Archive · 8 Aug 2026
Meta Restricts Instagram Post on Kashmir Pellet Victim Insha Mushtaq
A big company called Meta owns a social media app called Instagram.
In India, Meta made one particular Instagram post disappear for people.
The post was about a girl named Insha Mushtaq.
In 2016, when Insha was studying for her Class 8 exams at home, security forces fired pellets that hit her eyes.
The pellets caused her to lose her eyesight.
The post was based on a report in the newspaper The Hindu.
Meta said it had to hide the post because Indian rules for social media companies said so.
Around the same time, people protested about pellet guns at a famous place called Jantar Mantar.
India's highest court, the Supreme Court, is also deciding whether pellet guns should be allowed.
To help Insha, the government of Jammu and Kashmir gave her an LPG fuel dealership.
Meta restricted access in India to an Instagram post based on The Hindu's report on Kashmir pellet victim Insha Mushtaq.
The restriction was imposed pursuant to legal requirements under India's Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.
The post became unavailable to users in India on Saturday afternoon, August 8, 2026.
Mushtaq was blinded in 2016 when pellets struck her eyes while she prepared for her Class 8 exams, during unrest that injured more than 6,000 civilians.
The Jammu and Kashmir government announced an LPG dealership for Mushtaq, 10 years after her injury, as the Supreme Court hears petitions against pellet gun use.
- Who
- Meta, Insha Mushtaq, The Hindu, the Cockroach Janta Party, and the Supreme Court of India.
- What
- Meta restricted access in India to an Instagram post about Kashmir pellet victim Insha Mushtaq, citing legal requirements under India's IT Rules.
- When
- Saturday, August 8, 2026, when the post became unavailable to Indian users in the afternoon.
- Where
- India, including Kashmir and the Jantar Mantar protest site in New Delhi.
- Why
- The restriction was imposed pursuant to legal requirements under India's Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, though the specific legal provision was not disclosed; it comes amid renewed scrutiny of pellet gun use following July 20 protests and Supreme Court petitions against pellet guns.
Scrutiny of Public Interest Reporting
Legal Compliance
Restricting the Instagram post on Insha Mushtaq
Scrutiny of Public Interest Reporting
The restriction blocks public access to reporting on a matter of significant public interest—the lasting human cost of pellet gun use and an issue being examined by the Supreme Court—and deserves scrutiny, especially since the specific legal direction or provision is not disclosed.
Legal Compliance
Meta says it restricted access to the content 'pursuant to legal requirements' under India's Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, presenting the move as compliance with Indian law.
- Affected content
- Instagram post based on The Hindu report on Kashmir pellet victim Insha Mushtaq
- Platform
- Meta (Instagram)
- Reason cited
- Legal requirements under India's Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules
- Date of restriction
- August 8, 2026
- Pellet victim
- Insha Mushtaq, blinded in 2016 while preparing for her Class 8 exams
- 2016 unrest
- More than 6,000 civilians suffered pellet injuries after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani
- Government response
- Jammu and Kashmir government announced an LPG dealership for Mushtaq, 10 years after her injury
- Related proceedings
- Supreme Court hearing petitions against the use of pellet guns