Out of 180 countries, India again finds itself at 142nd rank in the 2021 World Press Freedom Index produced by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which is a French NGO.
India ranked 133 in 2016 which then had climbed down to 142 in 2020. The RSF report says that India is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their job properly. Reporters in India are exposed to every kind of attack including police violence against reporters, ambushes by political activists, and reprisals by criminal groups or local officials.
As per the report of this Index Monitoring Cell on April 26 last year, a letter was written by the PIB Additional Director to the Chairman of the RSF asking for criteria for the survey and to better understand the ranking.
The RSF questioned the extended Internet ban in J&K from August 5, 2019, that went on for nearly a year. The minutes of the meeting stated that the members of the press could access the Internet through internet kiosks set up by the government and there was active reporting in Indian and international media on the situation in Kashmir, which could only have been possible with unhindered access to the Internet and freedom of the press. It also noted that many incidents often occurred as a consequence of the law and order situation were reported as attacks on journalists.
