Ask any journalist in India about the dangers of practicing the profession and he or she will say, with justifiable pride, that the country has a free press. The pressures on journalists are the same, but compared to many other countries, a journalist does not have to worry about threats to his/her life.
The figures bear out this contention. The Committee for Protection of Journalists’ (CPJ) figures show that while seven journalists were murdered during the course of their work in India between 2003-2014, almost 100 died in Iraq. If that is an extreme comparison, consider Sri Lanka, where 13 journalists were killed, or Pakistan, which saw 23 murders.
The CPJ’s list refers only to those journalists who were murdered with “complete impunity.” A notable case in India is that of Narayan Dhabolkar, the anti-superstition crusader and editor of Deshbandhu, who was killed in Pune in December 2013. Less high profile are the cases of Rajesh Mishra of Media Raj, murdered in Rewa, MP in March 2012 and that of Sai Reddy of Deshbandhu, allegedly murdered by Maoists in Chhattisgarh in December 2013.
The year 2014 has been particularly bad internationally. The cases of journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff, both of whom were beheaded by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria have attracted worldwide condemnation. But these are just two of the 40 journalists murdered so far.
The World Editor’s Forum spells out the dangers of not just murders of media practitioners, who are merely doing their job, but also the implications of the perpetrators not being caught. “The failure of justice perpetuates a cycle of violence that has seen no let up in the years since the compilation of these grim statistics began. Spurred by a climate of impunity, powerful criminal elements persist in their attempts to silence the press. While journalists continue to be targeted, the governments supposed to protect them continue to fail. An insidious culture has set in that has turned journalism a deadly profession.”
In Mumbai, after journalist J. Dey was killed, allegedly at the behest of a well known gangster, media representatives expressed serious concern about the threat to journalists by the underworld and asked the state government to provide security. While this may be an impractical idea, the state definitely needs to demonstrate its commitment to swiftly move in cases where media professionals are attacked. The situation in the bigger cities may not be as risky as in high-risk areas, where a journalist is on his own. While we in India can feel somewhat fortunate compared to conflict zones such as Syria or Iraq, there are areas where a journalist is exposed to danger.
In 2012, the UN developed an approach called the UN Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity. The plan is designed to uphold the fundamental right of freedom of expression, “which ensures that citizens are well informed and able to actively participate in society,” and aims to do this by creating a safe environment for journalists. All stakeholders — governments, NGOs, academics and the media are part of the plan. Governments can develop and implement laws to safeguard journalists, while journalists can be provided training to ensure their safety. Practical steps like establishing real-time emergency response mechanisms are also part of the plan.
Media organisations are encouraged to use the plan to put pressure on governments to prosecute killings.
It is an ambitious programme and regrettably, has not moved. But this is perhaps the first time a coordinated, worldwide effort has been launched to “address the seriousness of the safety of journalists,” says the World Editor’s Forum.
Today is the International Day to End Impunity, when media organisations can once again look at how they can urge governments to implement measures that ensure that journalism does not turn into a deadly profession. Even a single killing of a journalist is killing one too many.
* The United Nations has designated November 2 as the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
