India at third bottom position in global press freedom Index
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ISLAMABAD (APP): India at third bottom position in global press freedom Index
The global journalist body Reporters Without Borders has said that Indian occupied Kashmir is a hard place for journalists to perform their professional duties.
The Reporters Without Borders in its annual report while mentioning Kashmir said that it was hard for journalists to cover regions such as Kashmir that were regarded as sensitive by the government, Kashmir Media Service reported.
It said that with almost one attack on a journalist every month and four journalists murdered in 2015 (at least two of them in connection with their work), the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh had become one of India's most dangerous regions.
The media watchdog said that the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi seemed indifferent to the threats and problems, and there was no mechanism for protecting journalists.
"Instead, in a desire to increase control of media coverage, Modi envisages opening a journalism university run by former propaganda ministry officials," the report said.
India continues to remain in the bottom third of the 2016 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, because of the number of journalists killed and the impunity for crimes of violence against the media.
The Indian government has made no provision for the creation of a special unit to combat impunity for crimes of violence against journalists, although there was an attack against a journalist every three days in 2014, the report said while citing India's National Crime Records Bureau.
Frequent lawsuits against journalists by local officials and draconian legislation on defamation and online publications impose major constraints on the media and encourage self-censorship, the report added.
