A month after putting out a video promoting freedom of the press, Zee Media Corporation Ltd. chairman emeritus Subhash Chandra addressed a press conference standing up for freedom of expression in Aam Aadmi Party-ruled Punjab.
Mr. Chandra said the State government had ‘retaliated’ against the group’s news and entertainment channels for not airing an interview with AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Mr. Chandra’s press conference came after weeks of speculation around his remarks on media freedom, where he rued India’s declining position on global indices, and subsequent posts on X. One of his posts invoked a line by Ravana from the play Tere Ram, “My downfall was due to my conceit of my knowledge; his victory was in the knowledge of my conceit.”
Mr. Chandra denied that he was under pressure. “I didn’t act under pressure when I had ₹17 to my name, and I am not doing so now,” he said.
In an accompanying note, Mr. Chandra detailed the ‘retaliation’ from AAP for not airing Mr. Kejriwal’s interview. “Post the interview [on May 24], the independent editorial team at Zee Media decided not to telecast it, keeping in mind some objectionable content in the interaction,” the note said. “Some portions of the interview were telecasted as well but the spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party kept insisting that ‘Zee News must publish the entire interview else it will face consequences like withdrawal of advertising [which was substantial on a monthly basis] by Punjab Government at the least’”.
“Zee got the channels restored by seeking justice through a legal approach,” Mr. Chandra said, noting that other media houses did not support the firm in its predicament. “The aftereffects of the viral video led to various speculations and the governing class demanded explanation,” Mr. Chandra said.
“Zee Media got an assurance from the system that post elections, they will work with/in the new Government and make efforts to improve the ranking of India from the current 159th position amongst 180 nations,” the note said (emphasis theirs). The Indian media’s slide in global freedom of expression rankings, he said, was partly the media’s own fault for “accepting the pressure as part of life, instead of resisting or voicing out their disagreement.”
Dr. Chandra’s note alluded to the tactics deployed by the undefined ‘governing class’ “from leveraging advertising revenue to exerting pressure through corporate avenues and use of investigating agencies.”
