Indian Journalists To Be In Danger Till Elections 2019; India Ranks Low on World Press Freedom Index

What does democracy stand for? How does it give each individual touching the reigns of its stems, the freedom to speak, perform and express what they believe in? The line separating verbal violence from physical violence is dissolving.

The Drop in Ranks

As per the analysis released by the annual Reporters without Borders (RSF), on Thursday, India sees a sharp fall by two positions on a global press freedom index. It now ranks 140 out of the 180 countries compiled by the RSF.

It is said that this downfall shall be maintained until 2019 elections, indicating a lingering threat to the journalists.

With the constant pace of tension lurking about the freedom of action on journalists, 2018 saw a decline in ranks from 136 to a solid 138 out of 180 in the Press Freedom Index. The following degradation of the same in 2019 is nothing but a whiplash on the direction which we are heading towards.

“The unleashing of hatred towards journalists is one of the worst threats to democracies”, says RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire.

Hate Campaigns and Obstacles

The World Press Index 2019 monitored these alterations, adding that there has been an increase in the sense of hostility towards journalists with violent attacks on them, killing 6 Indian journalists for their works last year.

The current state of press is lamentable, seeing Maoist attacks, hate campaigns, unorthodox involvement of corrupt politicians to suit their own benefits and inclusion of criminal groups.

There has been a greater threat for journalists in rural areas and the freedom to write on issues related to Kashmir is still not whole, or in some cases, formidable.

In India, freedom of the press has been treated as part of the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed by Article 19(1)(a) but true freedom of the same has never been attained.

The Role of RSF

RSF has been publishing the World Press Freedom Index each year since 2002 measures the level of freedom available to journalists and not the quality of journalism.

It is a non-profitable organization that operates and fights the hate attacks against journalists. It strives to maintain a free press in every corner of the globe.

Being Democratic

For a country that waves the flag of the biggest democracy around the globe, India’s record in upholding the freedom of the press has been consistently poor.

A country’s media is responsible to fight primitive ideas, like inequality, communalism and other social evils.  An institution which is meant to work for you tries to suppress you down, an equilibrium becomes a dire need.

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