raises UAPA spectre, 'misuse' by Pakistan
Practice PYQs on this topic
500+ questions on Polity with explanations
📌 Summary:
-
Government''s Inter-Departmental Committee (IDC) has recommended that the film "Satluj" (dir. Honey Trehan, starring Diljit Dosanjh) remain blocked from public access under Section 69A of the IT Act; it was pulled from OTT platform ZEE5 for Indian viewers two days after its July 3 release
-
Film is based on human rights activist Jaswant Singh Khalra, who documented mass disappearances during Punjab''s militancy years and died in police custody
-
IDC''s national security case rests on two grounds: (1) Khalistan-related propaganda and foreign-based separatist mobilisation, with multiple pro-Khalistan organisations listed as terrorist organisations under the UAPA framework; (2) "misuse" of the film by Pakistan-based actors as evidence of "Indian State brutality" to push separatist ideology
-
July 9 order: Punjab''s "current security context" poses an "immediate risk of the film becoming a tool for reviving separatist grievance among youth" given border sensitivity, cross-border propaganda and foreign-linked extremist ecosystems
-
Order cites Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) — declared an unlawful association under UAPA
-
Notable reasoning: the film "need not explicitly call for secession if it supplies the emotional and evidentiary building blocks of secessionist propaganda"
🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS3 Internal Security — UAPA framework (terrorist organisations/unlawful associations), radicalisation risk assessment, State vs non-State actors; GS2 — free speech (Art 19(1)(a)) vs reasonable restrictions, Section 69A blocking powers
📝 Prelims Facts:
- Section 69A, IT Act 2000: Centre can block online content on grounds including sovereignty, security of State, public order
- UAPA allows designation of organisations as "terrorist organisations" and "unlawful associations" (e.g., Sikhs For Justice)
- IDC (Inter-Departmental Committee) reviews blocking under IT Rules
🔑 Key Term: Section 69A, IT Act — statutory power to direct blocking of public access to online information, upheld in Shreya Singhal (2015)
UPSC Classification
See PYQs related to “Polity”
Every classification tag above links to actual UPSC questions asked on that topic — with answer, explanation and elimination logic. Only in the app.