Death Threats in the Line of Duty

Today at a time when free speech and independent thinking are disappearing in India, certain media persons face hate, insult and repeated often daily death threats. Despite the traumas they continue to fight back.

In 2011, the United Nations named journalism as one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Since 1992, 47 journalists have been killed in India alone, according to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organisation that campaigns for the right of journalists to report the news without fear of reprisal.

The alarming frequency with which journalists are being attacked gives rise to a number of disturbing questions. Why do attackers —politically motivated or otherwise —believe they can get away with attacking journalists? One reason could be the absence of a deterrent and a lackadaisical justice system. 

According to international non-profit Committee to Protect Journalists, not a single journalist’s murder in India had been solved over the past decade. The State needs to ensure stringent punishment for the perpetrators if a journalist is assaulted or intimidated in connection with the performance of duty.

At least 31 journalists have been killed in northeast India in the past 30 years, according to data from media reports and journalism associations.

In strife-torn Indian Kashmir, in the north, there have been several instances of journalists being threatened, physically assaulted and detained by unknown gunmen, suspected militants and sometimes police.

Photo journalists have been the soft targets of stone-throwing crowds in the region, which is grappling with an insurgency that has claimed more than 70,000 lives, over the last three decades.

A leading English daily, The Hindu, said “the detention of a journalist in Manipur under the stringent National Security Act for a social media post is a clear instance of misuse of power and a blatant violation of his rights as a citizen.”

“It indicates a dangerous trend among those wielding power to invoke laws aimed at preserving public order and security in a casual or vindictive manner, with utter disregard for constitutional provisions that uphold individual liberty,” the paper said in its editorial.

Journalists have never been entirely safe in India — 11 have been killed since 2010, according to the CPJ. Most were working outside major cities, often covering small-town corruption, when they were killed.

The fact that journalists in major cities like New Delhi are now being hounded is relatively novel, after years during which they operated largely without fear of retribution thanks in part to the nation’s educated, urban elite and the foreign media bearing noisy witness.

In such a climate, it is becoming more difficult for journalists to cover the country’s heated debates about whether people should be allowed to criticize the government, empathize with convicted terrorists, eat beef or make jokes about Hindu gods. Under Indian law, it is illegal to inflame communal tension or stoke violence. Prosecutors are increasingly applying that ban to anything deemed anti-Indian, though they have not targeted journalists.

The apparent increase in harassment, meanwhile, may be a sign of the times. India’s enormous population of 1.25 billion is also the world’s fastest-growing market for both Internet penetration and smartphone use. Interacting online is something new and exciting for long-isolated populations.

The deaths are the latest in a disturbing trend of journalists meeting a frightening end while performing their duties in speaking truth to power.

The frequency in which journalists are being attacked, especially in rural India, also begs the question of why there are no safety mechanisms to protect them.

The Community to Protect Journalists (CPJ) ranks India 13th in its global impunity index, which highlights countries where the murders of journalists are least likely to be punished. The organization claims not a single journalist's murder in the country has been solved in the past 10 years.

Since 2015, as many as 142 attacks against journalists have been registered in rural India, according to the latest data available with the National Crime Records Bureau. As many as 70 journalists were killed in India between 1992 and 2016. Many of them were independent journalists who were murdered close to their home or their workplace.

Many attacks on journalists go unreported, as reporters often succumb to threats from local politicians, policemen, and self-appointed vigilantes.

The gunning down of high-profile journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore last September reignited the debate over freedom of the press and freedom of speech in India. It demonstrated that killing and intimidation of journalists was not limited to one regime or region.

But despite public outrage, nothing has changed since then.

Soon after Lankesh's murder, journalist Sajeev Gopalan was allegedly roughed up by police in front of his wife and daughter in the southern state of Kerala after he had reported unfavourably about them.

In another incident, Sudip Dutta Bhaumik, an investigative reporter at the Bengali-language daily Syandan Patrika, was shot dead in the northeastern state of Tripura. Another young TV reporter, Santanu Bhowmik, known for leftist leanings, was allegedly killed in an attack by tribal party cadres.

Last year, Somaru Nag and Santosh Yadav, both journalists who work for local newspapers were booked for sedition because police alleged that they worked as couriers for Maoists and published stories in their favour. Yadav had to spend 18 months in jail before he was released.

Journalists are routinely targeted like in the case of Kamran Yusuf, a photojournalist from Kashmir, who was released on bail this month after spending more than six months in jail on charges of "waging war against India" and "stone throwing."

The International Federation of Journalists in a recent statement said journalists covering Kashmir have "walked the razor's edge," working under threats and intimidation from various actors in the conflict.

Besides journalists, people who use potent transparency laws to expose corruption have been targeted. More than 15 whistle-blowers have been murdered and countless others attacked in the past three years.

This has brought into sharp focus the obstacles hindering the successful implementation of India's landmark Right to Information Act, which is supposed to expose corruption in the government.

For years, reporters and editors have faced harassment, coercion, and threats from vested interests in the government as well as private ones. A number of them have even been killed for performing their duty or voicing an opinion. No wonder India is the third-most dangerous place to be a journalist, behind war-torn Iraq and Syria.

Recently, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) expressed its concern over attempts silence the freedom of press in India.

“The increasing number of attacks on journalists and media in India is a serious threat to independent journalism in the country. The IFJ urges the Indian authorities to act immediately to ensure safety of journalists and media; and speedy investigation and prosecution in crimes against journalists to ensure such incidents are not repeated,” stated a release from IFJ.

The media is often referred as the fourth pillar of democracy as it plays the vital role of a watchdog. Therefore, any attack on its representatives is an attack on democracy and the right to freedom of expression and information.

Attacks on journalists are common the world over and they continue to remain targets of those having vested interests in the issues they highlight. It is indeed worrying to see that the attacks on members of the media seem to be increasing both in frequency and brutality.

Not surprisingly, 41% of journalists killed were covering politics and 29% were covering corruption. This means, 70% of the total journalist killed were covering either politics or corruption. In most cases, one coincided with the other.

While 24% covered Business and Culture-related issues, 18% were concerned about Human Rights situation. About 15% covered crime. Moreover, 3% lost their lives covering war.

The high percentage of journalists losing their lives while covering politics and corruption, reflects poorly on the law & order situation. Poor rate of prosecution and prolonged delay in trials have only helped those in power to believe that they can remain above the law.

It is the state’s responsibility to ensure that our fourth estate continues to remain safe and protected so that they can carry out their role without fear or favour. The messenger must be protected, at any cost.

                      Image from- http://www.ramanmedianetwork.com/, 
                      Photo: UNESCO