India’s ranking in the 2023 World Press Freedom index has slipped to 161 out of 180 countries according to the latest report released by the global media watchdog, Reporters without Borders. In comparison even Pakistan and Sri Lanka fared better at 150 and 135 respectively.
RWB, headquartered in Paris and which has a consultative status with the UN releases an annual report the objective of which is to compare and quantify the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in 180 countries.
The Press Club of India has voiced deep concern over the country’s continuous downward spiral in the index. For developing democracies in the global South where deep pockets of inequities exist, the media’s role can not be overemphasized.Constraints on press freedom due to hostile working conditions and threat to the physical and mental safety of personnel severely impacts the ability of journalists to gather, select, produce and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal and social interference.
This extreme right wing authoritarian regime has ensured that whatever vestiges of the free press remains in India is gagged or made totally beholden to the ruling dispensation. We should all hang our heads in collective shame at this dubious distinction, the addition of yet another rotten feather in our already overfeathered cap.
