Press freedom in India: RSF, civil society organisations recommend 10 steps for Modi government

India’s new government must act decisively to restore press freedom in a country which is alarmingly at the 159th place out of 180 countries

Reporters Sans Frontier (RSF) a leading global press freedom and national civil society organisations have given the new government 10 recommendations to guarantee press freedom.

In a press statement, RSF says that it, along with the civil society organisations Network of Women in Media, India (NWMI), Free Speech Collective (FSC) and the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), call on India’s new government to adopt urgent measures to safeguard the protection of journalists and their freedom to do their work.

India’s new government must act decisively to restore press freedom in a country which is alarmingly at the 159th place out of 180 countries in RSF’s 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

Célia Mercier

The statement adds that RSF and the Indian organisations have made 10 urgent recommendations to the government to protect journalists, guarantee media independence, amend laws that restrict the right to information, and safeguard access to the Internet and digital media.
“The erosion of press freedom in India, which has happened over the past decade, is deeply worrying in a country that has joined 52 other nations in signing up to the Partnership for Information and Democracy. It creates a very negative international image of a country billed as the world’s largest democracy. As India’s journalists struggle to work in an environment where press freedom is declining, Indian civil society organisations join RSF in calling on the new government to urgently adopt 10 key measures to guarantee the protection of journalists and safeguard Indians’ right to information,” says Célia Mercier of RSF’s South Asia desk.

The statement adds that in 2019, India, along with 51 other nations, had signed the Partnership for Information and Democracy, an initiative, launched by RSF, that formalises nations’ commitment to promoting access to free, independent, diverse and reliable information. Among other principles, the text establishes that working journalists must be protected against all forms of violence, threats, discrimination, arbitrary detention and abusive legal proceedings. Sustainable business models must be developed to enable independent, high-quality journalism.

RSF then goes on to list 10 urgent actions the new government must take, starting with an overhaul of anti-terrorism laws so they are not used against journalists. It says that the Unlawful Activities Prevention Amendment Act, 2019 (UAPA) and the Public Safety Act, 1978 must not be used as tools to repress media personnel. RSF says that the State must desist from misusing the criminal laws against journalists.

It goes on to list laws, notably the Telecom Bill, the Data Protection Act and a few others, that also need to be overhauled so that they are not misused to control and censor the media. It has also asked the government to establish an independent commission to investigate cases of spyware targeting journalists.

Other measures recommended include protection of the confidentiality of journalists’ sources, safeguarding pluralism in media concentration and curbing arbitrary cuts to internet access, where India leads the world for the past six years.