Joginder Singh
MUMBAI: Take the case of Joginder Singh, a freelance journalist from Bareilly who was burnt alive, allegedly by Uttar Pradesh dairy minister Ram Murti Singh Yadav. Singh’s fault: He had accused the minister of being involved in illegal mining and land grabbing in northern India.
A few days later, Sandeep Kothari, owner of a newspaper called ‘Dainik Kranti’ in Madhya Pradesh, was set ablaze due to alleged personal rivalry with a local gang.
Another journalist by the name of Ashok Kumar Namdev, working with a national daily, was assaulted by a group of rowdies involved in illegal mining in the Chitrakoot district of Uttar Pradesh.
Although not a first for India, such criminal acts against journalists, especially in small towns, have been on the rise across the country. Even as journalists across the nation condemn such acts, the question arises as to why journalists have become victims of such crimes and whether the Hindi belt is being governed by a vicious criminal–politician nexus.
Rajdeep Sardesai
According to India Today Group consulting editor Rajdeep Sardesai, “Politics has become criminalised across the country. It’s just that perhaps the protection that a journalist may have in certain parts of the country is a little greater because of stronger law enforcement machinery, and certain parts may have weaker law enforcement machinery.”
Earlier, several journalists would get death threats if they happened to be investigating cases involving the sand, coal or other such mafias. However, it appears that these mafias have grown stronger due to poor or no law enforcement. Moreover, the political environment in regions like Uttar Pradesh is already criminalised and polarised, further leading to the rise in the number of such activities.
Joginder Singh was assaulted after he had written an article for a local Hindi newspaper accusing the minister of involvement in illegal mining and land grabbing. The journalist later posted details of the investigative story on Facebook, whereupon he was visited by a group of six people, including two police officers in a civilian get-up. They started beating Singh, then poured petrol over him, before setting him on fire.
Sandeep Kothari
Similarly, 44-year-old Sandeep Kothari suddenly went missing from his home in Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh. His family lodged a missing person complaint, following which the police arrested three people who revealed the horrific account of how Kothari had been set on fire and buried in a forest in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district.
A group of people allegedly snatched Ashok Kumar Namdev’s mobile, camera and damaged his motorbike.
Another journo named Haidar Khan, a stringer for a news channel and a resident of Sherpur Kalan, a village in Uttar Pradesh, was attacked by a group of people who tied him up and dragged him behind a motorcycle till he lost consciousness. The TV journalist had been reporting on a land usurpation case in the region.
Nikhil Wagle
Condemning these acts, Mi Marathi consulting editor Nikhil Wagle says, “It is because all manner of mafias, be it mining, oil or political, have got more courage. The entire police and government machinery is dysfunctional. Political parties have vested interest with these mafias, so who will arrest them? They are going to attack more journalists. It is not that we were not getting threats earlier. Even in Maharashtra, many journalists working in rural areas get threats. When I was editor of IBN Lokmat, two of my reporters were threatened by the sand mafia. Getting threats is very usual, but the lethal attacks on journalists are worrisome.”
India has a dubious reputation when it comes to the safety of journalists as they face regularly harassment, intimidation and death threats. Journalists working in smaller places and rural areas face maximum trouble. Unlike their big-city counterparts, these media persons have no job security, no fixed salary, no big and powerful networks and no institutional support.
The booming social media has given birth to a new breed of journalists. They aggressively use social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and blogs to do their own independent journalism. This new breed of journalists who sometimes double up as activists face the wrath of the people in power more than those in traditional media like print and TV. The recent burning of two journalists in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh within a gap of two weeks has brought the focus back on the safety of journalists in India.
In conflict-hit areas like Jammu & Kashmir, the North-east and Naxal-affected states, journalists face threats from both the authorities and the militants or rebels.
Wagle adds, “Last year, over 1,000 journalists were killed across the world—in some countries, due to war or terrorism; in India, because of mafias. In Karnataka, mining mafia has threatened lots of journalists. In South, a number of channels are run by political parties and they don’t expose the ills. But an independent journalist who wants to work honestly will be attacked. That is the threat.”
In 2012, India was dubbed the second most dangerous country for working journalists. In 2014, India’s rank went up to fourth place, still considered a very dangerous place for them.
According to the website ‘Committee to Protect Journalists’, in India 35 journalists have been murdered with a confirmed motive, 22 others were killed with an unconfirmed motive since 1992. The data is up to 8 June 2015. With the addition of the murder of Sandeep Kothari in MP on 19 June, the figure touches 58. The number of journalists facing verbal, physical and mental harassment is far higher in India.
Sardesai mentions, “I know journalists who are under pressure in all parts of the country. The difference has to be made between honest and dishonest journalism. Dishonest journalists today get away, while honest journalists are targeted. Some dishonest journalists today have become mini politicians. Some newspapers and news channels have been used for blackmailing. As a result, the honest journalist is suffering.
“That’s the real worry, because there are others who in the guise of journalism have become blackmailers or politicians. The political class expects every journalist to be at their behest, and if a journalist challenges or questions their authority, he/she becomes a victim.”
The industry needs to come together to fight such crimes and as Wagle states, “We all should condemn such acts and unite to protect our friends. The government and police should be on the alert, and the journalist fraternity should put pressure on the government to put a stop to these crimes.”
Sardesai, however, has another point to make. He says that it would not be easy to get journalists together for a common cause as they are too busy fighting each other.
