Musk vs Modi: Inside the battle over India’s internet censorship

In January, an old post on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, became a concern for police in the city of Satara. Written in 2023, the short message from an account with a few hundred followers described a senior ruling-party politician as “useless”.

“This post and content are likely to create serious communal tension,” inspector Jitendra Shahane wrote in a content-removal notice marked “CONFIDENTIAL” and addressed to X.

The post, which remains online, is among hundreds cited by X in a lawsuit it filed in March against India’s government,…