Monitoring Desk: The Editors Guild of India has released a Media Watch informing the world about Journalists targeted in January 2021 by the BJP government, reports DND News Agency.
Modi government has taken strict actions against those journalists, media houses, and writers who showed impartiality in covering the Kisan Morcha protest— a movement of Indian farmers demanding the abrogation of three agricultural bills targeting their property right on their lands. Through these new Agriculture bills, the Indian government is trying to strip farmers from their right of holding of lands and handover lands to big corporates for Corporate agriculture purposes.
Impartial journalists who do not want to become Godi Media (A term used for journalists who follow the advisory and instruction from Modi government) are under serve crises to perform their professional duties and cases have been registered against them. Arrests and harassment of journalists in India have entered into a new phase that has never been reported or observed in past.
The Editors Guild of India released the following Media Watch:
17th January:
3 Manipur journalists, Paojel Chaoba, Sadokpam Dhiren, M Joy Luwang arrested under UAPA, sedition charges for an opinion piece
20th January:
Arrest warrant against journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta by Gujarat court in criminal defamation case y Adani group for article coauthored in 2017
25th January:
Journalist Neha Dixit files police complaint against stalking, attempted break in at house linked to her journalism
25th January:
F.I.R. against 3 UP journalists for news report alleging government school students did yoga in the cold
28th January:
F.I.R. against 6 journalists, Mrinal Pande, Rajdeep Sardesai, Paresh Nath, Anant Nath, Vindod Jose, Zafar Agha on charges of sedition for reporting allegations of polic firing leading to death of a farmer. Till date, F.I.Rs have been filed in 5 BJP ruled states
30th January:
F.I.R. against Siddharth Varadrajan of The Wire in UP for a report with allegations of the dead farmer’s family
31st January:
Two independent journalists, Mandeep Punia and Dharmender Singh arrested for allegedly obstructing police from doing their duty while covering farmer’s protests.
