当言论自由成为附带损害:印度的帕哈尔甘事件后果
“在2025年,印度不仅仅是打击恐怖主义。它还打击了歌曲、讽刺和板球评论。”
在4月22日帕哈尔甘恐怖袭击后的几天里,印度发起了一场运动——这场运动的目标不是嫌疑人或极端主义网络,而是声音。
十六个巴基斯坦的YouTube频道被封锁。
Shoaib Akhtar的热门板球节目?消失了。
Coke Studio的音乐?在各个平台上被禁声。
任何支持跨境合作的人?都被贴上了不爱国的标签。
政府的理由?国家安全。
但时机和目标引发了明显的问题。为什么一个关于六分和出局的YouTube频道被视为比攻击者本身更大的威胁?
娱乐作为敌人
在审查名单中,最引人注目的是没有列入的内容:没有极端主义频道,没有仇恨传播者,没有恐怖主义宣传。相反,涉及的是音乐、体育和娱乐。
文化交流长期以来一直是印度和巴基斯坦之间为数不多的桥梁之一。当Coke Studio或板球将粉丝跨越国界团结在一起时,政治便退居次要地位——也许这正是一些掌权者所担心的。
对于印度当局而言,跨越国界的团结,即使是在欢乐中,也是令人不便的。
印度内部:收紧控制
审查不仅仅是针对外部。在印度内部,情况也在升级。
克什米尔的记者继续面临监视、骚扰和在严厉的安全法(如UAPA)下被逮捕。
学生因观看质疑莫迪总理记录的被禁BBC纪录片而受到惩罚。
社交媒体平台被迫删除内容,而印度的IT规则几乎赋予了政府对在线言论的完全控制权。
甚至国际新闻机构也未能幸免。税务突袭随之而来,针对负面报道——这一模式对那些观察印度媒体环境在过去几年变化的人来说并不陌生。
巴基斯坦:冷静、战略和幽默
当德里封禁平台时,巴基斯坦采取了不同的路线。
没有官方的报复,没有相应的禁令。相反,巴基斯坦的网民开始利用讽刺。
嘲讽印度威胁的视频、戏谑军方声明的TikTok,以及大量的网络迷因充斥着互联网。
甚至印度军方人物——如Lucky Bisht和Shivender Kanwar——也成为了病毒视频中的反复笑料。
幽默的力量最终成为巴基斯坦最有效的回应。
在外交层面,巴基斯坦保持正式。当印度威胁撤销印度河水协议时,伊斯兰堡通过适当的法律渠道提出了结构化的抗议——没有大声威胁,只有事实和条约。
从未发生的水战
印度的“水武器”概念曾一度成为头条,但很快就消退了。专家指出,印度缺乏存储或重新引导其威胁要封锁的河流的基础设施。
因此,这一声明听起来大胆,但实际上却无力——一个没有实质内容的头条。
甚至印度分析人士也称其为不切实际。巴基斯坦冷静、基于条约的回应进一步缓解了紧张局势。
选举前的模式
随着印度大选的临近,事件的发展并不令人惊讶。
近年来,激发反巴基斯坦情绪已成为一种常用策略。这将话题从通货膨胀、宗教暴力或政策失误转移到民族主义和安全上。
但代价是巨大的。
每当一个声音被禁,无论是记者还是音乐家,世界都看到印度离其民主形象越来越远。
每一个不必要的禁令都削弱了这个曾以自由思想自豪的国家的信誉。
更大的图景
这不仅仅是关于一次恐怖袭击。
这是关于一种更广泛的心态——批评是危险的,文化是可疑的,异议必须受到控制。
查看原文
"In 2025, India didn’t just go after terrorism. It went after songs, satire, and cricket commentary."<p>In the days following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India launched a campaign — not against suspects or extremist networks — but against voices.<p>Sixteen Pakistani YouTube channels were blocked.
Shoaib Akhtar’s popular cricket show? Gone.
Coke Studio’s music? Silenced across platforms.
And anyone supporting cross-border collaborations? Labeled unpatriotic.<p>The government's justification? National security.<p>But the timing and the targets raised obvious questions. Why was a YouTube channel on sixes and wickets treated as a bigger threat than the attackers themselves?<p>Entertainment as Enemy
What stood out most in the censorship list was what wasn’t on it: there were no extremist channels, no hate preachers, no terrorist propaganda. Instead, it was music, sports, and entertainment.<p>Cultural exchange has long been one of the few remaining bridges between India and Pakistan. When Coke Studio or cricket unites fans across borders, politics takes a back seat — and perhaps that’s exactly what some in power fear.<p>For the Indian establishment, unity across borders, even in joy, is inconvenient.<p>Inside India: Tightening the Grip
Censorship wasn’t just directed outward. Inside India, things escalated as well.<p>Kashmiri journalists continued to face surveillance, harassment, and arrests under harsh security laws like UAPA.
Students were penalized for watching the banned BBC documentary that questioned Prime Minister Modi’s record.
Social media platforms were forced to remove content, and India’s IT Rules gave the government near-total authority over online speech.<p>Even international newsrooms weren’t spared. Tax raids followed negative coverage — a pattern already familiar to those watching India’s media environment shift over the past few years.<p>Pakistan: Calm, Strategic, and Humorous
While Delhi banned platforms, Pakistan took a different route.<p>There were no official retaliations, no matching bans. Instead, Pakistani netizens leaned into satire.
Videos mocking Indian threats, TikToks lampooning dramatic army statements, and meme storms flooded the internet.<p>Even Indian military figures — such as Lucky Bisht and Shivender Kanwar — became recurring punchlines in viral reels.
The power of humor ended up being Pakistan’s most effective response.<p>At the diplomatic level, Pakistan kept it formal. When India threatened to revoke the Indus Waters Treaty, Islamabad filed a structured protest through the proper legal channels — no loud threats, just facts and treaties.<p>Water Wars That Never Were
India’s “water weapon” idea made headlines for a moment, but quickly fizzled. Experts noted India lacked the infrastructure to store or redirect the rivers it threatened to block.<p>So, the declaration sounded bold but fell flat — a headline with no muscle behind it.<p>Even Indian analysts called it impractical. Pakistan’s calm, treaty-based response further neutralized the tension.<p>A Pattern Before Elections
With elections looming in India, the sequence of events wasn’t surprising.<p>In recent years, stirring anti-Pakistan sentiment has been a go-to strategy. It shifts the conversation away from inflation, religious violence, or policy failures — and toward nationalism and security.<p>But the cost is high.<p>Each time a voice is banned, whether it’s a journalist or a musician, the world sees India step further away from its democratic image.
Every unnecessary ban chips away at the credibility of a nation that once prided itself on free thought.<p>The Bigger Picture
This wasn’t about one terror attack.
It was about a broader mindset — that criticism is dangerous, that culture is suspicious, and that dissent must be controlled.