India
2014
Indian reporters in Pakistan facing expulsion
New York, May 9, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned that Pakistani authorities might decline to renew visas for the only two Indian journalists working in the country. Authorities on Thursday informed Meena Menon, a correspondent for The Hindu, and Snehesh Alex Philip, a correspondent for the Press Trust of India, that their…
Attack on home of critical Indian journalist
New York, April 30, 2014–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the attack on the home of an Indian journalist and calls on authorities to take immediate steps to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. Devinder Pal is a critical investigative journalist for the Punjabi-language daily The Punjabi Tribune.
Censorship in India on the rise amid elections
This month, Indians are voting in the largest election in history. It’s an exciting exercise in democracy, but it comes against a grim backdrop: censorship in the country is on the rise, according to a quarterly report by the South Asian media watchdog, The Hoot.
Getting Away With Murder
CPJ’s 2014 Global Impunity Index spotlights countries where journalists are slain and the killers go free IraqUnsolved Murders: 100Population: 32.6 millionRank: 1 SomaliaUnsolved Murders: 26Population: 10.2 millionRank: 2 The PhilippinesUnsolved Murders: 51Population: 96.7 millionRank: 3 Sri LankaUnsolved Murders: 9Population: 20.3 millionRank: 4 SyriaUnsolved Murders: 7Population: 22.4 millionRank: 5 AfghanistanUnsolved Murders: 5Population: 29.8 millionRank: 6 MexicoUnsolved…
Indian journalist abducted, raped in Uttar Pradesh
A female journalist was gang-raped while on assignment in the Mirzapur district in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh on March 27, 2014, according to news reports. The journalist, who works with a Haridwar-based daily in the neighboring state of Uttarakhand, was working on a story about a historic pilgrimage site in the area,…
Modi’s rise does not bode well for Indian press freedom
As India is set to hold elections next month, journalists covering Narendra Modi, India’s right-wing prime ministerial candidate, are reportedly coming under increased pressure online and in the newsroom for shedding critical light on him. Given these developments, free and independent reporting of the campaign is in doubt–as is the future climate for press freedom…
Attacks on the Press in 2013: India
Despite India’s rising global profile, authorities used both antiquated and advanced techniques to threaten press freedom. One journalist remained imprisoned on anti-state charges, while the government implemented a surveillance system designed to monitor citizens’ phone calls, text messages, and Internet communication, making it difficult for journalists to communicate privately with sources. India ranked second, behind…
On Internet freedom, India’s perilous trajectory
By the time the first story based on former NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s disclosures splashed across the front pages of the world’s newspapers, India had reportedly begun deployment of its own major surveillance architecture, the Central Management System (CMS). The system is a $132 million project that allows central access to all communications content and…