At a glance
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India: Pursuing truth in the face of intolerance
PEN International's freedom of expression report on India
PEN International 3 October 2018
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Freedom on the Net 2017: India
The Supreme Court recognized privacy as a fundamental right in a landmark ruling in August 2017
Freedom House 16 November 2017
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Freedom of the Press 2017: India
In May, the Supreme Court ruled to retain criminal defamation, despite calls for decriminalization.
Freedom House 27 April 2017
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India HRW Report: Events of 2016
Authorities continue to use sedition and criminal defamation laws to prosecute citizens who criticise government officials or oppose state policies. In a blow to free speech, the government in 2016 argued before the Supreme Court in favour of retaining criminal penalties for defamation. The court upheld the law.
Human Rights Watch 16 January 2017
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SPECIAL REPORT Dangerous pursuit: In India, journalists who cover corruption may pay with their lives
In the 27 cases of journalists murdered for their work in India since CPJ began keeping records in 1992, there have been no convictions. More than half of those killed reported regularly on corruption. The cases of Jagendra Singh, Umesh Rajput, and Akshay Singh, who died between 2011 and 2015, show how small-town journalists face greater risk in their reporting than those from larger outlets, and how India's culture of impunity is leaving the country's press vulnerable to threats and attacks
Committee to Protect Journalists 30 August 2016
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Stifling Dissent The Criminalization of Peaceful Expression in India
The government uses draconian laws such as the sedition provisions of the penal code, the criminal defamation law, and laws dealing with hate speech to silence dissent. These laws are vaguely worded, overly broad, and prone to misuse, and have been repeatedly used for political purposes against critics at the national and state level.
Human Rights Watch 25 May 2016
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Freedom of the Press 2016: India
Authorities banned a documentary that chronicled the 2012 gang rape and death of a medical student in Delhi.
Freedom House 23 April 2016
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Freedom on the Net 2015: India
Over one million rally to protect net neutrality
Freedom House 31 October 2015
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Imposing Silence: The Use of India's Laws to Suppress Free Speech
Despite its Constitutional commitment to free speech, India’s legal system makes it surprisingly easy to silence others. Routine corruption, inefficiency, and the selective enforcement of vague and overbroad laws allow individuals, or small groups, to censor opinions they find distasteful. - See more at: http://www.pen-international.org/the-india-report-executive-summary-and-key-findings/#sthash.TIIM2xbu.dpuf
PEN International, PEN Canada 20 May 2015
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Freedom of the Press 2015: India
Ranked 80th in annual global media freedom report
Freedom House 1 May 2015
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Media In India's North East: Tripura
The media in Tripura is still dependent on the government for financial help, giving them an unprecedented upper hand to control press freedom in the state. As long as the political party in power is satisfied, the media is deemed to be okay otherwise there is an incredible pressure on the journalists as they have to not only endure insults but also face demotion in rank as well as being refused accreditation. - See more at: https://samsn.ifj.org/media-in-north-eastern-state-of-tripura/#sthash.0GypROMb.dpuf
International Federation of Journalists 2 April 2015
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Freedom of the Press 2014: India
Ranked 78th in annual global media freedom report
Freedom House 2 May 2014
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Freedom in the World 2014: India
Real-time digital surveillance system launched
Freedom House 1 May 2014
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Enemies of the Internet 2014: India
"Big Brother up and running"
Reporters Without Borders 13 March 2014
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Attacks on the Press in 2013: India
"Press is stifled by state-employed surveillance tactics"
Committee to Protect Journalists 11 February 2014
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World Press Freedom Index 2014: India
Ranked 140th in annual press freedom index
Reporters Without Borders 1 February 2014
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World Report 2014: India
System to monitor mobile phone and internet communications introduced
Human Rights Watch 22 January 2014
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India: Digital freedom under threat?
Index on Censorship 21 November 2013
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Freedom in the World 2013: India
"The government has used security laws, criminal defamation legislation, hate-speech laws, and contempt-of-court charges to curb critical voices"
Freedom House 16 January 2013
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Attacks on the Press in 2011: India
"One of the worst countries in the world at combating deadly anti-press violence"
Committee to Protect Journalists 22 February 2012
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Press Freedom Index 2011-2012: India
Threats from mafia groups lead to a climate of self-censorship
Reporters Without Borders 25 January 2012
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World Report 2012: India
"At least 12 RTI activists have been killed and several others assaulted over the past two years"
Human Rights Watch 22 January 2012
26 November 2008
TWO JOURNALISTS KILLED IN NORTHEAST IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS
Two journalists were killed last week in northeast India, report the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
Jagajit Saikia, a correspondent for the Assamese language daily "Amar Asom", was shot dead by a group of men on 22 November as he was leaving his office in Kokrajhar, in the northeastern state of Assam.
According to IFJ, police sources said any one of the militant groups active in the area could be responsible for Saikia's murder. Saikia frequently wrote about rivalries among the armed groups fighting over control of Kokrajhar and neighbouring districts that are ethnically Bodo.
IFJ is appealing to state security agencies and militant groups in the north-east to respect the right of journalists to access information from all sides of a conflict situation. "This requires, above all, that the non-combatant status of journalists in zones of armed conflict and insurgency be treated as an inviolable principle," says IFJ. IFJ is supporting a new local campaign that demands action to end violence against media personnel in Assam.
Saikia is the second journalist murdered in India's northeast in the past week. On 17 November, Konsam Rishikanta, 22, was killed in Imphal, the capital of the state of Manipur.
Rishikanta was a young trainee journalist working for the "Imphal Free Press", an English daily in Manipur. The motive for the murder is not yet known and no group has claimed responsibility.
Journalists in Manipur have been on strike to protest his murder and to draw attention to security threats. According to CPJ and IFJ, they are vulnerable to pressure from both local insurgent groups and state officials, seeking to publicise their respective viewpoints.
Daily newspapers are refusing to publish and a large rally was planned on 26 November against the government's "inaction" in calling for a judicial inquiry.
According to local news reports, Rishikanta was the fifth reporter to be killed in Manipur with impunity.
Visit these links:
- IFJ: http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/98780/- CPJ: http://tinyurl.com/5t76rh- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=29402
- "The Hindu": http://tinyurl.com/5bqytj(26 November 2008)
INTERNATIONAL: AMARC ROCKS IT AT 25
26 November 2008
INTERNATIONAL: IFEX MEMBERS COMMEMORATE INTERNATIONAL DAY ON THE ELIMINATION OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
26 November 2008
INTERNATIONAL: GHANAIAN REPORTER AND U.S. FREELANCER WIN KURT SCHORK AWARDS
26 November 2008
INTERNATIONAL: AWARDS FOR JOURNALISTS HONOUR TRUTH-TELLING, SOCIAL ACTIVISM
26 November 2008
INTERNATIONAL: APPLY NOW FOR TWO PRESS FREEDOM FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMMES
26 November 2008
INTERNATIONAL: PUBLIC INVITED TO PARIS TO CELEBRATE LAUNCH OF GLOBAL NETWORK INITIATIVE
26 November 2008
INTERNATIONAL: EUROPE USES ANTI-TERROR LAWS TO RESTRICT FREE SPEECH, SAYS PRIVACY INTERNATIONAL
26 November 2008
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: SECOND UN JOURNALIST KILLED IN BUKAVU
26 November 2008
BURMA: JUNTA HANDS DOWN RIDICULOUS PRISON SENTENCES IN LATEST CRACKDOWN ON FREE EXPRESSION
26 November 2008
- Most covered free expression issues in this country
More from India
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India: Pursuing truth in the face of intolerance
PEN International's freedom of expression report on India
-
Freedom on the Net 2017: India
The Supreme Court recognized privacy as a fundamental right in a landmark ruling in August 2017
-
Freedom of the Press 2017: India
In May, the Supreme Court ruled to retain criminal defamation, despite calls for decriminalization.
members working in this region
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- Afghanistan Journalists Center (AFJC)
- Aliansi Jurnalis Independen/Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI)
- Bytes for All (B4A)
- Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)
- Cambodian Centre for Independent Media (CCIM)
- Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
- Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ)
- Digital Rights Foundation
- Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ)
- Freedom Forum
- Free Media Movement
- Globe International Center
- Hong Kong Journalists Association
- Institute for the Studies on Free Flow of Information
- Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
- Media Matters for Democracy
- Media Watch
- Mizzima News
- Pacific Freedom Forum (PFF)
- Pacific Islands News Association
- Pakistan Press Foundation
- SFLC.in
- Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
- Thai Journalists Association
- Most covered free expression issues in this region
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TRUTH VS MISINFORMATION: THE COLLECTIVE PUSH BACK
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THE STORIES WOMEN JOURNALISTS TELL: Women in Media in South Asia
The report is the first created by the South Asia Media Solidarity Network (SAMSN) looking specifically at the experience of women journalists in the South Asia sub-region