Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

            } else {
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
	&#039;lang&#039; =&gt; &#039;English&#039;,
	&#039;SITE_URL&#039; =&gt; &#039;https://im4change.in/&#039;,
	&#039;site_title&#039; =&gt; &#039;im4change&#039;,
	&#039;adminprix&#039; =&gt; &#039;admin&#039;
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 55515,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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                <strong>Restrictions on media & internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify"><br />Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Reporters without Borders <em>(Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res - RSF)</em> -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">report</a> says that India&#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet <em>(also fixed lines)</em> in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">Section 124a</a> <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">of the Indian Penal Code</a> is often invoked <em>(apart from criminal prosecutions)</em>, under which <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">&lsquo;sedition&rsquo;</a> is punishable by life imprisonment. &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Paris-based RSF.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">As a result, the country&rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;<br /><strong>Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Table%201.jpg" style="height:389px; width:821px" />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">RSF&#39;s press freedom barometer</a> has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in <em>(on 14th April, 2020)</em>, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust <em>(on 25th October, 2019)</em> and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator <em>(on 24th August, 2018)</em>.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Has India&rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">India&#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2013, 40.34 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2014, 40.49 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2015, 43.17 <em>(rank 133)</em> in 2016, 42.94 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2017, 43.24 <em>(rank 138) </em>in 2018, 45.67 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2019 and 45.33 <em>(rank 142)</em> in 2020. Please check chart-1.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg" style="height:564px; width:854px" /></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">2020 WPFI report</a> by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &#39;0&#39; being the best possible score and &#39;100&#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><span style="background-color:#ffff00">Since India&#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 </span><em><span style="background-color:#ffff00">(which is desirable)</span></em><span style="background-color:#ffff00"> by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking <em>(relative to other countries)</em> has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify">Since the colour category for India&#39;s map is &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">red</a>&#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">difficult situation</a>&#39;.</p><p style="text-align:justify">It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">compiled</a> by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts <em>(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)</em> to an online questionnaire <em>(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)</em>, which has been devised by RSF.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">questionnaire by RSF</a> focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">click here</a> to know more about the methodology.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><br /><strong><em>References</em></strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">https://rsf.org/en/india</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">Online trolling takes its toll on the country&#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res</strong></p>               </font>
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		&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;,
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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	&#039;metaTitle&#039; =&gt; &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;,
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 55515,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;,
	&#039;subheading&#039; =&gt; null,
	&#039;description&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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$articleid = (int) 55515
$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Freeddom of Speech,Freedom of Information,Journalism,Media Freedom,Press Freedom,Reporters Sans Frontières,Reporters without Borders,World Press Freedom Index,WPFI&#039;
$metaDesc = &#039;
Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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                <strong>Restrictions on media & internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify"><br />Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Reporters without Borders <em>(Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res - RSF)</em> -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">report</a> says that India&#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet <em>(also fixed lines)</em> in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">Section 124a</a> <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">of the Indian Penal Code</a> is often invoked <em>(apart from criminal prosecutions)</em>, under which <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">&lsquo;sedition&rsquo;</a> is punishable by life imprisonment. &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Paris-based RSF.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">As a result, the country&rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;<br /><strong>Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Table%201.jpg" style="height:389px; width:821px" />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">RSF&#39;s press freedom barometer</a> has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in <em>(on 14th April, 2020)</em>, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust <em>(on 25th October, 2019)</em> and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator <em>(on 24th August, 2018)</em>.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Has India&rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">India&#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2013, 40.34 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2014, 40.49 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2015, 43.17 <em>(rank 133)</em> in 2016, 42.94 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2017, 43.24 <em>(rank 138) </em>in 2018, 45.67 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2019 and 45.33 <em>(rank 142)</em> in 2020. Please check chart-1.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg" style="height:564px; width:854px" /></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">2020 WPFI report</a> by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &#39;0&#39; being the best possible score and &#39;100&#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><span style="background-color:#ffff00">Since India&#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 </span><em><span style="background-color:#ffff00">(which is desirable)</span></em><span style="background-color:#ffff00"> by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking <em>(relative to other countries)</em> has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify">Since the colour category for India&#39;s map is &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">red</a>&#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">difficult situation</a>&#39;.</p><p style="text-align:justify">It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">compiled</a> by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts <em>(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)</em> to an online questionnaire <em>(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)</em>, which has been devised by RSF.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">questionnaire by RSF</a> focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">click here</a> to know more about the methodology.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><br /><strong><em>References</em></strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">https://rsf.org/en/india</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">Online trolling takes its toll on the country&#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res</strong></p>               </font>
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;,
