Senior journalist and founding editor of The Wire, Siddharth Varadarajan, has said the independent media has been facing unprecedented challenges in the form of government hostility and censorship.
Delivering the keynote address on ‘The Challenges faced by the Independent Media in the 21st Century’ during the Indian Newspaper Day observance organised by the Information and Public Relations Department (I&PRD) here on January 29, Mr. Varadarajan said the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has displayed unprecedented unwillingness to permit broadcast of certain views and news on certain issues.
“The situation has reached a level wherein without declaring censorship, we are at the doorstep of a situation where the government wants the right to tell every Indian what they can see, read, say and what they cannot. The country is passing through a situation in which the extent of government hostility is the highest in decades,” Mr. Varadarajan added.
Controlling content
Taking a swipe at the government’s reaction towards the BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he accused the administration of going against the call for tolerance that the latter had made after endorsing The Kashmir Files. The controversy, Mr. Varadarajan opined, has shown the true danger of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, that has given the government the right to unilaterally decide the contents it could prohibit.
Pointing out that it was not the mandate of the media to function as the government’s mouthpiece, he raised caution towards the threats faced by media outlets that do not serve as “transition belts” of political parties and governments. Referring to the takeover of NDTV by the Adani group, Mr. Varadarajan said: “If licensing and regulation do not work, there are other ways in which the system can change the voice of the media.”
Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh, who inaugurated the observance, said the challenges faced by the independent media were a reflection of those faced by the Indian democracy. He also accused the mainstream media of being apathetic, passive or submissive in the face of the prevailing crisis.
Kerala Media Academy chairman R.S. Babu presided over the session. I&PRD Additional Chief Secretary Puneet Kumar, Additional Director K. Abdul Rasheed and Kerala Union of Working Journalists general secretary R. Kiran Babu also spoke on the ocassion.
