Syed Khalique Ahmed
NEW DELHI—In a startling revelation, India Press Freedom Report-2021, released by New Delhi-based Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), said that as many as six journalists were killed, and another 121, including media houses, came under attack in different parts of India.
The report was released today.
Giving details, the report said that a total of 108 journalists and 13 media houses and newspapers were targeted, indicating the kind of insecurity faced by media professionals in the country.
As many as eight female journalists faced arrest, summons, and registration of First Information Reports (FIRs) against them.
According to the findings, the journalists and media houses were targeted because they were critical of the policies and functioning of the government. As a result, offices of some of these media houses were raided by the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax Department.
The houses and offices of the media houses raided in 2021 included Newsclick in February, Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Samachar in July, and Newslaundry in September.
At least 34 journalists/media houses faced attacks from the non-state actors, mainly political party activists, mafia, and online trolls. Of these, six journalists were killed, and at least 28 journalists/media houses were physically attacked or harassed/ threatened online. The maximum number of attacks by non-state actors took place in Tripura with attacks on ten journalists and five media houses, followed by Uttar Pradesh (3) and Tamil Nadu (2).
The most notorious concerning media attacks was Jammu and Kashmir, where 25 journalists/media organizations were targeted, followed by Uttar Pradesh (23), Madhya Pradesh (16), Tripura (15), Delhi (8), Bihar (6), Assam (5), Haryana and Maharashtra(4 each), Goa and Manipur(3 each), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (2 each), and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Kerala (1 each).
Commenting on the increasing attacks on media in the country, RRAG director Suhas Chakma said the developments indicate continuing deterioration of civic space in the country.
He alleged that “The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 is an affirmation of the government’s intent to crack down on the media freedom.”
According to RRAG findings, out of 17 journalists arrested in the country, five were reported from Jammu and Kashmir, followed by Delhi (3), Maharashtra, Manipur, and Tripura (2 each),
and Assam, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana (1 each).
First Information Reports were registered against 44 journalists. In some cases, multiple FIRs were registered against the same journalists in different states. These journalists include Rajdeep Sardesai, Mrinal Pande, Zafar Agha, Paresh Nath, Vinod K Jose, and Anant Nath in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, and Madhya Pradesh.
Out of the 44 journalists, FIRs were filed against 21 journalists under Section 153 of the IPC on charges of promoting enmity.
Uttar Pradesh reported the highest registration of FIRs with nine, followed by six each in Delhi and J&K and three in Bihar.
Out of the 24 journalists, 17 were allegedly beaten by police. Physical attacks on journalists by police were mainly reported from Jammu and Kashmir. The report said that on February 22, 2021, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression had flagged the “allegations of intimidations, searches and confiscations” faced by journalists in Jammu and Kashmir.
The report said that The Editors Guild of India, on March 8, 2021, stated that journalists in Kashmir are intimidated for merely doing their jobs and that it was “shocked by the casual manner in which security forces routinely detain the editors of Kashmir-based publications for reporting or for their editorials”.
