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India slips in World Press Freedom Index, ranks 161 out of 180 countries, Pakistan at 150
- Thread starter Bhaag Viru Bhaag
- Start date
But but feku believes in democracy!
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To be honest, if this journalist has been posting untruths then India Gov has the right to show their displeasure.
feku has always been troubled by journalists asking uncomfortable questions right from his Gujarat days. Remember how he behaved and muttered "Dosti bani rahe" in that Karan Thapar interview?
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Pakistan press still fare better than India
====
Pakistan dropped down two places in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday.
According to the index, published to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, Pakistan now ranks 152 out of 180 countries, compared to its standing at 150 in last year’s index.
In its country profile, RSF said that since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has “oscillated between civil society’s quest for greater press freedom and a political reality in which the political-military elite retains broad control over the media”.
It noted that Pakistan’s media landscape became “extremely diversified” since the state monopoly on broadcasting ended in 2002, adding that English-language press had a “strong tradition of independence”. RSF also noted that online media was “booming”.
It noted, however, that privately owned media was dependent on legal notices and public sector advertisements for its funding, resulting in “information ministries threatening to withdraw advertising in order to influence editorial policy”.
As a result, it said self-censorship was being encouraged in the field of journalism since “salaries are often cut when their employers are going through financial difficulties”.
RSF highlighted that “no matter their ideology, political parties support freedom of the press, but they are incapable of defending it when they come to power, due to the control of the military over the country’s affairs.”
The media watchdog noted that the government had direct control over media regulators, which “systematically favour defence of the government over the public’s right to information”.
It added that “as the military has steadily tightened its grip on civilian institutions, coverage of military and intelligence agency interference in politics has become off limits for journalists.”
The index said Pakistan was “one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with three to four murders each year that are often linked to cases of corruption or illegal trafficking and which go completely unpunished.”
The findings were backed by the Pakistan Press Freedom Report prepared by the Freedom Network released on Monday, which documented a total of 104 cases of violations against journalists and other media practitioners, including murders, attacks, injuries, kidnapping, threats and legal cases.
India, on the other hand, moved up two places to 159 compared to its 2023 ranking of 161. RSF noted that India’s media has “fallen into an ‘unofficial state of emergency’ since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 and engineered a spectacular rapprochement between his party, the BJP, and the big families dominating the media”.
Norway retained its top position, while Eritrea came last, taking over from last year’s lowest-ranked country, North Korea.
Source: Dawn News
====
Pakistan dropped down two places in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday.
According to the index, published to coincide with World Press Freedom Day, Pakistan now ranks 152 out of 180 countries, compared to its standing at 150 in last year’s index.
In its country profile, RSF said that since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has “oscillated between civil society’s quest for greater press freedom and a political reality in which the political-military elite retains broad control over the media”.
It noted that Pakistan’s media landscape became “extremely diversified” since the state monopoly on broadcasting ended in 2002, adding that English-language press had a “strong tradition of independence”. RSF also noted that online media was “booming”.
It noted, however, that privately owned media was dependent on legal notices and public sector advertisements for its funding, resulting in “information ministries threatening to withdraw advertising in order to influence editorial policy”.
As a result, it said self-censorship was being encouraged in the field of journalism since “salaries are often cut when their employers are going through financial difficulties”.
RSF highlighted that “no matter their ideology, political parties support freedom of the press, but they are incapable of defending it when they come to power, due to the control of the military over the country’s affairs.”
The media watchdog noted that the government had direct control over media regulators, which “systematically favour defence of the government over the public’s right to information”.
It added that “as the military has steadily tightened its grip on civilian institutions, coverage of military and intelligence agency interference in politics has become off limits for journalists.”
The index said Pakistan was “one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists, with three to four murders each year that are often linked to cases of corruption or illegal trafficking and which go completely unpunished.”
The findings were backed by the Pakistan Press Freedom Report prepared by the Freedom Network released on Monday, which documented a total of 104 cases of violations against journalists and other media practitioners, including murders, attacks, injuries, kidnapping, threats and legal cases.
India, on the other hand, moved up two places to 159 compared to its 2023 ranking of 161. RSF noted that India’s media has “fallen into an ‘unofficial state of emergency’ since Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 and engineered a spectacular rapprochement between his party, the BJP, and the big families dominating the media”.
Norway retained its top position, while Eritrea came last, taking over from last year’s lowest-ranked country, North Korea.
Source: Dawn News
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Three separate petitions were filed in the Lahore and Islamabad high courts on Thursday against a notification from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) barring the reporting and airing of content on sub-judice matters
According to a notification issued by the electronic media regulator on Tuesday, television channels were directed to “refrain from airing tickers/headlines with regard to court proceedings and shall only report the written orders of court”.
However, where court proceedings were broadcast live, the proceedings may be reported, the notification had said.
It had also said that all satellite TV channel licences were directed to not air content, including commentary, opinions or suggestions, about the potential fate of sub-judice matters which could prejudice their determination by a court or tribunal could be aired.
The ban came amid strong remarks by Islamabad High Court (IHC) senior puisne judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani about the intelligence agencies and government officials in multiple court hearings on the case of a missing Kashmiri poet.
The remarks had prompted criticism from Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who said that such remarks from court proceedings should not make their way into the public domain.
