In January 2018, Human Right Watch in its annual review of human rights in India writes: “Journalists faced increasing pressure to self-censor due to threat of legal action, smear campaigns and threats on social media, and even threats of physical attacks. In 2017, India was placed 136 of the 180 countries in the world ranking of press freedom by Reporters without Border. This international non-profit, non-governmental organization that promotes and defends press freedom globally describes the threat: “With Hindu nationalists trying to purge all manifestations of “anti-national” thought from the national debate, self-censorship is growing in the mainstream media.”