India Stands At A Lowly 138 In Press Freedom. Are You Surprised?

How well a country is respected by the world depends upon a diverse mix of factors. Let alone the economy and the political state of affairs for the two can always suffer from an upward-downward oscillation.

Today, women’s safety tops any list worldwide in an age that is experiencing both- a brimming vocal, emotional support toward women empowerment and elements threatening it.

That said, among the other factors are the quintessential points about freedom of expression and journalistic freedom. Both of which, one fears, are being endangered by a growing culture of decadence in India. While on the one hand poverty and population have massively presented an anomaly in the system, the lack of journalistic freedom and suppression of free speech are constantly at threat of subversion.

Murder and threat of journalists, elimination of voices battling for free speech- the list of woes continue to expand in a country whose population graph does not know what receding is. This implicit culture that paints a picture of blithe has been represented ably by a new survey. It appears that India’s ranking in the press freedom has fallen to 138. If this weren’t a shallow representation for the world’s largest democracy than what is?

For the longest time in the past decade or so, there’s been widespread criticism about the way media represents the society and culture. When not taking extreme stands for and against political parties, there’s reason to believe that media only echoes the sentiment of the political party that is backing it, obviously behind closed doors. But the trouble doesn’t end there. Corruption rages on in enterprise and other sectors that contribute to the economy and reportage doesn’t reflect what it should. Voices of reason that raise dissent against the ruling establishments- it is believed- are subverted in a culture that openly engages in ‘eliminating’ truth.

The Press Freedom Index had ranked India, in its last survey, on 136. This wasn’t a great ranking either. This year, no chests would be swelled in pride at finding that India has only fallen back- even if just two places down. But what about the other countries? How have the rest of the world’s countries fared in a ranking that mirrors elements like- justice, prevalence of truth and, upholding dignity? It’s emphatic to note that Norway has topped the checkered list that places Germany, France and other countries notably well.

While at the same time, there’s little grimace in noting that the world’s most suppressed press happens to be North Korea. The autocratic regime is followed by Eritrea, Turkmenistan, Syria and then- China.

But above anything else- the biggest worry- pointed about the said rankings is about the rise in hate crimes in India. This is exacerbated by unwanted and unpredictable events like the cold-blooded killing of ace journalist Gauri Lankesh. Is anyone listening?