03-05-2023 : India’s ranking in the global Press Freedom Index 2023 has fallen to 161 out of 180 countries, marking a decline of 11 positions from the previous year’s ranking of 150. The Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), or Reporters Without Borders, a Paris-based organization, has released the latest rankings, which puts India in the same category as countries with some of the worst records in human rights and press freedom, such as Bangladesh (163), Russia (164), Turkey (165), Saudi Arabia (170), and Iran (177). China (179) and North Korea (180) are ranked at the bottom of the list in terms of media freedom. The report was released on May 3, which is celebrated as the World Press Freedom Day.
The RSF has used five indicators to determine the rankings, which capture the essence of press freedom. These indicators include political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and safety of journalists. According to the RSF, India’s slipping ranking on the index is primarily due to the increasing control of the media by a select group of corporate houses. The report highlights the acquisition of media outlets by oligarchs with close ties to political leaders, particularly in “hybrid” regimes like India, where all mainstream media is owned by wealthy businessmen with links to Prime Minister.
The RSF report also notes that online trolls affiliated with the ruling party have harassed journalists and their sources, impacting the rankings. As a result, many journalists have been forced to censor themselves, caught between the pressure from oligarchs and the ruling party.
In March last year, the Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Anurag Thakur, informed the Parliament that the government rejected RSF’s rankings after India slipped to 150th place. Thakur stated that the government did not subscribe to the organization’s views and rankings and did not agree with its conclusions due to various reasons, including a very low sample size, little or no weightage given to the fundamentals of democracy, questionable and non-transparent methodology, and more.
The RSF defines press freedom as the ability of journalists as individuals and collectives to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest, independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference, and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.
India’s rankings on social indicators stand at 143, on legislative indicators at 144, on economic indicators at 155, on political indicators at 169, and on security indicators at 172.
Nordic countries like Norway, Ireland, and Denmark ranked top three respectively while Vietnam, China, and North Korea were the bottom three countries on the index.
Russia, where the government has largely completed its quelling of independent media, fell nine places to 164th. Despite the Russian invasion and its own issues with oligarchs, Ukraine rose 27 places to 79th