Downward Spiral in Media Freedom Endangers Democracy

The Indian High Commission’s brazen attempt to coerce media into submission in Maldives must have embarrassed all right-thinking Indian citizens. It came as a rude shock to me, especially because freedom to receive or impart information or ideas is enshrined in India’s hallowed constitutional statutes. The motivated targeting of an upright and outspoken Maldivian scribe Ahmed Azaan compelled me to pick up the pen and confront this tyranny, orchestrated by persons representing India – the nation for whose liberation the likes of my grandfather shed sweat and blood once. Penning something on media freedom inevitably brings back memories of my inaugural class of journalism in university two and a half decades ago. You need to have fire in your belly to speak truth to power, said my professor after the formal introduction, and went on to add, be prepared to discover the rebel in you, without which your pen cannot bleed for the oppressed or seek truth. With time elapsing, as if in the wink of an eye, these words of wisdom continued to reverberate within me. As I matured incrementally, while laboring my way through in this noble profession, a realization, of being hounded for trying to break the elitist status-quo, crept in, particularly in this era of aggressive Hindu nationalism overlapped by rabid jingoism. Indeed, the opportunity to extrapolate the ethos of journalism, that I imbibed in my formative days, to real life work situation vanished suddenly, with Narendra Modi’s India eventually turning me into a state target, chasing me across the globe to choke my words and fetter ideas. The consequence of this animosity has been profound, in the form of harnessing an artificially induced credibility crisis to deny space for hosting columns in various media platforms.

No wonder, India now has the distinction of being a laggard in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published 2021 global press freedom index, ranking 142nd among 180 nations. RSF’s state of the media report has very rightly apportioned blame on a stuffy environment of intimidation – carefully built up by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to corner those critical of Modi’s policies – proliferating fast in an increasingly intolerant nation. A ruling party insider once referred to a secret list, containing scribes’ names in alphabetical orders whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ideological bedfellows consider as possible threats, in their endeavor to roll out a devious majoritarian agenda. A dedicated troll army is maintained, and nourished, by funding from like-minded non-resident Indians settled overseas. Journos are labelled as anti-state or anti-national accordingly, while the law enforcement agencies are cajoled into initiating false cases against them. Misusing the Indian penal code to implicate journalists on trumped up charges is a common phenomenon in today’s India, as evident from Siddique Kappan’s continued languishment in prison for trying to report a heinous gang rape and murder in BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh province. A former member of India’s National Security Advisory Board had earlier suggested to this writer speedy implementation of police reforms as a remedy to this criminal immorality.

Shockingly, as the world looks on and calibrated hate campaigns against perceived enemy scribes are waged relentlessly on social media, the very idea of India based on the concept of unity in diversity is no longer safeguarded. The audacity of these journalists to criticize the Modi regime’s flawed policies and intent to recast a multifaith India into a Hindu homeland has invited the ire of the fundamentalist elements supporting the Hindu right wing Premier. Alarmingly, even the Indian diplomatic mission in Male recently intimidated this writer for exposing the Hindutva agenda of spreading cultural nationalism across India and beyond, into the extended neighborhood. In fact, proponents of homogenized majority controlled cultural hegemony believe that countries in India’s periphery have a distinct Hindu lineage. From indecent gestures, of violating one’s modesty, to death threat and use of derogatory languages, which includes words like “presstitute” – portmanteau of press and prostitute – Modi’s BJP has successfully created a nasty aura of hate and fear across India. Besides, enforcing an Orwellian content regulation mechanism and news censorship, in the garb of curbing coronavirus pandemic, are measures intended to amass power at citizenry’s expense through manipulation of national narrative. Press freedom is hampered by such restrictions, as journalists are randomly booked under sedition and terror laws and even held at gunpoint, in trouble torn Kashmir, to make them fall in line. Intriguingly, a similar modus operandi has reached Maldivian shores, as evident from the Indian High Commission’s overzealous advice for regulating local media content, using political proxies.

Over the years, journalists have striven to keep people informed through dedicated dissemination of facts, in addition to acting as a loyal watchdog in unearthing corrupt practices and administrative deficiencies, which sparked national debate and led to exposure of high-profile felonies in public life. Today, they are methodically pushed to the wall, across the region and globe, and face retaliation, often violent, in the line of duty – this despite media freedom guaranteeing public accountability and transparency, apart from contributing positively to socio-political stability. In the backdrop of serious setback in press freedom and safety of journalists registered across South Asia in recent times, the International Press Institute (IPI), in collaboration with UNESCO’s Global Media Defence Fund and Free Press Unlimited, brought together five publications from India, Pakistan, Nepal and Bangladesh to report about the rabid onslaught on journalists both by state and non-state actors. Surely, the IPI should include Maldives in this list in their relentless pursuit of media freedom and free flow of information wherever they are threatened. A deeply entrenched freedom of expression not only restricts authoritarian tendencies, but also bolsters overall societal development. Winston Churchill saw in the free press an unsleeping guardian of every other right that free men and women prize. As journalists risk their lives 24x7, acting as eyes and ears of the society, and updating people about the stark realities of the surrounding environment, it is time for the civilized world to defend them more than ever before.

Seema Sengupta is a Calcutta (India) based journalist and columnist with vast experience. In her 22 years long career she has written extensively on international relations, covering Middle-East and South Asian affairs.
Twitter: @seemasengupta5