He had said: “It would be good if whatever the decision is, is passed through a court order instead of such sensationalised news coming out which spreads more unrest.”
Pemra had subsequently barred reporting on court proceedings.
However, the Press Association of the Supreme Court (PAS) and the Islamabad High Court Journalists Association (IHCJA) had rejected the Pemra notification in a joint statement on Wednesday, saying that the gag order was against the independence of the courts.
“Pemra has no legal authority to prohibit the reporting of court proceedings,” the joint statement had said.
“Article 19 (freedom of expression) and 19A of the Constitution gives the right of access to information to the public,” the statement said, adding that the notification issued by Pemra was a “flagrant violation” of the Constitution.
Both associations had called for the withdrawal of the notification, warning that they would otherwise challenge it in court.
Today, two separate petitions were filed in the Lahore High Court and one by the PAS and IHCJA in the IHC against the Pemra notification.
The petitions mentioned as respondents the Pemra chairman and director general, the federal government through the secretaries for interior and law and parliamentary affairs.
The petitions in the LHC were fixed for hearing on Friday by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh. They were filed by Advocate Samra Malik herself and Hafiz Muhammad Zain Ul Abdin through Advocates Azhar Siddique and Khawaja hmad Tariq Rahim, respectively.
The petitions called for the Pemra notification to be suspended, set aside and declared illegal.
Meanwhile, the petition in the IHC also called for the Pemra notification to be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
“The impugned notifications cannot be considered an order, decision or determination of the authority because they are not the result of the deliberation process” as per the relevant Pemra rules, the plea argued.
Source: Dawn News
According to a notification issued by the electronic media regulator on Tuesday, television channels were directed to “refrain from airing tickers/headlines with regard to court proceedings and shall only report the written orders of court”.
However, where court proceedings were broadcast live, the proceedings may be reported, the notification had said.
It had also said that all satellite TV channel licences were directed to not air content, including commentary, opinions or suggestions, about the potential fate of sub-judice matters which could prejudice their determination by a court or tribunal could be aired.
The ban came amid strong remarks by Islamabad High Court (IHC) senior puisne judge Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani about the intelligence agencies and government officials in multiple court hearings on the case of a missing Kashmiri poet.
The remarks had prompted criticism from Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar who said that such remarks from court proceedings should not make their way into the public domain.
He had said: “It would be good if whatever the decision is, is passed through a court order instead of such sensationalised news coming out which spreads more unrest.”
Pemra had subsequently barred reporting on court proceedings.
However, the Press Association of the Supreme Court (PAS) and the Islamabad High Court Journalists Association (IHCJA) had rejected the Pemra notification in a joint statement on Wednesday, saying that the gag order was against the independence of the courts.
“Pemra has no legal authority to prohibit the reporting of court proceedings,” the joint statement had said.
“Article 19 (freedom of expression) and 19A of the Constitution gives the right of access to information to the public,” the statement said, adding that the notification issued by Pemra was a “flagrant violation” of the Constitution.
Both associations had called for the withdrawal of the notification, warning that they would otherwise challenge it in court.
Today, two separate petitions were filed in the Lahore High Court and one by the PAS and IHCJA in the IHC against the Pemra notification.
The petitions mentioned as respondents the Pemra chairman and director general, the federal government through the secretaries for interior and law and parliamentary affairs.
The petitions in the LHC were fixed for hearing on Friday by Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh. They were filed by Advocate Samra Malik herself and Hafiz Muhammad Zain Ul Abdin through Advocates Azhar Siddique and Khawaja hmad Tariq Rahim, respectively.
The petitions called for the Pemra notification to be suspended, set aside and declared illegal.
Meanwhile, the petition in the IHC also called for the Pemra notification to be declared illegal and unconstitutional.
“The impugned notifications cannot be considered an order, decision or determination of the authority because they are not the result of the deliberation process” as per the relevant Pemra rules, the plea argued.
Source: Dawn News
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A draconian bill as they used to say in their opposition days
====
Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider on Thursday raised the possibility of sending the Punjab Defamation Bill, 2024, back to the assembly for further consultation and review amid uproar over its passing
The Punjab Assembly had passed the defamation bill on Monday, rejecting all amendments proposed by the opposition amid protests by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and journalists covering parliamentary proceedings.
The SIC members tore apart copies of the bill after the House passed it through a voice vote. Subsequently, more than 80 civil society organisations registered their protest on Tuesday, outrightly rejecting the bill which was a “gross infringement on the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and press freedom”.
The Judicial Activism Panel (JAP) — a self-styled public interest forum based in Lahore — had also urged the Punjab government to reconsider the bill, calling it “draconian”, “illogical” and a “violation of the judgments of the superior courts.”
In an interesting development, even the PPP, which is an ally of the PML-N government, had distanced itself from the controversial bill.
Speaking about the entire matter in an interview on Geo News programme ’Capital Talk, the Punjab governor was questioned about the possibility of him sending the bill back to the assembly for review to which he said: “There is definitely a possibility present that I ask the provincial government to revisit the bill and try to improve it.”
The Punjab governor said he had not seen the bill as of yet, “but from what I’ve heard and from the controversy across the country, it seems that the bill needs to be rethought.”
Governor Haider said it would have been better if the matter was not rushed and the bill was presented after due time for a discussion with all stakeholders.
