India officials have asked internet service providers and mobile operators to block access to 32 websites.

The website ban started a month ago. On Nov. 11, Mumbai's chief metropolitan magistrate ordered the government's department of electronics and information technology (DEIT) to block the sites because content on the sites may create unrest and breach of peace, and "this might result in law and order problem in India," reports Quartz India.

On Nov. 15, Maharashtra's anti-terrorism squad (ATS) requested DEIT block the 32 websites because it was believed the sites "were being used for jihadi propaganda," according to Quartz India.

The head of the Bharatiya Janata political party, Arvind Gupta, provided an explanation for the censorship on Twitter on Dec. 31.

"The websites that have been blocked were based on an advisory by Anti Terrorism Squad, and were carrying Anti India content from ISIS," he wrote.

"The sites that have removed objectionable content and/or cooperated with the ongoing investigations, are being unblocked," he said in a second tweet.

Pranesh Pakesh, a director at India's Centre for Internet and Society, made the censored websites list public and it includes familiar websites such as Vimeo, GitHub, Imgur, Daily Motion and Archive.org.

Russia also banned GitHub earlier this month, and China blocked the ubiquitous platform last year, but after tremendous pressure the Chinese government allowed GitHub to be available as an important tool for people who use code and tech companies.

Prime Minister Narenda Modi recently launched a "Make in India" campaign designed to promote the country as a destination for companies, including information technology. Blocking GitHub is certain to be detrimental for India's software developers who contribute greatly to the country's struggling economy.

In early December, India's security agencies reacted after the U.K.'s Channel 4 News reported that a prominent Islamic State Twitter handle was based out of Bangalore. The authorities quickly arrested 24-year-old engineer Mehdi Masroor Biswas who operated the Twitter account since 2009.

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