Netflix’s Troubles in India Mount as Allegations Over Visa Violations and Racial Discrimination Surface

Netflix has once again come under the spotlight, but not for some movies that have hurt the sentiments of viewers. This time the US streaming giant has come under the radar of the Indian government for alleged visa violations and racial discrimination, according to a government email reviewed by Reuters. The email was written on July 20 by ministry of home affairs to Netflix’s former director of business and legal affairs for India, Nandini Mehta, who left the company in 2020. 

“This is regarding visa and tax violations concerns regarding the business practices of Netflix in India. We have received certain details in this regard w.r.t the stated company’s conduct, visa violation, illegal structures, tax evasion, and other malpractices including incidents of racial discrimination that company has been engaged in while conducting its business in India,” the home ministry’s email said. 

While Mehta, who represented Netflix in India for a period of two years from 2018 to 2020, is herself fighting a legal battle against the streaming giant. According to the report, Mehta sued Netflix in a court in California for alleged wrong termination. Additionally, she has also accused the company of racial and gender discrimination. 

On the other hand, the giant has denied all the allegations made by Mehta and mentioned that Mehta’s employment was terminated for persistently using her corporate credit card in personal expenses. The case is still pending in Los Angeles. 

What are the other troubles surrounding Netflix’s business in India? 

Netflix has nearly 10 million subscribers in India and is one of the famous video-content streaming platforms in India. With its increasing viewer base in India, the US giant has also expanded its operations in India, including producing more local content, featuring Indian actors so that it is more relatable to viewers in India. With the surging opportunities that the US giant is grabbing in India, so are its mounting troubles in the country. 

Apart from the recent email, the giant’s IC-814: The Kandahar Hijack series sparked controversy. The series is based on true events of an Indian flight from Kathmandu to Delhi that was hijacked in Kandahar in 1999 and shows the five hijackers of the Indian flight addressing each other using code names. The current controversy is about the ‘Hindu code names’ used for these five hijackers in the series, i.e. Chief, Doctor, Burger, Bhola and Shankar. 

The series is based on a book titled ‘173 Hours in Captivity- The Hijacking of IC814’ written by journalist Neelesh Misra.  

Following which the union ministry of information and broadcasting summoned the representatives of Netflix in India and the makers of the film series.