Source: Dawn News
====
Punjab Governor Sardar Saleem Haider on Thursday raised the possibility of sending the Punjab Defamation Bill, 2024, back to the assembly for further consultation and review amid uproar over its passing
The Punjab Assembly had passed the defamation bill on Monday, rejecting all amendments proposed by the opposition amid protests by the PTI-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) and journalists covering parliamentary proceedings.
The SIC members tore apart copies of the bill after the House passed it through a voice vote. Subsequently, more than 80 civil society organisations registered their protest on Tuesday, outrightly rejecting the bill which was a “gross infringement on the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and press freedom”.
The Judicial Activism Panel (JAP) — a self-styled public interest forum based in Lahore — had also urged the Punjab government to reconsider the bill, calling it “draconian”, “illogical” and a “violation of the judgments of the superior courts.”
In an interesting development, even the PPP, which is an ally of the PML-N government, had distanced itself from the controversial bill.
Speaking about the entire matter in an interview on Geo News programme ’Capital Talk, the Punjab governor was questioned about the possibility of him sending the bill back to the assembly for review to which he said: “There is definitely a possibility present that I ask the provincial government to revisit the bill and try to improve it.”
The Punjab governor said he had not seen the bill as of yet, “but from what I’ve heard and from the controversy across the country, it seems that the bill needs to be rethought.”
Governor Haider said it would have been better if the matter was not rushed and the bill was presented after due time for a discussion with all stakeholders.
Source: Dawn News
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Press freedom in India these days.
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I was doing my job as a journalist in India. Modi's government didn’t like it
It was supposed to be an innocuous catch-up with representatives from Narendra Modi's party, the BJP, to touch base about the ABC's coverage plans for the Indian election.
More than 600 million people were about to start voting across the country.
But when my colleague from our Delhi bureau, Meghna Bali, got in a room with a party spokesman, things became terse.
"We said, 'We're from the ABC,' and … [he] looked at us in the face and said, 'You are the most hostile foreign organisation in India right now,'" she told me.
"You are after us and you have the most biased reporting."
At this point, in April, I'd been the ABC's South Asia correspondent for two and a half years and there'd been a litany of setbacks put on me by the Indian government.
The week before, I'd got a call to say I wouldn't be issued with the visa extension needed to continue reporting in India, and the press pass I required to film outside polling booths during election voting still hadn't come through.
It also followed a block on one of my stories which meant it couldn't be watched on some social media platforms in India.
I would soon pack up my life ahead of the biggest election in history — something I'd been preparing for months to cover — and return to Australia.
Writing this piece makes me uncomfortable. As a journalist, it's strange to become the story, but I'm not alone in what I've experienced.
The evidence shows there's been an unprecedented crackdown on the media in India in the 10 years since Modi came to power.
Many of my fellow foreign correspondents have been pushed out of the country and can't share their experiences because they have family there they have to protect.
Without those connections to India, I'm in a rare position to speak openly about what happened.
Video ban
Summer was just rolling into Delhi in March. It was that sweet spot before the debilitating heat and after the polluted, bone-chilling winter, where the city is at its peak of green, ancient glory.
I'd just put out a story for the ABC's Foreign Correspondent program investigating accusations that Modi's Hindu nationalist government had killed a Canadian Sikh separatist in Vancouver — allegations the government continues to deny.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in the car park of a Sikh temple.
I'd travelled to Punjab and met with members in Nijjar's movement calling for the state to break away and become a separate nation. I'd also uncovered that Indian authorities had gone to Nijjar's home village in the months before he was killed.
While this was a new revelation, the story was being broadly covered all over the world — allegations that the Modi administration's spies were plotting to kill dissidents overseas shocked everyone.
A couple of days after our story went up online, the Indian government ordered YouTube and Facebook to block it.
Now when you try to access the video on YouTube in India a message says:
"This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order."
I thought the ban was the end of it and that I could move on to planning for the fast-approaching election, but the next day I got a call that really shook me.
An Indian government official said my story had "crossed a line" and was "beyond extreme" because I had visited the home of Nijjar and spoke to sympathisers of his cause.
My colleague Meghna was in the room with me and heard the whole thing play out. I took contemporaneous notes as soon as I got off the phone.
Three Indian nationals have since been charged with Nijjar's murder, and investigations into whether they had ties to the Indian government are ongoing.
I honestly didn't think this would happen; Australia-India relations had appeared better than ever. I'd recently covered Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to India, where he delighted in being taken around a cricket stadium on a chariot.
A few months later, Albanese would call Modi "the boss" when he visited Sydney.
The ABC is the only Australian media organisation with a base in South Asia and I'd made an effort in my reporting to highlight the huge place India had carved out for itself on the world stage, as well as the strides it's making in development. It's not just a poverty-stricken nation as many assume; it's an emerging superpower.
And, in my podcast series, "Looking For Modi", while I raised questions about the prime minister's political image and sometimes divisive leadership, I also documented his popularity and spoke to his supporters, friends and superfans.
But things were about to get worse.
Visa block
As a foreign journalist in India, I was eligible to extend my media visa for one year at a time and had applied for a renewal in January, around the time I was shooting in Punjab.
Around the start of March, I realised others who had applied at a similar time had their visas renewed, but mine still hadn't come through.
