Culture of fear — India fifth ‘deadliest’ country for journalists

• India ranks fifth on the charts to become one of the world’s most ‘deadliest’ countries for journalists, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
  
• The report has shown that nearly 61% of journalists were purposely targeted because their reporting had likely been a threat to certain people in power — including political, economic and religious sections.
  
• The report highlights that India has not been a ‘safe place’ for its journalism profession, with its journalists living with fear.
  
• This year, six journalists were ‘murdered’ while others were deliberately targeted for murder attempts, physical attacks and threats.

2018 has turned out to be a violent year for journalists with over 80 people losing their lives while gathering news worldwide — including professional, non-professional and media workers.

However, India ranks fifth on the charts to become one of the world’s most ‘deadliest’ countries for journalists, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The report titled ‘Worldwide round-up of journalists killed, detained, held hostage, or missing in 2018 has shown shocking numbers on the murders that have happened in the country this year.

The report highlights that India has not been a ‘safe place’ for its journalism profession, with its journalists living with fear. This year, six journalists were ‘murdered’ while others were deliberately targeted for murder attempts, physical attacks and threats.

In fact, in the name of Hindu nationalism and its nationalist rights, the country also witnessed ‘hate campaigns’ against journalists.

“In the central state of Madhya Pradesh, a dump truck was used to run down and kill Sandeep Sharma, a journalist who had been investigating a local sand mafia,” read the RSF report.

The top five ‘deadliest’ countries include Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, while the US has made it to the list for the first time, sharing the same stats as India.

While journalists are expected to be objective, working with utmost fairness and accuracy, the numbers show a different picture. The report has shown that nearly 61% of journalists were purposely targeted since their unbiased reporting had been a threat to certain people in power — including political, economic and religious sections.