The murder of one of India's foremost investigative journalists in Mumabi, has sparked calls for the government to do more to protect the media from violence.
Jyotirmoy Dey was well-known for his stories on local mafia groups, including a diesel smuggling racket, and was shot by four unidentified assailants on motorbikes on the 11th of June.
Other reporters in Mumbai have criticised the lack of progress in the case, saying it should be passed from local police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
For a country that prides itself on a fiercely independent press, the attacks and the subsequent impunity are a disturbing sign.
Correspondent: Murali Krishnan
Speakers: Sevanti Ninan, founder-editor of The Hoot.org, a South Asian media watch website; Hartosh Singh Bal, political editor, Open Magazine; Wajahat Habibullah, India's first chief information commissioner
Jyotirmoy Dey was well-known for his stories on local mafia groups, including a diesel smuggling racket, and was shot by four unidentified assailants on motorbikes on the 11th of June.
Other reporters in Mumbai have criticised the lack of progress in the case, saying it should be passed from local police to the Central Bureau of Investigation.
For a country that prides itself on a fiercely independent press, the attacks and the subsequent impunity are a disturbing sign.
Correspondent: Murali Krishnan
Speakers: Sevanti Ninan, founder-editor of The Hoot.org, a South Asian media watch website; Hartosh Singh Bal, political editor, Open Magazine; Wajahat Habibullah, India's first chief information commissioner
KRISHNAN: The Free Speech Tracker, set up last year to monitor instances of violations of the freedom of speech and expression, says attacks on journalists and intimidation of editors and writers continues with force.
It observed that the impunity with which these attacks have taken place shows that in India, freedom of speech and expression cannot be taken for granted.
Sevanti Ninan, founder editor of the Hoot, a news portal that tracks the media says journalists covering corruption are vulnerable but is quick to point out that journalists are better off in India when compared to other countries in the sub-continent.
NINAN: India is reaching a state of lawlessness which is arising from the fact that just plain corruption and crime are on the rise, and when people try to expose it then there is not enough state protection or state vigilance for them. India is one of the 6 countries in the sub-continent which has what they call impunity, which means unsolved cases of murders of journalists. I think Pakistan is much worse and Nepal was in a state where everyday they had an issue. So India is relatively better when compared to other countries in the sub-continent.
KRISHNAN: Journalists covering some of the country's hot spots especially those based in the Maoist affected states or those in conflict-prone Jammu and Kashmir have had to face the brunt.
In Orissa alone, four attacks and two cases of intimidation have been the result of political clout in the media, mining, business and education being pitted against ordinary, local people.
Even corporate clout has been the source of media intimidation in other parts of the country.
Hartosh Singh Bal from Open Magazine says the killing of a top journalist in Mumbai is an eye-opener.
(ATMO DEY MURDER)
BAL: In India, journalists largely do not face direct threats in their work. The difference is that journalists working at the local level, in small towns are more under threat. Journalists working for big newspapers in Delhi, Mumbai, very rarely receive such kind of threats and intimidation. But the J Dey case was an aberration and that is why we need to worry because something like this in the heart of Mumbai, I don't recall something like this happening in India in the last 10 or 20 years.
KRISHNAN: But its not journalists alone who have been in the line of fire. Civil society groups and concerned citizens in India have been protesting against the targeting of people who use powerful transparency laws to expose corruption.
Last year nearly 15 information warriors, as they are popularly known, were killed and many more threatened.
The Right to Information Act has become a powerful tool that has been used to expose the connections between corrupt officials, politicians and even the mafia.
Wajahat Habibullah, India's first chief information commissioner explains.
HABIBULLAH: Well certainly it is a matter of great concern. The RRI act is now beginning to bite. It has a bite earlier also but it is beginning to bite into the vested interests. And the vested interests will spare no effort and has no compunction in using excessive measures in trying to crush that.
KRISHNAN: A recent report titled, "Free Speech in Peril," brought out by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), in association with UNESCO, identifies the dangers Indian journalists face. But it also documents how ethical issues facing journalists, as well as media managers, could be the biggest threat of all to the integrity of newsgathering.
It observed that the impunity with which these attacks have taken place shows that in India, freedom of speech and expression cannot be taken for granted.
Sevanti Ninan, founder editor of the Hoot, a news portal that tracks the media says journalists covering corruption are vulnerable but is quick to point out that journalists are better off in India when compared to other countries in the sub-continent.
NINAN: India is reaching a state of lawlessness which is arising from the fact that just plain corruption and crime are on the rise, and when people try to expose it then there is not enough state protection or state vigilance for them. India is one of the 6 countries in the sub-continent which has what they call impunity, which means unsolved cases of murders of journalists. I think Pakistan is much worse and Nepal was in a state where everyday they had an issue. So India is relatively better when compared to other countries in the sub-continent.
KRISHNAN: Journalists covering some of the country's hot spots especially those based in the Maoist affected states or those in conflict-prone Jammu and Kashmir have had to face the brunt.
In Orissa alone, four attacks and two cases of intimidation have been the result of political clout in the media, mining, business and education being pitted against ordinary, local people.
Even corporate clout has been the source of media intimidation in other parts of the country.
Hartosh Singh Bal from Open Magazine says the killing of a top journalist in Mumbai is an eye-opener.
(ATMO DEY MURDER)
BAL: In India, journalists largely do not face direct threats in their work. The difference is that journalists working at the local level, in small towns are more under threat. Journalists working for big newspapers in Delhi, Mumbai, very rarely receive such kind of threats and intimidation. But the J Dey case was an aberration and that is why we need to worry because something like this in the heart of Mumbai, I don't recall something like this happening in India in the last 10 or 20 years.
KRISHNAN: But its not journalists alone who have been in the line of fire. Civil society groups and concerned citizens in India have been protesting against the targeting of people who use powerful transparency laws to expose corruption.
Last year nearly 15 information warriors, as they are popularly known, were killed and many more threatened.
The Right to Information Act has become a powerful tool that has been used to expose the connections between corrupt officials, politicians and even the mafia.
Wajahat Habibullah, India's first chief information commissioner explains.
HABIBULLAH: Well certainly it is a matter of great concern. The RRI act is now beginning to bite. It has a bite earlier also but it is beginning to bite into the vested interests. And the vested interests will spare no effort and has no compunction in using excessive measures in trying to crush that.
KRISHNAN: A recent report titled, "Free Speech in Peril," brought out by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), in association with UNESCO, identifies the dangers Indian journalists face. But it also documents how ethical issues facing journalists, as well as media managers, could be the biggest threat of all to the integrity of newsgathering.
No comments:
Post a Comment