A government official called me a few days after my story was published and said my visa was not going to come through so I should make plans to leave the country in two weeks.
A million things went through my head; I was simultaneously worried about leaving and staying and faced the daunting task of having to pack up and go, soon.
The ABC asked the Australian government to step in and lobby for my approval to stay in the country.
Meghna and our producers in the Delhi bureau eventually got their press passes to cover the election just in time, but when they went to collect them a government official laughed and said there was "no chance" I would get mine.
Indian officials would later tell local media my requirements for covering the election were "being looked into positively and could have been arranged despite previous disagreements over her coverage of Punjab". I was never given that assurance.
I was eventually granted a two-month visa extension after the Australian government intervened, but it was too late. By then I'd packed up my home to leave the country, my flight was booked for the next day, and it was clear the increasing obstructions to my reporting would make it impossible for me to do my job effectively.
'Shut up and show respect'
I flew out of Delhi as voting began in the largest democratic exercise in history.
When I returned home to Australia and my visa drama was made public, I faced a media storm.
Outlets sympathetic to the Modi government discredited me, saying the allegations I'd made about my visa being denied were "baseless" and that I had a "track record of peddling anti-Hindu propaganda".
One popular YouTuber ranted about my case, saying:
"Australia is nothing, nothing. Do you know the size of India? So next time, shut up and show respect. You're talking about the Prime Minister of India."
Publications notorious for their take-downs of anyone questioning Modi's authority got even more personal.
Perhaps my favourite of the headlines read that a "marriage lured Avani Dias back to Australia, not intimidation by Indian government".
The article failed to mention my partner had been living with me in India the whole time and our wedding happened before this all began.
Publications including the New York Times and the BBC covered my story — they quoted Indian officials who'd told them I was assured by high-ranking officials that my visa would be renewed. That never happened.
I had no certainty my visa would come through until the day before my flight.
My visa wasn't outright cancelled, a short extension was issued in the nick of time after a bureaucratic back and forth, which has allowed the Indian authorities to say I chose to leave instead of being forced out of the country.
While the Modi administration may not be marching foreign journalists out the door, its subtle clampdowns can be just as effective. It allows India to keep up its image as a friendly and free country, something that's helped it get closer to nations like Australia.
India's just been ranked 159th in this year's World Press Freedom Index out of 180 countries and territories.
Reporters Without Borders, which publishes the index, said: "With violence against journalists, highly concentrated media ownership, and political alignment, press freedom is in crisis in the world's largest democracy."
Mandeep Punia is an Indian freelance journalist who says he was beaten by Indian authorities in custody in 2021 after claiming a BJP worker attacked protesters with a petrol bomb.
Police accused him of obstructing an officer. He puts it like this:
"They broke my camera, my phone, everything … I was able to understand that this is not an attack on me, it is on journalism."
Back home in Australia, people ask me if I'm glad to have left India.
I say it was a privilege to be on the ground there, to learn about this behemoth in the world.
My posting was always going to end after the election and I'd accepted a job with the ABC's Four Corners in Sydney, but I did not want to leave a country I had made my home, in this way.
Our job as journalists is to hold those in power to account and I hope India will get back to having a thriving free press soon.
In the meantime, I'm continuing to report. My upcoming story for Four Corners has uncovered the long arm of the Indian state targeting residents here in Australia and new details about the local "nest of spies" previously disrupted by ASIO.
I'm already anticipating the story will be blocked in India.
Last week, Modi won a historic third term as prime minister but didn't win enough seats to form a majority, meaning he'll need to work with smaller parties to get anything done.
There's some optimism among Modi critics that this will take him down a notch and force his government to respect India's democratic foundations — and the press.
Others are worried putting a leader who has only ever experienced invincible power in a precarious position could make him crack down even more.
SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06...-india-modi-government-four-corners/103981186
It was supposed to be an innocuous catch-up with representatives from Narendra Modi's party, the BJP, to touch base about the ABC's coverage plans for the Indian election.
More than 600 million people were about to start voting across the country.
But when my colleague from our Delhi bureau, Meghna Bali, got in a room with a party spokesman, things became terse.
"We said, 'We're from the ABC,' and … [he] looked at us in the face and said, 'You are the most hostile foreign organisation in India right now,'" she told me.
"You are after us and you have the most biased reporting."
At this point, in April, I'd been the ABC's South Asia correspondent for two and a half years and there'd been a litany of setbacks put on me by the Indian government.
The week before, I'd got a call to say I wouldn't be issued with the visa extension needed to continue reporting in India, and the press pass I required to film outside polling booths during election voting still hadn't come through.
It also followed a block on one of my stories which meant it couldn't be watched on some social media platforms in India.
I would soon pack up my life ahead of the biggest election in history — something I'd been preparing for months to cover — and return to Australia.
Writing this piece makes me uncomfortable. As a journalist, it's strange to become the story, but I'm not alone in what I've experienced.
The evidence shows there's been an unprecedented crackdown on the media in India in the 10 years since Modi came to power.
- French journalist Vanessa Dougnac — believed to be India's longest-serving foreign correspondent — had to leave this year because her permanent residency was revoked
- Al Jazeera said its correspondent was not given a pass to cover the election
- The BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai were raided by Indian authorities last year after it aired a documentary critical of Modi's treatment of the country's Muslim minority
Many of my fellow foreign correspondents have been pushed out of the country and can't share their experiences because they have family there they have to protect.
