Eroding Media Freedom and Government’s Credibility in India

Newsreel Asia Insight #5
Oct. 6, 2023

The recent raids targeting 46 journalists, editors and professionals associated with the independent media outlet NewsClick have set off alarm bells about press freedom in India. Conducted by Delhi Police’s Special Cell, these actions seem excessive in both their severity and scope.

The formal police complaint against NewsClick and its staff falls under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). These charges are purportedly based on information from the Enforcement Directorate concerning foreign funds.

According to The Wire, the raids included questioning about “terror links” under the stringent UAPA. Devices like phones, computers, and hard drives belonging to the journalists and others were confiscated without due legal process.

An August report in The New York Times alleged that NewsClick received a substantial sum from entities connected to Neville Roy Singham, an American millionaire accused of disseminating Chinese propaganda. In February 2021, about two years prior to this report, the Enforcement Directorate searched premises linked to NewsClick.

The allegations against NewsClick, as reported by Deccan Herald, encompass publishing paid news for Chinese propaganda, money laundering, and fostering community discord. They are also accused of abetting property damage in protests and supporting a banned Maoist movement through their coverage.

With limited information at hand, evaluating the government’s case against NewsClick proves challenging. However, the government’s disproportionate actions are evident. It seems the authorities have leveraged accusations against NewsClick as a means to penalise journalists for doing their job, which includes speaking truth to power.

Fifteen independent media associations have written to the Chief Justice of India, D.Y. Chandrachud, saying that “a large section of journalists in India finds itself working under the threat of reprisal,” according to Scroll.

The letter further says, “During your time at the Supreme Court, you have seen how on numerous occasions, the country’s investigating agencies have been misused and weaponised against the Press. Sedition and terrorism cases have been filed against editors and reporters, and multiple, sequential and/or frivolous FIRs have been used as an instrument of harassment against journalists.

“The purpose of addressing this letter to you is not to bypass or circumvent the process and procedure established by law. But when journalists are summoned and their devices seized in the name of investigation, there is an inherent malice in the process that must be checked.” 

Governments are known for either mistakenly or intentionally labelling independent media as “anti-national,” conflating the nation with the government itself. It’s not for nothing that India has been falling sharply in the World Press Freedom Index and is currently among the bottom 20 countries.

In India, the government not only targets independent media but also labels civil society as anti-national and supportive of Maoism. The common factor between these two entities is their role as government watchdogs and their outspoken nature.

In July 2021, The Washington Post reported that Arsenal Consulting, a digital forensics firm in the United States, analysed electronic copies of computers and email accounts of Indian activists Surendra Gadling and Rona Wilson, who had been accused of plotting an insurgency against the government. The firm found that an unidentified attacker used malware to infiltrate the computers and secretly placed dozens of files on them. These files were later cited by investigators as evidence linking the activists to a banned Naxal group aiming to overthrow the government.

Moreover, while the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, which regulates foreign funds received by NGOs for social work, has become increasingly stringent in both its terms and enforcement, ordinary citizens are barred from questioning political parties about their funding sources.

In December 2020, the Central Information Commission ruled that voters and citizens have no right to know how political parties are funded, suggesting that these parties are not “public authorities,” according to The Wire.

The government’s excessive actions against NewsClick appear more politically motivated than legally justified.

The suggestion that evidence was planted against activists charged under the same UAPA further undermines the government’s credibility. And the lack of transparency in political party funding raises more questions than the funding of NewsClick does.

The true narrative surrounding India’s independent media at large is not one of collusion with China or misuse of funds, but of financial struggle, a struggle for survival. Independent media outlets in India are among the most budget-conscious in the world. It’s hard to imagine that the Indian government is unaware of this reality.