Journalists and news associations have expressed outrage and solidarity in the wake of an attack on the TV Today Network office by a Sangh Parivar mob on Friday.
“It is not about the attack on a particular organisation, but on the freedom of the media as a whole,” said Press Club of India president Parvez Ahmed, speaking at a protest meeting held on Saturday. He demanded that those behind the attack submit an apology.
“It is an attack on the media as an institution,” said S.K. Pande, president of the Delhi Union of Journalists.
Rahul Kanwal, executive editor of Headlines Today, pointed out that there was a democratic manner in which dissent could be expressed, without resorting to violence. “This kind of attack is a tacit admission that the story is true.”
The attack, by about 2,000 people, came a day after the channel telecast tapes of secret meetings attended by some Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leaders, where they allegedly discussed carrying out “terrorist attacks on meetings of Muslims.”
The News Broadcasters Association condemned the attack and voiced concern over the growing intolerance and resentment against journalists and media organisations.
“Preventing the media from performing their duties were violations of the freedoms enshrined in and guaranteed by the Constitution,” said an NBA statement.