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	&#039;id&#039; =&gt; (int) 55515,
	&#039;title&#039; =&gt; &#039;Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;,
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
---&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
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$articleid = (int) 55515
$metaTitle = &#039;NEWS ALERTS | Restrictions on media &amp; internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves&#039;
$metaKeywords = &#039;Freeddom of Speech,Freedom of Information,Journalism,Media Freedom,Press Freedom,Reporters Sans Frontières,Reporters without Borders,World Press Freedom Index,WPFI&#039;
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Reporters without Borders &lt;em&gt;(Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res - RSF)&lt;/em&gt; -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;report&lt;/a&gt; says that India&amp;#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet &lt;em&gt;(also fixed lines)&lt;/em&gt; in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;Section 124a&lt;/a&gt; &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;of the Indian Penal Code&lt;/a&gt; is often invoked &lt;em&gt;(apart from criminal prosecutions)&lt;/em&gt;, under which &lt;a href=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot; title=&quot;https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/&quot;&gt;&amp;lsquo;sedition&amp;rsquo;&lt;/a&gt; is punishable by life imprisonment. &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;released report&lt;/a&gt; by Paris-based RSF.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;As a result, the country&amp;rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp;amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Table%201.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:389px; width:821px&quot; /&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;RSF&amp;#39;s press freedom barometer&lt;/a&gt; has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in &lt;em&gt;(on 14th April, 2020)&lt;/em&gt;, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust &lt;em&gt;(on 25th October, 2019)&lt;/em&gt; and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator &lt;em&gt;(on 24th August, 2018)&lt;/em&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Has India&amp;rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India&amp;#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2013, 40.34 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2014, 40.49 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2015, 43.17 &lt;em&gt;(rank 133)&lt;/em&gt; in 2016, 42.94 &lt;em&gt;(rank 136) &lt;/em&gt;in 2017, 43.24 &lt;em&gt;(rank 138) &lt;/em&gt;in 2018, 45.67 &lt;em&gt;(rank 140)&lt;/em&gt; in 2019 and 45.33 &lt;em&gt;(rank 142)&lt;/em&gt; in 2020. Please check chart-1.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg&quot; style=&quot;height:564px; width:854px&quot; /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Source: &lt;/strong&gt;Reporters without Borders - RSF,&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018&lt;/a&gt; ;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019&lt;/a&gt; ; and&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;br /&gt;---&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;2020 WPFI report&lt;/a&gt; by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &amp;#39;0&amp;#39; being the best possible score and &amp;#39;100&amp;#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;Since India&amp;#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 &lt;/span&gt;&lt;em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt;(which is desirable)&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/em&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;background-color:#ffff00&quot;&gt; by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking &lt;em&gt;(relative to other countries)&lt;/em&gt; has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&amp;agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Since the colour category for India&amp;#39;s map is &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020&quot;&gt;red&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &amp;#39;&lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;difficult situation&lt;/a&gt;&amp;#39;.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;compiled&lt;/a&gt; by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts &lt;em&gt;(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)&lt;/em&gt; to an online questionnaire &lt;em&gt;(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)&lt;/em&gt;, which has been devised by RSF.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;The &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;questionnaire by RSF&lt;/a&gt; focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&amp;rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to know more about the methodology.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;References&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/india&quot;&gt;https://rsf.org/en/india&lt;/a&gt;&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot; title=&quot;https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;amp;type_id=235#list-barometre&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;Online trolling takes its toll on the country&amp;#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please &lt;a href=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot; title=&quot;https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html&quot;&gt;click here&lt;/a&gt; to access&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p style=&quot;text-align:justify&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&amp;egrave;res&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&#039;
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                <strong>Restrictions on media & internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves</strong></h1>
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                <p style="text-align:justify"><br />Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Reporters without Borders <em>(Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res - RSF)</em> -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">report</a> says that India&#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet <em>(also fixed lines)</em> in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">Section 124a</a> <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">of the Indian Penal Code</a> is often invoked <em>(apart from criminal prosecutions)</em>, under which <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">&lsquo;sedition&rsquo;</a> is punishable by life imprisonment. &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Paris-based RSF.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">As a result, the country&rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;<br /><strong>Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Table%201.jpg" style="height:389px; width:821px" />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">RSF&#39;s press freedom barometer</a> has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in <em>(on 14th April, 2020)</em>, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust <em>(on 25th October, 2019)</em> and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator <em>(on 24th August, 2018)</em>.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Has India&rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">India&#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2013, 40.34 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2014, 40.49 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2015, 43.17 <em>(rank 133)</em> in 2016, 42.94 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2017, 43.24 <em>(rank 138) </em>in 2018, 45.67 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2019 and 45.33 <em>(rank 142)</em> in 2020. Please check chart-1.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg" style="height:564px; width:854px" /></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">2020 WPFI report</a> by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &#39;0&#39; being the best possible score and &#39;100&#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><span style="background-color:#ffff00">Since India&#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 </span><em><span style="background-color:#ffff00">(which is desirable)</span></em><span style="background-color:#ffff00"> by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking <em>(relative to other countries)</em> has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify">Since the colour category for India&#39;s map is &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">red</a>&#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">difficult situation</a>&#39;.</p><p style="text-align:justify">It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">compiled</a> by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts <em>(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)</em> to an online questionnaire <em>(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)</em>, which has been devised by RSF.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">questionnaire by RSF</a> focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">click here</a> to know more about the methodology.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><br /><strong><em>References</em></strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">https://rsf.org/en/india</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">Online trolling takes its toll on the country&#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res</strong></p>               </font>