“First, journalists have to get their act together. Instead of fighting with each other, we should be fighting together against these forces. But we are so busy competing with each other, undermining each other’s capabilities that today we have become soft targets for the public out there. Twenty years ago if this had happened, people would come out in spontaneous support of journalists. Today there are people who say ‘good, they should be taught a lesson’. We have become vulnerable because there are people out there assaulting our credibility, and rather than uniting, journalists are divided.”
35 Journalists Killed in India/Motive Confirmed
Date
Name
Publication
Place
8-Jun-15
Jagendra Singh
Freelancer
Shahjahanpur district, Uttar Pradesh
26-Nov-14
MVN Shankar
Andhra Prabha
Andhra Pradesh
27-May-14
Tarun Kumar Acharya
Kanak TV
Sambad, Odisha
6-Dec-13
Sai Reddy
Deshbandhu
Bijapur District
7-Sep-13
Rajesh Verma
IBN 7
Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh
20-Aug-13
Narendra Dabholkar
Sadhana
Pune, Maharashtra
23-Dec-12
Dwijamani Singh
Prime News
Imphal
1-Mar-12
Rajesh Mishra
Media Raj
Rewa, Madhya Pradesh
20-Jul-10
Vijay Pratap Singh
Indian Express
Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
25-Nov-08
Vikas Ranjan
Hindustan
Rosera
13-Aug-08
Javed Ahmed Mir
Channel 9
Srinagar
11-May-08
Ashok Sodhi
Daily Excelsior
Samba
1-Apr-08
Mohammed Muslimuddin
Asomiya Pratidin
Barpukhuri
6-Jan-06
Prahlad Goala
Asomiya Khabar
Golaghat
20-Apr-04
Asiya Jeelani
freelancer
Kashmir
21-Feb-04
Veeraboina Yadagiri
Andhra Prabha
Medak
31-Jan-03
Parvaz Mohammed Sultan
News and Feature Alliance
Srinagar
21-Nov-02
Ram Chander Chaterpatti
Poora Sach
Sirsa
30-Jul-01
Moolchand Yadav
Freelance
Jhansi
10-Aug-00
Pradeep Bhatia
The Hindustan Times
Srinagar
19-Nov-97
S Gangadhara Raju
Eenadu Television (E-TV)
Hyderabad
19-Nov-97
S Krishna
Eenadu Television (E-TV)
Hyderabad
19-Nov-97
G Raja Sekhar
Eenadu Television (E-TV)
Hyderabad
19-Nov-97
Jagadish Babu
Eenadu Television (E-TV)
Hyderabad
19-Nov-97
P. Srinivas Rao
Eenadu Television (E-TV)
Hyderabad
16-Mar-97
Saidan Shafi
Doordarshan TV
Srinagar
1-Jan-97
Altaf Ahmed Faktoo
Doordarshan TV
Srinagar
17-May-96
Parag Kumar Das
Asomiya Pratidin
Assam
10-Apr-96
Ghulam Rasool Sheikh
Rehnuma-e-Kashmir and Saffron Times
Kashmir
10-Sep-95
Mushtaq Ali
Agence France-Presse and Asian News International
Srinagar
29-Aug-94
Ghulam Muhammad Lone
Freelance
Kangan
22-May-93
Dinesh Pathak
Sandesh
Baroda
31-Jan-93
Bhola Nath Masoom
Hind Samachar
Rajpura
18-May-92
M L Manchanda
All India Radio
Patiala
3-Jan-92
Ram Singh Biling
Azdi Awaz
Daily Ajit, Jalandhar
22 Journalists Killed in India/Motive Unconfirmed
23-Aug-13
Rakesh Sharma
Aaj
Etawah
27-Apr-13
Jitendra Singh
Prabhat Khabhar
Jharkhand
12-Feb-13
Nemi Chand Jain
Freelancer
Chhatisgarh
26-Sep-12
Chaitali Santra
Freelancer
South Baksara
18-Feb-12
Chandrika Rai
Navbharat and The Hitavada
Umaria
11-Jun-11
Jyotirmoy Dey
Midday
Powai
22-Feb-11
Umesh Rajput
Nai Dunia
Raipur
2-Jul-10
Hem Chandra Pandey (Hemant Pandey)
freelance
Andhra Pradesh
20-Nov-08
Jagjit Saikia
Amar Asom
Kokrajhar
10-Jun-06
Arun Narayan Dekate
Tarun Bharat
Nagpur
8-Nov-04
Dilip Mohapatra
Aji Kagoj
Bhagirathipur
18-Sep-03
Parmanand Goyal
Punjab Kesari
Kaithal
24-Jun-03
Indra Mohan Hakasam
Amar Assam
Goalpara, Assam
13-Oct-02
Yambem Meghajit Singh
Northeast Vision
Manipur
14-Apr-02
Paritosh Pandey
Jansatta Express
Lucknow
20-Aug-00
Thounaojam Brajamani Singh
Manipur News
Imphal
31-Jul-00
V Selvaraj
Nakkeeran
Perambalur, Tamil Nadu
18-Mar-00
Adhir Rai
Freelancer
Deoghar, Jharkand
10-Oct-99
N A Lalruhlu
Shan in Manipur
13-Mar-99
Irfan Hussain
Outlook
New Delhi
23-Jan-99
Shivani Bhatnagar
Indian Express
New Delhi
27-Feb-92
Bakshi Tirath Singh
Hind Samachar
Dhuri