The world is celebrating the 30th World Press Freedom Day today. However, the condition of Press Freedom in India is alarming. According to the French organisation, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), India stands at the rank of 161st on the list of 180 nations.
When RSF released the rankings for world press freedom in 2023, the organisation also released a statement saying, “The violence against journalists, the politically partisan media, and the concentration of media ownership all demonstrate that press freedom is in crisis in “the world’s largest democracy”, ruled since 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the embodiment of the Hindu nationalist right.”
According to a recent report of RSF, media directors, investigative reporters, and correspondents, over half of the 28 journalists who have died in India since Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office 10 years ago were covering environmental-related subjects.
Who are the Journalists who died working in the field?
The list of journalists killed while reporting in the last decade is long, but some of the names that have become popular are as follows:
Jagendra Singh
Jagendra Singh was a freelance journalist from Uttar Pradesh who had reported on allegations of rape against a state minister. He died from burn injuries after his home was set on fire, allegedly by police on June 8, 2015.
Rajdev Ranjan
Rajdeo Ranjan was a journalist with Hindustan newspaper in Siwan, Bihar. On May 13, 2016, he was shot dead allegedly over his reporting on the activities of criminal gangs in the region.
Tarun Mishra
Tarun Mishra was the bureau chief of Jan Sandesh Times newspaper in Uttar Pradesh. He was killed, allegedly over his reports exposing illegal mineral excavation and transportation.
Gauri Lankesh
Gauri Lankesh was a prominent journalist and activist from Bangalore known for her critiques of right-wing Hindu nationalism. She was shot dead outside her home in Bangalore on September 5, 2017.
Who are the Journalists who got arrested since 2014?
Apart from killings, numerous journalists were arrested in the last ten years. Currently, there are seven journalists who are behind bars, and five of them are slapped with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. Some of the prominent names in the list of arrested journalists are:
Prabir Purkayastha
Prabir was serving as the editor of News Click, when Delhi Police arrested him on October 3, 2023. The police alleged that, during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Prabir conspired to sabotage the electoral process. In the FIR, it has also been alleged that his organisation got a “large amount of funds from China” to conspire against the sovereignty of India.
Rupesh Kumar Singh
Rupesh Kumar Singh was working as an independent journalist in Jharkhand when he was arrested on July 17, 2022. He has been accused of being a supporter of the banned CPI (Maoist). A few other FIRs have been lodged against him after his arrest. Since his arrest, he has been in Jail.
Aasif Sultan
Aasif Sultan was working with Kashmir-based ‘Kashmir Narrator’ when he got arrested on August 27, 2018. He was reporting on the issue of civil unrest and militancy in Kashmir. He was accused of providing ‘logistical support’ to militants.
Irfan Mehraj
Irfan was working as an editor at the Two Circles Dot Net when got arrested on March 20, 2023, by the National Investigation Agency in Srinagar. According to the NIA, Mehraj was associated with the Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS), a human rights group that is well-known for reporting cases of abuses of human rights committed by the government in Kashmir. NIA also alleged that JKCCS has been involved in the funding of militant groups.
These incidents highlight the risks faced by journalists, particularly those reporting on sensitive issues such as corruption, illegal activities, and violence in various parts of India.
