Media organizations critical of government in India are being pressured, harassed: US report
In a recent report on the human rights situation in India, the US State Department has highlighted several cases where the freedom of the press was violated. The report said that there have been many cases where the government pressured or harassed media organizations criticizing him. The report was released on the same day that the India-US 2+2 talks ended and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that his country was watching the increasing cases of human rights abuses by government officials in India. He made these statements in a joint press conference, in which US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar and Defense Minister Rajnath Singh were present. Singh and Jaishankar did not contradict Blinken’s statement that day. However, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar later said that India is indeed concerned about the attacks on the US and American citizens of Indian origin.
In the 2021 edition of the annual Country Reports on Human Rights, the US State Department expressed its concern about the violation of personal and civil liberties. The Indian section of this report deals with the violation of the freedom of the press and the right of expression. This report systematically lists the cases where the freedom of the press is at risk due to governmental and non-governmental factors. There have also been cases where the government or people associated with the government allegedly pressured or harassed media organizations criticizing the government, the report said. He was also harassed through online trolling. The report said that international watchdogs including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch have documented the decline of the democratic rights of the media in India and their continued harassment.
The US State Department report said, “There are also cases, especially in states, where journalists have been killed for their professional work or targeted for vested interests.” In June, Shubham Mani Tripathi, a journalist for Kampu Mail, a newspaper in Uttar Pradesh, was shot dead by two gunmen for his investigative report on alleged illegal sand mining. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay took cognizance of the matter and asked the administration to end the ‘gunpoint censorship’. The US report mentions free speech violations involving the arrest of stand-up comedian Munawwar Farooqui and four others for not performing on stage for allegedly hurting religious sentiments. given.
- In May last year, Manipuri social activist Erandro Leichombam was arrested for a Facebook post criticizing a BJP leader who advocated cow dung and cow urine as a treatment for COVID-19. He was granted bail after his lawyers reached the Supreme Court, two months after he was detained under the National Security Act (NSA).
- In July 2021, Father George Ponnaiah, a Catholic priest, was arrested for delivering a speech at a prayer meeting for Father Stan Swamy. Father Stan Swamy, who was arrested in the Elgar Parishad case and suffering from various ailments, died in jail while awaiting treatment. Father George was accused of ‘alleged hate speech against the Prime Minister and the Home Minister’. He was later granted conditional bail by the Madras High Court.
The report lists government officials at the local and national levels who are involved in physical assault and assault, pressure on owners, targeting sponsors, promoting false prosecutions, and disrupting communication services such as mobile phones and the Internet in some areas. They are involved in intimidating media organizations by blocking taxes and movement. The report also said that India has been described as a very dangerous country for journalists in the World Press Freedom Index 2021 of Reporters Without Borders. The report said that India Today anchor Rajdeep Sardesai, National Herald senior consulting editor Mrinal Pandey, Qaumi Awaaz editor Zafar Agha, Caravan founder Paresh Nath, editor Anant Nath, executive editor Vinod K. Cases were registered against Jose and MP Shashi Tharoor. He was charged with sedition over his coverage of farmers’ tractor rally on Republic Day 2021, when violent incidents took place. He was relieved from arrest by the Supreme Court.
In early 2021, the government notified the IT Rules 2021 governing social media platforms and streaming services. “Human rights activists and journalists raised concerns that these rules would affect freedom of expression, and several media organizations took legal action against these rules,” the report said. Media organizations said that the IT Rules 2021 are unconstitutional and contrary to the norms of the Supreme Court’s 2018 judgment guaranteeing the right to privacy.
The Bombay High Court had ordered a partial stay on the provisions of the IT Rules. Under these new rules, digital news websites need to set up a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism.