Without those connections to India, I'm in a rare position to speak openly about what happened.
Video ban
Summer was just rolling into Delhi in March. It was that sweet spot before the debilitating heat and after the polluted, bone-chilling winter, where the city is at its peak of green, ancient glory.
I'd just put out a story for the ABC's Foreign Correspondent program investigating accusations that Modi's Hindu nationalist government had killed a Canadian Sikh separatist in Vancouver — allegations the government continues to deny.
Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot dead in the car park of a Sikh temple.
I'd travelled to Punjab and met with members in Nijjar's movement calling for the state to break away and become a separate nation. I'd also uncovered that Indian authorities had gone to Nijjar's home village in the months before he was killed.
While this was a new revelation, the story was being broadly covered all over the world — allegations that the Modi administration's spies were plotting to kill dissidents overseas shocked everyone.
A couple of days after our story went up online, the Indian government ordered YouTube and Facebook to block it.
Now when you try to access the video on YouTube in India a message says:
"This content is currently unavailable in this country because of an order from the government related to national security or public order."
I thought the ban was the end of it and that I could move on to planning for the fast-approaching election, but the next day I got a call that really shook me.
An Indian government official said my story had "crossed a line" and was "beyond extreme" because I had visited the home of Nijjar and spoke to sympathisers of his cause.
My colleague Meghna was in the room with me and heard the whole thing play out. I took contemporaneous notes as soon as I got off the phone.
Three Indian nationals have since been charged with Nijjar's murder, and investigations into whether they had ties to the Indian government are ongoing.
I honestly didn't think this would happen; Australia-India relations had appeared better than ever. I'd recently covered Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to India, where he delighted in being taken around a cricket stadium on a chariot.
A few months later, Albanese would call Modi "the boss" when he visited Sydney.
The ABC is the only Australian media organisation with a base in South Asia and I'd made an effort in my reporting to highlight the huge place India had carved out for itself on the world stage, as well as the strides it's making in development. It's not just a poverty-stricken nation as many assume; it's an emerging superpower.
And, in my podcast series, "Looking For Modi", while I raised questions about the prime minister's political image and sometimes divisive leadership, I also documented his popularity and spoke to his supporters, friends and superfans.
But things were about to get worse.
Visa block
As a foreign journalist in India, I was eligible to extend my media visa for one year at a time and had applied for a renewal in January, around the time I was shooting in Punjab.
Around the start of March, I realised others who had applied at a similar time had their visas renewed, but mine still hadn't come through.
A government official called me a few days after my story was published and said my visa was not going to come through so I should make plans to leave the country in two weeks.
A million things went through my head; I was simultaneously worried about leaving and staying and faced the daunting task of having to pack up and go, soon.
The ABC asked the Australian government to step in and lobby for my approval to stay in the country.
Meghna and our producers in the Delhi bureau eventually got their press passes to cover the election just in time, but when they went to collect them a government official laughed and said there was "no chance" I would get mine.
Indian officials would later tell local media my requirements for covering the election were "being looked into positively and could have been arranged despite previous disagreements over her coverage of Punjab". I was never given that assurance.
I was eventually granted a two-month visa extension after the Australian government intervened, but it was too late. By then I'd packed up my home to leave the country, my flight was booked for the next day, and it was clear the increasing obstructions to my reporting would make it impossible for me to do my job effectively.
'Shut up and show respect'
I flew out of Delhi as voting began in the largest democratic exercise in history.
When I returned home to Australia and my visa drama was made public, I faced a media storm.
Outlets sympathetic to the Modi government discredited me, saying the allegations I'd made about my visa being denied were "baseless" and that I had a "track record of peddling anti-Hindu propaganda".
One popular YouTuber ranted about my case, saying:
"Australia is nothing, nothing. Do you know the size of India? So next time, shut up and show respect. You're talking about the Prime Minister of India."
Publications notorious for their take-downs of anyone questioning Modi's authority got even more personal.
Perhaps my favourite of the headlines read that a "marriage lured Avani Dias back to Australia, not intimidation by Indian government".
The article failed to mention my partner had been living with me in India the whole time and our wedding happened before this all began.
Publications including the New York Times and the BBC covered my story — they quoted Indian officials who'd told them I was assured by high-ranking officials that my visa would be renewed. That never happened.
I had no certainty my visa would come through until the day before my flight.
My visa wasn't outright cancelled, a short extension was issued in the nick of time after a bureaucratic back and forth, which has allowed the Indian authorities to say I chose to leave instead of being forced out of the country.
While the Modi administration may not be marching foreign journalists out the door, its subtle clampdowns can be just as effective. It allows India to keep up its image as a friendly and free country, something that's helped it get closer to nations like Australia.
India's just been ranked 159th in this year's World Press Freedom Index out of 180 countries and territories.
Reporters Without Borders, which publishes the index, said: "With violence against journalists, highly concentrated media ownership, and political alignment, press freedom is in crisis in the world's largest democracy."
Mandeep Punia is an Indian freelance journalist who says he was beaten by Indian authorities in custody in 2021 after claiming a BJP worker attacked protesters with a petrol bomb.
Police accused him of obstructing an officer. He puts it like this:
"They broke my camera, my phone, everything … I was able to understand that this is not an attack on me, it is on journalism."
