Is India's Free Press No Longer So Free?

Today, the biggest question that arises is whether India’s Press is free or completely controlled by the Government. In addition, detractors worry that Modi's efforts to win five more years in office through the current national election may weaken the safeguards in place for India's free press.

Press Freedom in India is Deteriorating

In the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom index of 180 nations, India came in at number 161 in 2023 - a decline of 21 spots since Modi took office as prime minister in 2014 and a significant drop below its neighbors, with Bangladesh being the only nation to rank worse.

In October 2020, Kappan was employed as a freelancer for a news website that was written in Malayalam. He was traveling to the northern state of Uttar Pradesh's Hathras area to report on the alleged gang rape and murder of a Dalit adolescent by upper-caste guys. Though the caste system in India was formally abolished many years ago, there are still many parts of society where people are positioned in a social hierarchy based on their birth. Dalits occupy the bottom rung.

He was arrested by authorities and accused of violating anti-terror and money laundering laws before he ever got to the scene. He said his detention was an attempt to limit media coverage of the issue, despite the police accusing him of being a part of a plot to disturb the calm in the region. He would be incarcerated for 28 months. The Supreme Court granted Kappan bail in February 2023, however even though he is free at the moment, his case is still pending in the courts.

Tensions Rise Amid Allegations and Arrests in Uttar Pradesh

The Uttar Pradesh administration, led by Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court contesting his bail. The letter, which CNN obtained, argued against granting bail on the grounds that Kappan was involved in a bigger plot to "foment religious discord and spread terror in the country" and had been "writing articles targeted at spreading communal tensions."

For comments on the case, CNN has been in touch with the local and national branches of the BJP. He claims he is concerned about additional charges being filed against him and that he is now focusing on "safe zone" articles that aren't likely to cause controversy. Numerous other reporters are terrified as a result of how journalists like Kappan are treated.

"There was nothing Kappan could have done differently to avoid arrest, except from choosing not to report the incident,” stated Kaushik Raj, a writer on hate crimes who works with multiple publications. "This gave me the chills."

India's Media Faces Increasing Government Control and Intimidation

India is home to over 20,000 daily newspapers and around 450 privately owned news channels that broadcast in many languages, making it one of the world's largest media markets, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a Paris-based organization. Nevertheless, detractors claim that in spite of its size and diversity, the media sector is becoming more and more obedient to Modi's administration.

A growing urban middle class was served by a combination of corporate private media, public interest, and public service that also demonstrated interest in rural development issues. The media was revered. The London School of Economics' Shakuntala Banaji, a professor of media, culture, and social change, observed that while regulatory mechanisms were not entirely present, they were not strong either. "In the last ten years, they have been all but destroyed," she continued.

RSF claims that between 2015 and 2023, the nation dropped 25 spots on the Press Freedom Index, ranking 161st overall, behind neighboring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It moved up to 159th rank in the most recent index for this year, although it is still lower than all of its neighbors—Bangladesh being the only one at 165th.

Representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in India Kunal Majumder told CNN that "there has been a sharp deterioration in the status of media over the last ten years," adding that this includes criminalizing journalists through imprisonment and the use of terror laws. The number of journalists imprisoned in India increased from four between 2004 and 2013 to 21 between 2014 and 2023, according to the CPJ.

It further stated that there has been an increase in the use of anti-terror legislation against reporters, which permit up to 180 days of incarceration without accusation or trial. The same anti-terror statute has been applied by police to a website that is connected to a left-wing organization that criticizes the government. According to a charge document that was just submitted to the court and obtained by CNN, the police accused NewsClick of financing terror organizations, disseminating false information about Covid, and inciting rioting in New Delhi in 2020.

Rising Pressures and Legal Challenges for Journalists in India

NewsClick said in a statement that the accusations were ludicrous and unfounded, and that their purpose was to "assail independent journalism." Prabir Purkayastha, the editor of the publication, was detained from October 3 until the Supreme Court granted him bail on Wednesday, stating that his detention and remand were "invalid in the eyes of law." 

