RSF Report: India’s Press Freedom on a Downward Spiral
According to the annual World Press Freedom Index (PFI) released by Reporters Without Borders (RSF, Reporters Sans Frontières in French), India ranks 159th out of 180 countries. India’s global press freedom score has fallen from 36.28 to 31.28 in 2024.
Despite India’s slight improvement from its previous 161st ranking, RSF states that this change is primarily due to some other nations slipping in the PFI, thereby pushing India two points up.
The index calculated across five categories—political context, legal framework, economic context, socio-cultural context, and security—indicates a downward spiral in world press freedom, with an average global fall of 7.6 points, says RSF.
The report on India titled ‘Asia-Pacific: Press freedom under the yoke of authoritarian governments” highlights the deteriorating condition of Indian media since PM Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. The pluralistic model of the press, for which India was renowned, is slowly coming to an end.
RSF noted that most major broadcast media networks are owned by wealthy businessmen who have close ties with PM Modi. Reliance Industry’s magnate Mukesh Ambani owned over 70 media outlets in 2023, followed by 800 million Indians.
The acquisition of the NDTV channel by business tycoon Gautam Adani in 2022 further underlined the suppression of pluralistic journalism in India’s mainstream broadcast media. NDTV was called the last bastion of independent journalism in India prior to its acquisition.
Essentially, the government has formed an unholy nexus with wealthy families in India such as Ambani and Adani, regularly exchanging favours. Privately owned media groups portray pro-BJP narratives that brainwash citizens with the BJP’s “Hindutva Ideology.” The public refers to these media organisations as “Godi-media” (a pun for media groups that act as PM Modi’s “lapdogs”) that mix populism and pro-BJP propaganda.
Independent journalists who criticise the government are often subjected to political, legal, or social harassment campaigns by BJP-backed trolls.
RSF stated, “With violence against journalists, highly concentrated media ownership, and political alignment, press freedom is in crisis in “the world’s largest democracy,” ruled since 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and embodiment of the Hindu nationalist right.
RSF highlights the Modi-Ambani-Adani Nexus
In recent years, many state-owned factories and corporations have been sold to wealthy industrialists Ambani and Adani by the BJP government. Essential details about these dealings are oftentimes purposefully omitted from media reports.
This trend of hiding vital information indicates an unholy nexus between the current BJP administration and wealthy businessmen, who own over 40% of India’s wealth. Since the BJP government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi ascended to power, businessmen like Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani have also reached the top of the billionaire rankings.
RSF added, “The prime minister is very critical of independent journalists, seeing them as “intermediaries” polluting his direct relationship with his supporters.”.
As RSF highlighted, it was only after PM Modi came into power that Ambani and Adani subsequently became the richest individuals on the planet. In a country like India, such great feats are impossible to achieve in such a short span of time unless there’s an alliance in the cards.
In the RSF 2024 World Press Freedom Index, India’s score sharply declines from 36.62 in 2023 to 31.28 this year. Because the bottom of the table is so crowded with authoritarian, repressive states, India, despite such a poor score, ranks at 159. pic.twitter.com/Dt4wVU6Rca
— Sushant Singh (@SushantSin) May 3, 2024
The government crafts laws favouring conglomerates, boosting their profits, while businessmen offer financial aid (via electoral bonds) and constant media coverage throughout the year. State-owned corporations are also being sold off to private conglomerates in a bid to privatise India’s economy.
Several new laws are also being introduced that will grant the government. extraordinary power to control media narratives, censor news, and silence critics. Laws like the 2023 Telecommunications Act, the 2023 draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, and the 2023 Digital Personal Data Protection Act will strip away India’s existing press freedom in the pretence of shielding the nation from internal threats.
RSF: The World Growing Intolerant of Independent Media
Ahead of the country’s Lok Sabha election, Rebecca Vincent, an RSF director, said during a briefing organised to launch the index release by the Foreign Press Association in London, “Yes, the election context matters massively in India. I think this is one of the countries where there’s a perception of authorities participating in sort of mass disinformation and propaganda campaigns.”.
RSF’s Editorial Director, Anne Bocandé, noted, “As more than half the world’s population goes to the polls in 2024, RSF is warning of a worrying trend revealed by the 2024 World Press Freedom Index: a decline in the political indicator, one of five indicators detailed in the Index. States and other political forces are playing a decreasing role in protecting press freedom. This disempowerment sometimes goes hand in hand with more hostile actions that undermine the role of journalists or even instrumentalize the media through campaigns of harassment or disinformation.”
Since January 1, 2024, 10 journalists have been charged under the draconian UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act). Notably, Delhi Police arrested NewsClick founder Prabir Purkayastha on Oct. 3 last year for allegedly receiving illegal funding from China for disseminating anti-India propaganda. Hundreds of journalists linked to the platform were detained, and authorities also seized over 3000 digital devices in an attempt to silence the network and stifle independent pluralistic journalism.
Of the total 32 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, 26 countries saw their scores fall in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index. India’s neighbouring countries recorded low rankings as well: China (172nd), Myanmar (171st), Bangladesh (165th), and Pakistan (152nd).
