India slipped two places and ranked at 140 among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index released by Reporters Without Borders on Thursday, 18 April.
At least six journalists were killed in 2018, the report said, adding that “threats, insults and attacks” are not part of occupational hazard for journalists in the region.
The World Press Freedom Index assesses six separate benchmarks and assigns each country a score calculated from answers to a questionnaire in 20 languages that is completed by experts around the world.
Norway is ranked first for the third consecutive year and Turkmenistan replaced North Korea in last place. Pakistan, which was one place below India in 2018, has slipped to 142 place in 2019. China, which ranked 176 in 2018 is now at 177 place.
‘Coordinated Hate Campaign Alarming’
Pointing that critics of Hindu nationalism are branded as “anti-Indian”, the report stressed on the dangers faced non-English media journalists, especially in rural areas.
The World Press Freedom Index also said that there has been increased attacks on journalists by supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the run-up to general elections and touched upon the coordinated hate campaign waged against journalists on social media.
“Those who espouse Hindutva, the ideology that gave rise to Hindu nationalism, are trying to purge all manifestations of ‘anti-national’ thought from the national debate. The coordinated hate campaigns waged on social networks against journalists who dare to speak or write about subjects that aggravate Hindutva followers are alarming and include calls for the journalists concerned to be murdered.”
Difficult for Foreign Reporters in Kashmir
The report also pointed that the coverage of “sensitive” regions like Kashmir remained difficult, especially for foreign reporters.
“Foreign reporters are barred from Kashmir and the Internet is often disconnected there. When not detained, Kashmiri journalists working for local media outlets are often the targets of violence by paramilitaries acting with the central government’s tacit consent,”
Criminal prosecutions, the report says, is often used to gag journalists critical of the authorities, including the invocation of Section 124A, under which “sedition” is punishable by life imprisonment.
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