Happiness A Cure For Press Freedom Deficiency

Michael Hedges March 23, 2023 - Follow on Twitter

We are no longer amazed at how quickly disorder and impunity overtakes a reasonably orderly society. Reaching beyond the tech sector, social scientists mostly shrug when explaining that ‘moving fast and breaking things’ is unhealthy. Gone is the assumption that certain world leaders want to represent something outstanding. What we are left with are the ones out standing in the rain.

Kashmiri journalist Irfan Mehraj was arraigned in a New Delhi, India court this week (March 22). The TwoCircles news outlet editor and contributor to Al-Jazeera and Deutsche Welle had been arrested by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmi, under the repressive Unlawful Activities Act (UAPA). "Mehraj was a close associate of (human rights activist) Khurram Parvez and was working with his organisation, Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Societies (JKCCS)," said an NIA official, quoted by news agency Press Trust India (PTI) (March 22).

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act came into the Indian Penal Code in 1967 and amended in 2019. It specifically references terrorism offences. The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act came into law in 1976 with significant revision in 2010. It is meant to police non-governmental organizations. Taken together they are similar to the infamous ‘foreign agents’ laws used in the Russian Federation.

A week earlier, Fatehabad television reporter Jaspal Singh was arrested March 18 on a defamation complaint from a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician. Days earlier Sanjay Rana, a reporter with Moradabad Ujala, was arrested in Uttar Pradesh for questioning a BJP politician, accused of “unnecessarily doing drama.” The Committee to Protest Journalists (CPJ) noted “an increasingly hostile environment for the press.”

Press freedom advocates have issued similar warnings about deteriorating conditions for reporters and news outlets in India, mainly after the ignominious mid-February government raids on BBC offices in New Delhi and Mumbai. “Attacks on press freedom have escalated dramatically under the Modi government, and reporting has become significantly less ambitious in recent years,” said US-based Freedom House in its 2023 Freedom in the World Index (March 10). “Authorities have used security, defamation, sedition, and hate speech laws, as well as contempt-of-court charges, to quiet critical voices in the media,” adding: Those perpetrating violence against journalists rarely get punishment.

Journalist groups in India were a bit more circumspect. “It is unfortunate that FIRs (First Information Reports) have been lodged against many journalists during the past few years,” said Indian Journalists Union (IJU) director general Balwinder Singh, quoted by OpIndia (March 20). “Using legal routes to silence and harass journalists has become a trend in BJP-ruled states.” The Editors Guild of India was slightly more direct, also slanting its gaze on Kashmir. The arrests, its statement said, “continue the trend in Kashmir of security forces arresting journalists because of their critical reporting of the establishment,” quoted by news portal Greater Kashmir (March 22). “The space for media freedom has progressively eroded in Kashmir.”

In its annual prison census, CPJ (December 14) reported seven media workers jailed in India at the end of 2022, “a record high for the second consecutive year.” Around the world a “key driver” for incarcerating journalists is “keeping a lid on broiling discontent.” The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) called “on the Indian authorities to immediately release the three detained journalists and drop all charges against them,” said its statement (March 23). “The state and national governments must uphold their obligations to protect and promote press freedom and ensure that journalists can work without fear of reprisal.”

Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) downgraded India in its 2022 World Press Freedom Index to 150th, suspiciously close to the Russian Federation. In 2021 India ranked 142nd, in 2010 122nd. RSF Asia-Pacific desk Daniel Bastard asked the big question. “Can the world’s largest democracy function properly without informed citizens?”

So this week, again, we celebrate Finland being honored as the happiest place in the world. India ranked 126th out of the 137 countries listed in the 2023 World Happiness Report, a UN global initiative. Side by side with the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, a correlation between the two is fairly obvious. Once again, Finland ranked in the top 5. Fortunately, Finland’s tourism office Visit Finland is offering a “masterclass in happiness” in June for ten people. There are sessions on well-being, health and balance. Applications are being accepted until April 2.

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