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		'title' => 'Restrictions on media & internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves',
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Reporters without Borders <em>(Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res - RSF)</em> -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">report</a> says that India&#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet <em>(also fixed lines)</em> in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">Section 124a</a> <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">of the Indian Penal Code</a> is often invoked <em>(apart from criminal prosecutions)</em>, under which <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">&lsquo;sedition&rsquo;</a> is punishable by life imprisonment. &nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Paris-based RSF.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">As a result, the country&rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;<br />
<strong>Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020</strong></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Table%201.jpg" style="height:389px; width:821px" />&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />
---</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">RSF&#39;s press freedom barometer</a> has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in <em>(on 14th April, 2020)</em>, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust <em>(on 25th October, 2019)</em> and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator <em>(on 24th August, 2018)</em>.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Has India&rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?</strong></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">India&#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2013, 40.34 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2014, 40.49 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2015, 43.17 <em>(rank 133)</em> in 2016, 42.94 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2017, 43.24 <em>(rank 138) </em>in 2018, 45.67 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2019 and 45.33 <em>(rank 142)</em> in 2020. Please check chart-1.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg" style="height:564px; width:854px" /></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />
---</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">2020 WPFI report</a> by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &#39;0&#39; being the best possible score and &#39;100&#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="background-color:#ffff00">Since India&#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 </span><em><span style="background-color:#ffff00">(which is desirable)</span></em><span style="background-color:#ffff00"> by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking <em>(relative to other countries)</em> has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.</span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Since the colour category for India&#39;s map is &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">red</a>&#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">difficult situation</a>&#39;.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">compiled</a> by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts <em>(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)</em> to an online questionnaire <em>(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)</em>, which has been devised by RSF.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">questionnaire by RSF</a> focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">click here</a> to know more about the methodology.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><br />
<strong><em>References</em></strong></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">https://rsf.org/en/india</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">click here</a> to access</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Online trolling takes its toll on the country&#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html">click here</a> to access</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html">click here</a> to access</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res</strong></p>
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...',
	'disp' => '<p style="text-align:justify"><br />Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Reporters without Borders <em>(Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res - RSF)</em> -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">report</a> says that India&#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet <em>(also fixed lines)</em> in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">Section 124a</a> <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">of the Indian Penal Code</a> is often invoked <em>(apart from criminal prosecutions)</em>, under which <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">&lsquo;sedition&rsquo;</a> is punishable by life imprisonment. &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Paris-based RSF.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">As a result, the country&rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;<br /><strong>Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Table%201.jpg" style="height:389px; width:821px" />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">RSF&#39;s press freedom barometer</a> has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in <em>(on 14th April, 2020)</em>, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust <em>(on 25th October, 2019)</em> and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator <em>(on 24th August, 2018)</em>.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Has India&rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">India&#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2013, 40.34 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2014, 40.49 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2015, 43.17 <em>(rank 133)</em> in 2016, 42.94 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2017, 43.24 <em>(rank 138) </em>in 2018, 45.67 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2019 and 45.33 <em>(rank 142)</em> in 2020. Please check chart-1.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg" style="height:564px; width:854px" /></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">2020 WPFI report</a> by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &#39;0&#39; being the best possible score and &#39;100&#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><span style="background-color:#ffff00">Since India&#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 </span><em><span style="background-color:#ffff00">(which is desirable)</span></em><span style="background-color:#ffff00"> by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking <em>(relative to other countries)</em> has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify">Since the colour category for India&#39;s map is &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">red</a>&#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">difficult situation</a>&#39;.</p><p style="text-align:justify">It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">compiled</a> by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts <em>(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)</em> to an online questionnaire <em>(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)</em>, which has been devised by RSF.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">questionnaire by RSF</a> focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">click here</a> to know more about the methodology.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><br /><strong><em>References</em></strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">https://rsf.org/en/india</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">Online trolling takes its toll on the country&#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res</strong></p>',
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	'title' => 'Restrictions on media & internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves',
