Today, the country is celebrating the National Press Day and the spirit of this day is to preserve freedom of press, improve standards, maintain independence, set professional standards and promote public taste and research. Sadly, India stands at 159 rank out of 180 countries as per World Freedom of Press index 2024 report published by the Reporters Sans Frontiers (RSF). This is a sad reflection of working environment of the press in India where publishing the Truth is a casualty especially in those areas which are categorised as conflict zones.
As a matter of fact, out of 32 killings of Journalists in the past one decade in India, 13 had intensively exposed environmental issues viz land grabbing, forest encroachments and booming illegal mining industry. As a grave reminder to gag the press, recently an independent media portal in Doda District of J&K UT was threatened of dire consequences for carrying a news item pertaining to slapping of PSA against an activist allegedly for raising a civic issue. Except a few citizens, the media body of entire J&K UT observed discreet silence over misadventure of district authorities to strangulate the freedom of press. This silence is a question mark on credibility deficit of those claiming to be the sole custodians of Journalism in this trouble torn UT.
The other side of the story is of those toeing the government line with falsifying appraisals being suitably rewarded by way of advertisements, land allotment and government accomodations in contradiction of laid down procedures. A random glance of the working of media of India reflects that barring a few news establishments, the aforesaid objectives of Press Council of India are observed more in violation than in observance. The majority have been toeing the dictats of the government of the day in contravention of the principle that the prime job of the Journalism is to reveal what the government is desirous of concealing. On this National Press Day, let the media fraternity introspect whether they are doing justice to their duty or deviating from their avowed goal. Immediate.