It’s a familiar tale. State censors in this huge Asian country crack down on websites with no explanation. Citizens’ ability to share information is subject to draconian restrictions. But this is not China, a country where we have grown wearily used to heavy handed censorship. This is India.

To be fair, this blunt summary does not do justice to the complexity of the issue. This month, curbs on the internet and texting were imposed because of a doubtless well-meaning intention to prevent communal violence. Thousands of north-easterners were fleeing the southern high-tech hub of Bangalore after inflammatory rumours spread across the internet about Hindu-Muslim violence. The exodus followed violence in the north-eastern state of Assam between Muslim settlers and native Bodos, who are mostly Hindus, in which nearly 80 people died and 400,000 were displaced.

Given India’s tragic record of communal violence, it may sometimes be reasonable to curb free speech to prevent it. No country has absolute freedom of expression. Even the most liberal nations impose limits relating to slander, copyright infringement or incitement to commit a crime.