Back home in Australia, people ask me if I'm glad to have left India.
I say it was a privilege to be on the ground there, to learn about this behemoth in the world.
My posting was always going to end after the election and I'd accepted a job with the ABC's Four Corners in Sydney, but I did not want to leave a country I had made my home, in this way.
Our job as journalists is to hold those in power to account and I hope India will get back to having a thriving free press soon.
In the meantime, I'm continuing to report. My upcoming story for Four Corners has uncovered the long arm of the Indian state targeting residents here in Australia and new details about the local "nest of spies" previously disrupted by ASIO.
I'm already anticipating the story will be blocked in India.
Last week, Modi won a historic third term as prime minister but didn't win enough seats to form a majority, meaning he'll need to work with smaller parties to get anything done.
There's some optimism among Modi critics that this will take him down a notch and force his government to respect India's democratic foundations — and the press.
Others are worried putting a leader who has only ever experienced invincible power in a precarious position could make him crack down even more.
SOURCE: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06...-india-modi-government-four-corners/103981186
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Another journalist shot dead in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
A tragic incident was reported from Nowshera city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where a Local journalist was shot dead by some unidentified assailants, ARY News reported on Sunday.
The local police of KP confirmed that the print media journalist, Hasan Zaib, was shot dead by some unidentified armed assailants in Akbarpura village of Nowshera.
The attackers, riding motorcycles, fatally shot Hasan Zaib, who worked for a local newspaper, in a crowded market area.
In response, the Chief Minister of KP – Ali Amin Gandapur – has taken immediate notice of the murder and demanded a comprehensive report from senior police officials.
The CM emphasized that those involved in the murder would not evade justice and assured that the culprits would be apprehended soon.
A similar incident took place back in May, in which the local journalist Nasrullah Gadani, who was seriously injured in a gun attack, succumbed to his wounds at a hospital in Karachi.
Gadani suffered serious gunshot wounds in an attack by unidentified assailants near Mirpur Mathelo, Ghotki district, on Tuesday.
The incident took place when Nasrullah Gadani was going from his home to Mirpur Mathelo Press Club. Armed men in a car opened fire at the journalist at Jarwar Road near Deen Shah and fled from the scene.
Nasrullah Gadani sustained bullet wounds and was carried to Mirpur Mathelo DHQ hospital for medical attendance. He was later shifted to Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan, for surgery. Gadani was shifted to Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi on Wednesday.
However, he breathed his last on Friday morning.
According to local journalists Gadani, who worked for the Sindhi newspaper and also disseminated his news reports through social media, was known for being a bold journalist for his reports against local feudal lords and political personalities, waderas, and government officers.
ARY News
A tragic incident was reported from Nowshera city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) where a Local journalist was shot dead by some unidentified assailants, ARY News reported on Sunday.
The local police of KP confirmed that the print media journalist, Hasan Zaib, was shot dead by some unidentified armed assailants in Akbarpura village of Nowshera.
The attackers, riding motorcycles, fatally shot Hasan Zaib, who worked for a local newspaper, in a crowded market area.
In response, the Chief Minister of KP – Ali Amin Gandapur – has taken immediate notice of the murder and demanded a comprehensive report from senior police officials.
The CM emphasized that those involved in the murder would not evade justice and assured that the culprits would be apprehended soon.
A similar incident took place back in May, in which the local journalist Nasrullah Gadani, who was seriously injured in a gun attack, succumbed to his wounds at a hospital in Karachi.
Gadani suffered serious gunshot wounds in an attack by unidentified assailants near Mirpur Mathelo, Ghotki district, on Tuesday.
The incident took place when Nasrullah Gadani was going from his home to Mirpur Mathelo Press Club. Armed men in a car opened fire at the journalist at Jarwar Road near Deen Shah and fled from the scene.
Nasrullah Gadani sustained bullet wounds and was carried to Mirpur Mathelo DHQ hospital for medical attendance. He was later shifted to Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital, Rahim Yar Khan, for surgery. Gadani was shifted to Aga Khan Hospital in Karachi on Wednesday.
However, he breathed his last on Friday morning.
According to local journalists Gadani, who worked for the Sindhi newspaper and also disseminated his news reports through social media, was known for being a bold journalist for his reports against local feudal lords and political personalities, waderas, and government officers.
ARY News
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Acting President and PM vow to protect journalists' rights
In a message commemorating the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Acting President Syed Yousuf Raza Gillani and Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif reiterated Pakistan's strong commitment to press freedom and freedom of expression.
Acting President Gilani emphasised that press freedom is essential for democratic stability and transparency in Pakistan. He asserted that violence against journalists undermines democracy.
Gillani noted that the Constitution of Pakistan guarantees the rights to freedom of expression, press freedom, and access to information. He highlighted that measures are in place to protect journalists and media workers within the country.
The Acting President pointed to the passage of the Journalists and Media Workers Protection Act 2021 and the introduction of health insurance for journalists as significant steps toward their protection.
He called for an integrated strategy and comprehensive system to enhance journalist safety. Addressing the situation in Palestine, Gillani condemned the killings of numerous journalists due to Israeli bombardments in conflict-affected areas, particularly in Gaza.
He cited United Nations reports indicating that over 130 journalists have been killed in Gaza, urging the international community to hold Israel accountable for its actions against journalists.
