A host of journalists’ welfare organisations on Thursday (October 3, 2024) resolved to resist in peaceful and democratic forms the “assault” on the freedom of speech and expression of media.
Marking the anniversary of 2023’s raid on news website Newsclick, the Press Club of India, the Delhi Union of Journalists, the Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, and the Kerala Union of Working Journalists passed a resolution that said: “The right to life, a fundamental constitutional right, cannot exist without the right to work. The two are inextricably connected”.
“We note that the seizure of professional equipment like laptops, phones and computers without following due process and for an indefinite period of time amounts to an attack on livelihood and the right to work without intimidation,” the resolution said.
Senior journalists addressing the meeting highlighted the seizure of laptops, mobile phones, and other electronic equipment from journalists during the Newsclick raids.
“The Delhi Police carried out vicious and sweeping raids on the offices of Newsclick, and residences of many associated with it. The raids were conducted in five cities, and seizures of about 500 electronic devices of 80 journalists took place without any adherence to due process,” former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu N. Ram said.
“The military style assault on Newsclick marks the lowest point in the media freedom of India since the Emergency of 1975-1977. But this is not essentially the story of a police running riot. It is a political story. The story of an authoritarian regime at war with a medium-sized progressive and Left-oriented digital news network, and the independent, critical and challenging journalism it represents,” Mr. Ram said in a video message.
Mr. Ram said that the Modi government had conducted “targeted assaults” on freedom of expression, media freedom and independence, and other fundamental rights.
“It has used anti-terror, sedition and other draconian laws to incarcerate without bail or trial, and for prolonged periods, journalists, students, human rights defenders, civil society activists and troublesome critics of the government. Post the 2014 downslide, media freedom and independence has seen India plummet in 2024 to the rank of 159 among 180 countries and territories in the world press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders,” he said.
“This government has made a concerted effort to police and censor the Internet, social media technology platforms that deliver streamed content via Internet connective devices, and digital news providers,” Mr. Ram said.
In recent years, India had been characterised by the Committee to Protect Journalists as one of the most dangerous places for journalists, especially investigative reporters.
“The campaign to defend media independence and freedom cannot succeed if it is episodic,” Mr. Ram said, adding that the bigger challenge of the day was to develop a sustained campaign in a toxic information ecosystem where disinformation and politics of hate ran riot on social media and also in some sections of mainstream media.
“The government has not changed its plan,” senior editor Siddharth Vardarajan, said. “The government will try which way to silence independent media platforms, and of course their preferred routes to lean on are the social media intermediaries.”
Senior journalist P. Sainath said that October 3 should be looked upon as “the anniversary of the beginning of a resistance to such arbitrary crackdowns on press freedom”.
The Delhi Police had on October 3, 2023 year arrested Prabir Purkayastha, founder and Editor-in-Chief of NewsClick, and its head of human resources Amit Chakraborty in an alleged terror case. Mr. Purkayastha was released on May 15, hours after the Supreme Court declared his arrest “invalid”, and a Delhi court granted him bail.
Published - October 03, 2024 10:23 pm IST