"We are deep in authoritarian rule when the state turns to anti-terror laws to shut down the freedom of expression of journalists holding institutions accountable," said Banaji of the LSE.

When asked about the apparent rise in anti-journalist sentiment, senior advisor Kanchan Gupta of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting told CNN that journalists were subject to the law just like everyone else. He declared, "Journalists who break the law are subject to prosecution and legal action."

decline in independent media. Press freedom groups claim that there has been an increase in the alleged harassment of reporters. According to the Amnesty 2022 release, Hindu nationalists feel more confident and may even threaten and mistreat journalists who report on the government.

One of the most well-known journalists in the nation, Ravish Kumar, claimed that he has not felt safe in years due to insults and threats of death from members of various Hindu nationalist organizations.

Kumar, who served as the face of New Delhi Television (NDTV) for over 20 years, said he made the decision to step down after learning he would have to follow government orders. He claimed that the aggressive purchase of the channel by billionaire Gautam Adani in late 2022 was what ultimately led him to make this decision.

CNN has Reached out to NDTV for a Response

CNN reported that Kumar quit because he could no longer question the government head-on because of Adani's close ties to Modi and the BJP. He quickly assembled a small crew and launched his own YouTube channel, which currently has over 10 million subscribers. He claimed that he had no other choice except to post his videos on YouTube, where they garner at least a million views in only the first day. "People like us no longer have a place in Indian media," he declared.

Pro-government voices have taken over TV news, according to critics. The largest election in history is currently taking place, and according to a survey by media watchdog Newslaundry, which examined over 400 pieces from February 1 to April 12, 52% of prime-time airtime was devoted to disparaging the opposition and 27% to pushing pro-Modi storylines. Kumar believes that India's historical plurality is quickly vanishing. We're living our final moments since there isn't much time or space left, he remarked.

The information ministry's Gupta, however, asserted that the claim that the media follows government policy is "not true." "The nation has 903 satellite channels. This generalization is untrue, as can be seen by glancing at the headlines in newspapers and television shows," he declared. "The claim that media outlets or individual journalists are under government influence is completely untrue," he added.

Overseas Reporters

Not just local journalists encounter difficulties. Avani Dias, the head of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's South Asia Department, and Vanessa Dougnac, the regional correspondent for four French magazines, recently departed the nation.

Though the government disputes this, Dias claimed she was informed by the government that her reporting had "crossed a line" and that as a result, her visa extension would not be granted. It stated that although she chose to go on April 20, she was given an extension on April 18, the day she paid her visa expenses.

After working in India for 23 years, Dougnac, an overseas citizen of India (OCI), departed in February. The Ministry of Home Affairs sent her a notice in January, she claimed, calling her journalistic pursuits "malicious" and "critical in a manner that they create a biased negative perception about India."

As necessary for OCIs in 2022, she sought for and was denied journalistic permission. She told CNN from Paris, "They gave no reasons nor any justifications for why they denied my permit." When CNN asked the Indian Home Ministry for a statement regarding Dougnac's circumstances, they did not provide one.

Additionally, weeks after the broadcaster aired a documentary sharply critical of Modi, tax authorities searched the BBC's Indian offices in February of last year. A senior counselor to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting called the documentary "anti-India garbage," and it was later removed from social media.

Gaurav Bhatia, a BJP spokesperson, told reporters shortly after the BBC raids that businesses, including media firms, should “follow and respect Indian law” without mentioning the documentary. To comply with the nation's regulations regarding foreign investment, the BBC has now divided its operations in India into several businesses.

Dougnac stated that the actions taken against foreign media did not surprise her. Local journalists were the first to notice, and then international correspondents felt they were next, the source added. Kappan claims he has not lost faith in Indian journalism despite seeing what is happening to and around him. He views supporting it as a "moral imperative." He declared, "The pursuit of truth remains paramount, despite the personal risks involved."