-The Hindu The observation by the Supreme Court that political leaders should not take criticism as a personal insult highlights a particular kind of intolerance that is rarely referred to in the ongoing debate on the subject: the inability of public figures to tolerate criticism and their repeated resort to criminal defamation proceedings to stifle adverse comment. Nothing exemplifies this as much as the 100-odd prosecutions launched by the government of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: India is among the countries that have highest support for religious freedom, with eight out of 10 Indians believing that it is very important to have the freedom to practice their faith compared to a global median of 74%, according to a survey by Pew Research Center. Non-partisan fact tank US-based Pew Research --that surveyed 38 countries and interviewed 40,786 people between April 5 and May...

-The Telegraph New Delhi: The Narendra Modi government is preparing to crack down on community radio stations for failing to broadcast the Prime Minister's monthly radio programme, Mann ki Baat, and for airing "anti-government" views. The Union information and broadcasting ministry, after a scrutiny of the content of some 30 community radio stations in the National Capital Region, has found broadcasts from most of the stations "objectionable", officials said. "These radio stations that...

-AFP Global online freedom declined for a fifth year as govts stepped up electronic surveillance and clamped down on dissidents using blogs or social media Washington: Global online freedom declined for the fifth straight year as governments around the world expand censorship and surveillance of the Internet, according to a group that tracks democracy and human rights. Nearly half of the 65 countries examined have seen online freedom weaken since June...

-The Hindu In the Net neutrality debate, there is a conflict between two core values: ease of access and neutrality. The ease of access promised by applications like Free Basics compromises neutrality and may later morph into a method of predatory pricingIf programs that bring access to a part of the Internet in the immediate future were to entrench themselves, it could eventually lead to telecom companies abusing their dominant positionsIn...