From April 19 until June 1, the world’s biggest democracy will hold the world’s biggest election, which the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has been in power since 2014, is expected to win.
CPJ spoke to reporters and editors across India about their plans for covering these historic parliamentary elections in a difficult environment for the media, which has seen critical websites censored, prominent editors quit and independent outlets bought by politically-connected conglomerates, while divisive content has grown in popularity.
Chief among journalists’ concerns is election violence. Many journalists fear that they will not receive adequate protection or support from their newsrooms on dangerous assignments. More than a dozen journalists were harassed or injured during the 2020 Delhi riots, the capital’s worst communal violence in decades, in which more than 50 people died.
Read CPJ’s safety guide for journalists covering the India election
Read more of CPJ’s India coverage
On April 12, an Israel Defense Forces attack on a group of Gaza journalists wearing press insignia while reporting from the Nuseirat refugee camp resulted in Turkish broadcaster TRT cameraman Sami Shehadeh having his leg amputated. “The IDF’s disregard for press insignia, both after and prior to October 7, endangers the lives of journalists,” said CPJ’s program director, Carlos Martínez de la Serna.
CPJ called for an independent investigation into this attack, as well as the March 31 Israeli attack on the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Gaza, in which eight journalists were injured.
Read CPJ CEO Jodie Ginsberg in The New York Times on why the Israeli censorship regime must stop
We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.
Jam Saghir Ahmed Lar
Daily Khabrain, Pakistan
Zayd Abu Zayed
Quran Radio, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Myat Thu Tan
Western News, Myanmar
Mardonio Mejía
Sonora Estéreo, Colombia
Mardonio Mejía
Sonora Estéreo radio station, Colombia
Hamza Al Dahdouh
Al-Jazeera, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory