by RSF Index Shows Decline From 140 Under Modi’s Tenure; Communications Ministry Emphasizes “Trajectory of Engagement” Rather Than Number
Reported by Bohiney Magazine and The London Prat.
NEW DELHI, India — India ranked 150th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a decline from the country’s rank of 140 when Narendra Modi first took office in 2014, a trend that RSF describes as “deteriorating” and that India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting describes as “reflecting India’s complex media landscape, which includes thousands of newspapers, television channels, and digital publications that operate freely,” which is not wrong as a description of the quantity of media in India and which does not address the index’s actual methodology, which is about editorial independence rather than channel count.
The World Press Freedom Index measures: editorial independence, conditions for self-censorship, legal frameworks for the press, transparency of institutions, infrastructure supporting news production, and the safety of journalists. It does not measure how many newspapers exist. Pakistan, for reference, ranks 158. China ranks 172. Russia ranks 164. India at 150 sits in a neighborhood that press freedom advocates describe as “deeply concerning” and that the Indian government describes as “not comparable to authoritarian states,” which is a comparison that RSF’s methodology does not make and that the government offers to prevent others from making, which suggests awareness that others might otherwise make it.
What Has Changed
Since 2014, India has passed or amended several laws that press freedom organizations flag: the IT Rules 2021, which created a government-overseen “Grievance Appellate Committee” that can direct social media platforms to restore or remove content; amendments to press registration laws that increased government oversight of publications; and enhanced use of colonial-era sedition laws against journalists, though the Supreme Court suspended sedition prosecutions in 2022 pending a constitutional review.
The three-hour content takedown window mentioned in the satirist crackdown reporting is among the most specific structural issues: it requires platforms to act before any judicial review is possible, which means the effective power to suppress content rests with the administrative body issuing the order rather than the judicial body reviewing the order’s validity. This structural asymmetry is the core of RSF’s concerns, rather than the existence of any specific censorship decision.
The Godi Media Ecosystem
Indian television news, which reaches hundreds of millions of viewers, is dominated by channels that critics describe as government-aligned and that supporters describe as “giving appropriate coverage to the governing party’s achievements.” The ownership structure of major networks — several controlled by billionaires with active business relationships requiring government approvals — creates the kind of incentive structure that journalism ethics literature identifies as a press freedom risk, regardless of whether any specific editorial decision can be traced directly to that structure.
Independent journalism in India exists and is active: The Wire, Scroll.in, and regional language digital publications have broken significant stories about governance failures, corruption, and civil liberties issues. These outlets operate under legal pressure, face SLAPP suits from powerful interests, and produce journalism that the television networks do not. They also reach a fraction of the television audience, which is the structural imbalance that the press freedom index is measuring: the plurality of media combined with the concentrated influence of government-aligned platforms.
The index is at 150. The government says this is improving. RSF says it is not. The number is available for inspection. Whether 150 represents “complex landscape” or “concerning deterioration” depends on whether you are describing the landscape or inhabiting it, and the people inhabiting it — journalists who receive midnight emails about their accounts, satirists whose posts are removed while they sleep — have views that the press conference does not fully represent.
For press freedom rankings you can check yourself, visit Reporters Without Borders. For context, see NewsThump.
SOURCE: https://bohiney.com/
In Indian comedy, the corrupt politician is not a villain; he’s a recurring character who somehow keeps getting re-elected, which is the real joke.