India inches up in World Press Freedom Index, but is its position 'unworthy of a democracy'?

News manipulation and political constraints are increasingly impacting journalists worldwide, according to the annual World Press Freedom Index. What are the implications for India, where there are reports of growing restrictions on the press?

India ranks 159 out of 180 countries in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders. (Representative image) Credit: South_agency/Getty Images

Key Points

• India ranks 159 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders.
• Media pundits in India debate the assessment.
• World Press Freedom Day is observed on 3 May.

The strength of India's media, comprising more than 140,000 publications over 900 television channels in a country of 1.4 billion people, is again a major talking point amid the ongoing 2024 general election and the recent inauguration of the Ram temple.

India's ranking in the World Press Freedom Index

India rose two places in this year's World Press Freedom Index, the annual report by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF), to 159 out of 180 countries.

But the RSF said that the press freedom situation has worsened in the Asia-Pacific region, including in India.

"This is the case with India (159th), which was pushed up two places despite recently adopting more draconian laws. Its new position is still unworthy of a democracy," the RSF said on its website.

Last year India was ranked at 161st position, down from 150th position in 2022.

This year India finds itself ranked lower than Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal.

Press freedom is increasingly under threat around the globe. (Representative image) Source: AFP / AFP via Getty Images

"As more than half the world's population goes to the polls in 2024, RSF is warning of a worrying trend revealed by the 2024 World Press Freedom Index: a decline in the political indicator, one of five indicators detailed in the Index. States and other political forces are playing a decreasing role in protecting press freedom," Anne Bocandé, RSF editorial director, said in a statement.

RSF further said that very strong pressure on journalists must be expected in the coming elections in all of the world’s regions.

SBS Hindi contacted the High Commission of India in Australia for comment, but had not received a reply at the time of publishing.

Viewpoint from the ground

Professor K G Suresh is the former Director General of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, a premier journalism institute, and currently serves as Vice Chancellor at the Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication.

He argued India's ranking in the Press Freedom Index was "absurdly low".

"Countries like Pakistan, where the conditions for basic rights of the common people are even more dire, are ranked above India in this Press Freedom Index released by the RSF," he told SBS Hindi.

Professor K G Suresh Credit: Supplied

He asserted that Western media, like in the US, Europe or Australia, had consistently exhibited bias and inadequately portrayed India's progress.

"From my perspective, I don't perceive India heading towards an autocratic direction. Numerous newspapers continue to critique the current government, and if you were to grab a prominent publication today, you'd likely encounter dissenting views against the government," Suresh said.

However, Manisha Pande, an award-winning journalist of the Indian media watchdog Newslaundry, emphasised that there's scant room for journalists to pose challenging inquiries to the present government and the prime minister.

Manisha Pande is executive editor at Newslaundry, a Delhi-based news and media critique website. Credit: Supplied

"Newspapers are still doing a good job, but if you ask about TV channels, one of the loudest mediums impacting people the most, especially those based in New Delhi, (these) have become kind of mouthpieces of the government," she said.

"Whenever a publication has addressed issues contrary to the established system, governmental action has swiftly followed. Newslaundry, too, has experienced notices and raids as a consequence," Pande said.

According to a survey conducted by Newslaundry last year, she said more than 40 media organisations had undergone scrutiny by government agencies in the past five years.

Suresh said he sees this from a different angle and said media houses today function like corporate houses.

“If they (media houses) don't follow the business laws as a business entity, government intervention becomes necessary, a scenario that wasn't as prevalent in the past," he said.

But both Suresh and Pande refute that there's an absence of independent media in India, asserting that while there are obstacles and hurdles, a free press remains very much alive.

In recent times, several journalists and media houses have come under scrutiny by government agencies reportedly after criticising the current Narendra Modi government.

Additionally, some foreign journalists have expressed concern about encountering obstacles while reporting on the news.

In a high-profile case, Avani Dias, the ABC South Asia bureau chief who was stationed in New Delhi, detailed the challenges she encountered during her reporting and subsequently declared her sudden departure from India in April.

"When I started interviewing people for this podcast, I was struggling to get them to speak to me about the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They were worried about the repercussion of saying anything that goes against his carefully crafted story, but I thought I would be fine as a foreign journalist. I was wrong," Dias said in an episode of her 'Looking for Modi' podcast prior to leaving India.

She attributed her departure to the refusal of a visa extension by government authorities, reportedly linked to her coverage of the Khalistan separatist movement.

SBS Hindi reached out to the ABC correspondent, but she declined to comment.

Indian media at a glance

India's media landscape encompasses a wide array of outlets across different platforms, serving a diverse range of linguistic demographics.

There are over 900 satellite channels in India. (Representative image) Credit: Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Presently, millions of households have access to over 900 satellite TV channels, almost half of which are dedicated to news programming.

There are over 350 community radio stations and the total number of registered publications including newspapers and periodicals stands at over 1.4 million.

Scene of a press conference being held in New Delhi, India. (Representative image) Credit: Mint/Hindustan Times via Getty Images

Driven by a growing middle class, the total newspaper daily circulation figure exceeds 400 million copies per day on average.

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