In recent times, there has been a massive outcry over the death of George Floyd, a black man in the US who died as a white police officer knelt on his neck. But even as there were protests in the US, journalist and former Amnesty India chief Aakar Patel took to Twitter calling for similar protests in India against atrocities committed on Dalits, women, Muslims and Adivasis.
This did not go down well with people, and earlier in June, the Bengaluru police filed a complain against the activist over his post. More recently, Patel's Twitter account was "withheld in India".
To recap, Patel in his tweet had said that "we need protests like these".
"From Dalits and Muslims and Adivasis. And the poor. And women. World will notice. Protest is a craft,” he had tweeted.
As per a notice sent to Patel by Twitter, his account has been withheld in India following a "legal removal demand". As per the notice, the legal demand claims that Patel's account "violates the law(s) of India". For those outside of the country however, his account and its contents remain visible.
"Indian law obligates Twitter to withhold access to this content in India; however, the content remains available elsewhere. Following Indian legal process, we are in current communication with the Indian authorities who issued this legal demand in which your account was included. We will notify you if there are any changes to the status of your account," the notice added.
On Friday evening, Patel took to Twitter sharing the email and adding that he remained blocked in India.
"I have written back to ask for a copy of the legal removal demand," he added. Thanking people for their support, Patel also urged people outside India to share a screenshot of his tweet to make it visible to others.
