India drops 11 places in the Press Freedom Index, now ranking 161 out of 180 nations.
On Wednesday, May 3, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) published the 21st edition of its World Press Freedom Index, and it was unfavourable for India. In terms of press freedom, India is now placed 161st out of 180 nations, 11 places down from 2022 when it was ranked 150.
India is now one of the 31 nations that RSF considers to have "very serious" journalistic conditions. The violence against journalists, the politically partisan media, and the concentration of media ownership all show that press freedom is in crisis in "the world's largest democracy," which has been governed since 2014 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the head of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the personification of the Hindu nationalist right, according to RSF's opening remarks about why India has been classified in this way.
Five factors make up the World Press Freedom Index, for which scores are calculated and subsequently countries are rated. Political indicator, economic indicator, legislative indicator, social indicator, and security indicator are the five sub-indicators.
India's ranking of 172 in the Security indicator category represents the most concerning fall. Out of 180 nations, only eight have a worse ranking than India, according to this metric. Other than China, Mexico, Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Yemen, Ukraine, and Myanmar, in that order, India is the worst country in the world for ensuring the safety of journalists. Myanmar comes in last.
The security indicator evaluates the ability to identify, gather, and disseminate news and information in accordance with journalistic methods and ethics, without unnecessary risk of bodily harm, psychological or emotional distress, or professional harm resulting from, for example, loss of one's job, confiscation of professional equipment, or ransacking of media installations.
RSF claims that there is a dearth of diversity in Indian newsrooms. "The majority of senior journalism posts and media executives are held by Hindu men from higher castes, a bias that is mirrored in media content. For instance, women make up less than 15% of participants on popular night time discussion shows.
India is doing poorly overall and even in terms of protecting journalists. RSF states: "With an average of three or four journalists killed in connection with their work every year, India is one of the world's most dangerous countries for the media." The report notably discusses the continued police meddling in Kashmir's press regulation as well as targeted harassment of female journalists online.
India ranks among the worst performers on the rating, even within South Asia. At 163, Bangladesh performs marginally worse than Pakistan, while India comes in at 150th, several ranks behind Pakistan. With a rating of 152, even Afghanistan, where the Taliban administration is well known for being hostile to independent journalists, has performed better. Sri Lanka is at 135 and Bhutan is at 9.
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