In his message, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif stressed that press freedom is untenable without journalist protection. He acknowledged the relentless efforts of journalists worldwide, including in Pakistan, to keep the public informed.
The Prime Minister lamented the numerous challenges journalists face in their pursuit of truth, including violence, threats, kidnapping, and even murder.
He noted that journalists continue to risk their lives in conflict zones to fulfill their reporting responsibilities, highlighting that despite international conventions concerning Gaza, many journalists have been deliberately targeted to suppress the truth.
Shehbaz Sharif recognised the significant sacrifices made by journalists in Pakistan for democracy, constitutional supremacy, and the rule of law.
He affirmed the government's commitment to prioritise the rights and protection of journalists, emphasising that measures will be taken to ensure their safety and to hold accountable those who perpetrate crimes against them.
Source: The Express Tribune
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A journalist's murder highlights risks of reporting in small-town India
The gruesome murder of Indian journalist Mukesh Chandrakar has shone a spotlight on the dangers of reporting from some of the country's most volatile regions.
Chandrakar's body was found last week in a septic tank in a compound owned by a contractor he had implicated in a story about corruption in Chhattisgarh state. Police have arrested the contractor and two others in connection with the 33-year-old's murder.
Chhattisgarh, a mineral-rich state, has witnessed an armed conflict for more than three decades and attacks by Maoist rebels on security forces are common. The Maoists, who are active in several Indian states, say they are fighting for communist rule and greater rights for tribal people and the rural poor.
Chandrakar's killing was condemned by Indian media watchdogs. People who knew him commended his bravery and resilience, with many saying he cared deeply about people and would go to great lengths to report on an important story.
His death also sparked discussions about the challenges faced by independent reporters, often working as stringers or freelancers, in states like Chhattisgarh, where employment opportunities are few and the balance of power is constantly shifting between the state, insurgent groups and powerful mining corporations.
Chandrakar was born in Basaguda, a remote village in the state, and dabbled in odd jobs before he pivoted to journalism in his 20s.
His childhood was difficult; he lost his father when he was still a child and was raised by his mother, who worked hard to make ends meet. He also grew up in the shadow of violence as militia and rebel groups fought for power in the state.
To help support his family, he initially collected mahua flowers, which are used to make a liquor popular among tribespeople, and later worked in a garage.
His friend Ganesh Mishra told the BBC that Chandrakar discovered journalism through conversations with friends and began working as one in 2013. He learnt on the job, gleaning tips from fellow journalists, and gradually developed a passion for reporting.
He worked as a reporter with mainstream media outlets before launching his own YouTube channel, Bastar Junction. At the time of his death, the channel had around 165,000 subscribers, a number that has since grown by about 10,000.
Bastar is a hilly district in Chhattisgarh which is full of dense forests and is part of India's 'red corridor', a nickname for the regions most affected by the Maoist insurgency.
Watching the videos, Chandrakar's journalism comes across as slightly melodramatic and sometimes straying from the rigours of traditional reporting, such as not always giving all parties a right of reply. However, his videos highlighted stories frequently overlooked by mainstream media - reports of innocent villagers killed in crossfire between Maoist rebels and soldiers, or tribal men wrongfully accused of being insurgents and imprisoned by the police.
His channel captured the hardships faced by locals in Bastar's remote villages, where even basic necessities are scarce.
One video showed villagers swimming across a river with groceries in tow due to the lack of a bridge; another documented a key road mined with explosives, allegedly planted by Maoists to target security forces. His stories gave locals a platform to voice their grievances and hold public officials accountable.
Chandrakar used to also work as a "stringer" for news organisations, where his job involved providing outstation journalists with information about a story or sometimes, even chaperoning them through Maoist strongholds.
Most media outlets pay such freelance reporters poorly, and despite doing much of the ground work, they often don't receive proper recognition or a byline.
A journalist who Chandrakar helped cover a particularly sensitive story told the BBC about how he had helped him cross Maoists camps and police check-posts to access regions deep inside forests.
"It would have been impossible to access the terrain without him," the person, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.
He described Chandrakar as a person who was passionate about new experiences, loved the chase and felt proud when his actions led to change.
"He was also a deeply aspirational person. He didn't want to be defined by his difficult life; he wanted to rise above that," he said.
It's perhaps this trait of Chandrakar's that has led to some speculation about the actual cause of his death. Police say that two of the people arrested for his murder are related to him, one of whom is a contractor.
There are whispers about Chandrakar's lifestyle, which some colleagues found puzzling given the poor salaries of local journalists. In a tribute, his close friend and fellow journalist, Dipankar Ghose, acknowledged the complexities of working in a profession where survival often meant navigating difficult choices.
"For me, Mukesh was the personification of bravery. I'm not going to pretend that in a universe where media organisations he [Chandrakar] worked for didn't even pay for his petrol let alone a stable salary, sustenance wasn't a problem, and therefore some wires weren't crossed. But Mukesh loved journalism with a passion," he wrote as part of a lengthy post praising Chandrakar on X.
Manisha Pande, managing editor at Newslaundry, an independent news platform, speaks about the challenges facing journalists in many small towns and cities across the country.
"There are many passionate and even fearless young journalists who are the first to uncover and report stories from their regions. But as a profession, we haven't figured out how to make journalism financially sustainable for them," she says.
