Viju Cherian
On September 2017, concerned citizens in Delhi held a protest meeting at the Press Club of India to condemn the murder of journalist-activist Gauri Lankesh. However, that hot afternoon was in the news for another reason. A video of former student leader Shehla Rashid speaking to a group of reporters outside the Press Club and asking a reporter from a TV News channel to leave went viral. Her objection was to the way that channel was treating the news about Lankesh’s murder. Not many missed the irony that the protest meet was also to highlight freedom of press and the right to dissent.
Reactions on social media to Rashid’s actions were split, with many voices, including senior journalists, condemning her actions. The kernel point here is that one might have differences with the way the press/media functions and the fourth estate often fails to live up to the standards expected from it — but, under no circumstances can it be denied the right to do its duty.
The freedom of the press cannot — it must not — be obstructed, denied, or, as recently seen, threatened.
Undermining media freedom
On March 6, Attorney-General KK Venugopal, during the hearing of the Rafale case in the Supreme Court, said that the documents based on which The Hindu had published its reports were “stolen” and that “these are privileged documents under the Official Secrets Act (OSA)….Criminal action will be taken against those who have published it.” The attorney-general is the government’s voice in the judiciary and his mentioning the OSA can be construed as the government dropping a veiled threat to the media that it must stay away from reporting on the Rafale deal.
On Thursday, March 7, the Editors Guild of India, condemned Venugopal’s comments. In a statement it said, “The Guild denounces these threats and urges the government to refrain from initiating any action that might undermine the media’s freedom and independence”. Though the government has cited “national security” as a reason to override press freedom, the fact is the right to know the truth must not be compromised.
For those who think that freedom of press is an unnecessary excuse — take a moment and think; think about the two things: one, why we need a free press, and; two, what has been achieved through this freedom.
A liberty above all
We live in a time when there is an information boom, where there is social media and the countless avenues for information (and misinformation) gathering. We might feel empowered but in the absence of an independent, fearless and conscientious press we could be caught in a web of propaganda, a string of lies and tied in knots of deceit. We live in times when fake news can influence electoral outcomes and thereby threaten democracy, and we live in times when misinformation can spread hatred and violence. In the history of mankind if there is the need for a free press, it is now more than ever.
It is the duty, nay the responsibility, of the press to ask the government and those in public office tough questions and to hold a mirror to the people — for it is the voice of the people. The importance of freedom of speech (and by extension a free press) is succinctly expressed by English poet John Milton in his 1644 speech to Parliament, where he says, “Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely, according to conscience, above all liberties.”
What a scandal!
The second is what has been achieved through this freedom. If the OSA was thrown at the press for every daring expose and investigative journalism, we would not have known about the 2G Spectrum scam, the coal scam, the Bofors scam, and many more. Internationally, if not for the courage shown by the press, we would not have the Pentagon Papers and Vietnam War would have had a different trajectory. We would not have the Watergate scandal and Richard Nixon would have gone about abusing his powers for much longer.
The Official Secrets Act, first introduced by the British raj to censor a growing press under the nationalist movement, has undergone several amendments. The Act has its uses in checking espionage, but to use it to threat and muzzle the press is regrettable.
The fact that the government thought of throwing the OSA at the media reflects another worrying aspect of press freedom in India — its sorry state. Over the years India’s position in the World Press Freedom Index has been slipping. If in 2016 it was ranked 133rd among 180 nations, in 2017 it slipped three spots to 136, and in 2018 it was 138. Keeping august company with India is Pakistan at 139 and Myanmar at 137.
To sum up, the use of ‘national security’ as a shield to deny or obstruct the freedom of press is a dangerous precedent and could muzzle us from hearing what we ‘do not want to hear’.
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