When freedom of the press is under attack worldwide, look to India’s first newspaper for its defence.
Around the world, freedom of the press is under attack. Already in 2018, three journalists have been murdered in India. Last year, 11 of them were killed. Unsurprisingly, India’s ranking in press freedom has fallen to 138, according to an index compiled by Reporters Without Borders. These are sobering facts, but it is even more worrying when lawmakers greet these acts of violence with silence—when they should secure the lives of people and promote tolerance and acceptance instead.
In India, “hate speech targeting journalists is shared and amplified on social networks, often by troll armies”, according to Reporters Without Borders.
In the US, President Donald Trump has called the press the ‘enemy of the people’, the same phrase Stalin used when he targeted and killed his political adversaries. Trump has repeatedly called real news stories ‘fake news’ and rebuked media platforms that have criticized him. This sentiment echoes around the world—politicians with despotic tendencies have been declaring legitimate media as ‘fake’, undermining trust in democratic institutions and stifling free speech.
Two hundred years ago, in 1780, the press faced similar issues in India when Warren Hastings, the governor general of the British-ruled provinces, tried to shut down India’s first newspaper, Hicky’s Bengal Gazette, because of its fearless reporting.
Not unlike Trump’s tirades, Hastings’ allies called the paper’s founder, James Augustus Hicky, a “stupid ignorant wretch” and a “man among the dregs of the people” who acted with “unparalleled insolence” against his social betters. These phrases were the 18th century equivalent to denigrating the freedom of the press—though perhaps more refined than what we hear today.
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin August 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Reader's Digest India dergisinin August 2018 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
From the King's Table to Street Food: A Food History of Delhi
Pushpesh Pant, one of India’s pre-eminent food writers, is back with a comprehensive food history of the capital.
Who Wants Coffee?
It’s bitter—but beloved around the world
Prevent The Pain Of Shingles
You don't have to suffer, as long as you take two important steps
The Best And Worst Diets For Your Heart
Dozens of diets are touted as ‘best’, but it’s easy to lose track of the fact that healthy eating needs to be about overall wellness, not just weight loss.
ME & MY SHELF
Journalist Sopan Joshi has worked in a science and environment framework for nearly three decades. His book Mangifera indica: A Biography of the Mango (Aleph Book Company) synthesizes the sensory appeal of India's favourite fruit with its elaborate cultural roots and natural history. He writes in English and Hindi.
SWITCHED
In 1962, nurses at a small Canadian hospital sent home two women with the wrong babies. Then, 50 years later, their children discovered the shocking mistake.
ECHOES OF THE PAST
A VISIT TO THE ANCIENT BARABAR CAVES IN BIHAR REVEALS A SURPRISING CONNECTION TO A LITERARY CLASSIC
Fathers of the Bride
A young woman finds a unique way to honour the many men who helped her survive her childhood
Fiction's Foresight
British-Bangladeshi author Manzu Islam's works reveal startling parallels to recent political upheavals in Bangladesh, begging the question: Besides helping us make sense of our world, can stories also offer a glimpse into the future?
It Happens ONLY IN INDIA
The Divine Defence Picture this: A tractor in Rajasthan‘s Banswara district,a group of loan agents closing in to seize it and the defaulting farmer and his family standing by.