Chandrakar's murder is still under investigation, and more details about his death are expected to emerge in the coming days. However, his work continues to serve as an inspiration to many.
"I have lost a friend who was like a family member and Bastar has lost a good journalist," Mr Mishra says. "His journalism impacted many and so his loss is deeply felt deeply by all".
BBC
The gruesome murder of Indian journalist Mukesh Chandrakar has shone a spotlight on the dangers of reporting from some of the country's most volatile regions.
Chandrakar's body was found last week in a septic tank in a compound owned by a contractor he had implicated in a story about corruption in Chhattisgarh state. Police have arrested the contractor and two others in connection with the 33-year-old's murder.
Chhattisgarh, a mineral-rich state, has witnessed an armed conflict for more than three decades and attacks by Maoist rebels on security forces are common. The Maoists, who are active in several Indian states, say they are fighting for communist rule and greater rights for tribal people and the rural poor.
Chandrakar's killing was condemned by Indian media watchdogs. People who knew him commended his bravery and resilience, with many saying he cared deeply about people and would go to great lengths to report on an important story.
His death also sparked discussions about the challenges faced by independent reporters, often working as stringers or freelancers, in states like Chhattisgarh, where employment opportunities are few and the balance of power is constantly shifting between the state, insurgent groups and powerful mining corporations.
Chandrakar was born in Basaguda, a remote village in the state, and dabbled in odd jobs before he pivoted to journalism in his 20s.
His childhood was difficult; he lost his father when he was still a child and was raised by his mother, who worked hard to make ends meet. He also grew up in the shadow of violence as militia and rebel groups fought for power in the state.
To help support his family, he initially collected mahua flowers, which are used to make a liquor popular among tribespeople, and later worked in a garage.
His friend Ganesh Mishra told the BBC that Chandrakar discovered journalism through conversations with friends and began working as one in 2013. He learnt on the job, gleaning tips from fellow journalists, and gradually developed a passion for reporting.
He worked as a reporter with mainstream media outlets before launching his own YouTube channel, Bastar Junction. At the time of his death, the channel had around 165,000 subscribers, a number that has since grown by about 10,000.
Bastar is a hilly district in Chhattisgarh which is full of dense forests and is part of India's 'red corridor', a nickname for the regions most affected by the Maoist insurgency.
Watching the videos, Chandrakar's journalism comes across as slightly melodramatic and sometimes straying from the rigours of traditional reporting, such as not always giving all parties a right of reply. However, his videos highlighted stories frequently overlooked by mainstream media - reports of innocent villagers killed in crossfire between Maoist rebels and soldiers, or tribal men wrongfully accused of being insurgents and imprisoned by the police.
His channel captured the hardships faced by locals in Bastar's remote villages, where even basic necessities are scarce.
One video showed villagers swimming across a river with groceries in tow due to the lack of a bridge; another documented a key road mined with explosives, allegedly planted by Maoists to target security forces. His stories gave locals a platform to voice their grievances and hold public officials accountable.
Chandrakar used to also work as a "stringer" for news organisations, where his job involved providing outstation journalists with information about a story or sometimes, even chaperoning them through Maoist strongholds.
Most media outlets pay such freelance reporters poorly, and despite doing much of the ground work, they often don't receive proper recognition or a byline.
A journalist who Chandrakar helped cover a particularly sensitive story told the BBC about how he had helped him cross Maoists camps and police check-posts to access regions deep inside forests.
"It would have been impossible to access the terrain without him," the person, who wanted to remain anonymous, said.
He described Chandrakar as a person who was passionate about new experiences, loved the chase and felt proud when his actions led to change.
"He was also a deeply aspirational person. He didn't want to be defined by his difficult life; he wanted to rise above that," he said.
It's perhaps this trait of Chandrakar's that has led to some speculation about the actual cause of his death. Police say that two of the people arrested for his murder are related to him, one of whom is a contractor.
There are whispers about Chandrakar's lifestyle, which some colleagues found puzzling given the poor salaries of local journalists. In a tribute, his close friend and fellow journalist, Dipankar Ghose, acknowledged the complexities of working in a profession where survival often meant navigating difficult choices.
"For me, Mukesh was the personification of bravery. I'm not going to pretend that in a universe where media organisations he [Chandrakar] worked for didn't even pay for his petrol let alone a stable salary, sustenance wasn't a problem, and therefore some wires weren't crossed. But Mukesh loved journalism with a passion," he wrote as part of a lengthy post praising Chandrakar on X.
Manisha Pande, managing editor at Newslaundry, an independent news platform, speaks about the challenges facing journalists in many small towns and cities across the country.
"There are many passionate and even fearless young journalists who are the first to uncover and report stories from their regions. But as a profession, we haven't figured out how to make journalism financially sustainable for them," she says.
Chandrakar's murder is still under investigation, and more details about his death are expected to emerge in the coming days. However, his work continues to serve as an inspiration to many.
"I have lost a friend who was like a family member and Bastar has lost a good journalist," Mr Mishra says. "His journalism impacted many and so his loss is deeply felt deeply by all".
BBC
Bhaijaan
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Gruesome murder story this. Shaken to the core. The culprit has been caught, hope he does not escape the strongest punishment possible for this crime.
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