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Reporters without Borders <em>(Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res - RSF)</em> -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">report</a> says that India&#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet <em>(also fixed lines)</em> in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">Section 124a</a> <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">of the Indian Penal Code</a> is often invoked <em>(apart from criminal prosecutions)</em>, under which <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">&lsquo;sedition&rsquo;</a> is punishable by life imprisonment. &nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Paris-based RSF.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">As a result, the country&rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;<br />
<strong>Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020</strong></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Table%201.jpg" style="height:389px; width:821px" />&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />
---</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">RSF&#39;s press freedom barometer</a> has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in <em>(on 14th April, 2020)</em>, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust <em>(on 25th October, 2019)</em> and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator <em>(on 24th August, 2018)</em>.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Has India&rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?</strong></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">India&#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2013, 40.34 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2014, 40.49 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2015, 43.17 <em>(rank 133)</em> in 2016, 42.94 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2017, 43.24 <em>(rank 138) </em>in 2018, 45.67 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2019 and 45.33 <em>(rank 142)</em> in 2020. Please check chart-1.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg" style="height:564px; width:854px" /></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br />
<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />
---</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">2020 WPFI report</a> by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &#39;0&#39; being the best possible score and &#39;100&#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><span style="background-color:#ffff00">Since India&#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 </span><em><span style="background-color:#ffff00">(which is desirable)</span></em><span style="background-color:#ffff00"> by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking <em>(relative to other countries)</em> has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.</span></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Since the colour category for India&#39;s map is &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">red</a>&#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">difficult situation</a>&#39;.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">compiled</a> by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts <em>(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)</em> to an online questionnaire <em>(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)</em>, which has been devised by RSF.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">questionnaire by RSF</a> focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">click here</a> to know more about the methodology.</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><br />
<strong><em>References</em></strong></p>

<p style="text-align:justify">2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india">https://rsf.org/en/india</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">click here</a> to access</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">Online trolling takes its toll on the country&#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html">click here</a> to access</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html">click here</a> to access</p>

<p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p>

<p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res</strong></p>
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$metaTitle = 'NEWS ALERTS | Restrictions on media & internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves'
$metaKeywords = 'Freeddom of Speech,Freedom of Information,Journalism,Media Freedom,Press Freedom,Reporters Sans Frontières,Reporters without Borders,World Press Freedom Index,WPFI'
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Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders...'
$disp = '<p style="text-align:justify"><br />Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Reporters without Borders <em>(Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res - RSF)</em> -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">report</a> says that India&#39;s performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet <em>(also fixed lines)</em> in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">Section 124a</a> <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">of the Indian Penal Code</a> is often invoked <em>(apart from criminal prosecutions)</em>, under which <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/" title="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1641007/">&lsquo;sedition&rsquo;</a> is punishable by life imprisonment. &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">released report</a> by Paris-based RSF.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">As a result, the country&rsquo;s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;<br /><strong>Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings &amp; scores of various countries during 2017-2020</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Table%201.jpg" style="height:389px; width:821px" />&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify"><a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">RSF&#39;s press freedom barometer</a> has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in <em>(on 14th April, 2020)</em>, Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust <em>(on 25th October, 2019)</em> and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator <em>(on 24th August, 2018)</em>.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Has India&rsquo;s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened?</strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">India&#39;s WPFI scores were 41.22 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2013, 40.34 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2014, 40.49 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2015, 43.17 <em>(rank 133)</em> in 2016, 42.94 <em>(rank 136) </em>in 2017, 43.24 <em>(rank 138) </em>in 2018, 45.67 <em>(rank 140)</em> in 2019 and 45.33 <em>(rank 142)</em> in 2020. Please check chart-1.</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><img alt="" src="/upload/images/Chart%201%281%29.jpg" style="height:564px; width:854px" /></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><strong>Source: </strong>Reporters without Borders - RSF,</em></p><p style="text-align:justify"><em><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018</a> ;<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019</a> ; and<br /><a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020</a></em><br />---</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">2020 WPFI report</a> by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with &#39;0&#39; being the best possible score and &#39;100&#39; the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><span style="background-color:#ffff00">Since India&#39;s WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 </span><em><span style="background-color:#ffff00">(which is desirable)</span></em><span style="background-color:#ffff00"> by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking <em>(relative to other countries)</em> has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-&agrave;-vis 2019 WPFI.</span></p><p style="text-align:justify">Since the colour category for India&#39;s map is &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020" title="https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020">red</a>&#39;, it means press freedom here is in a &#39;<a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">difficult situation</a>&#39;.</p><p style="text-align:justify">It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">compiled</a> by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts <em>(such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists)</em> to an online questionnaire <em>(having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages)</em>, which has been devised by RSF.</p><p style="text-align:justify">The <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">questionnaire by RSF</a> focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country&rsquo;s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology" title="https://rsf.org/en/detailed-methodology">click here</a> to know more about the methodology.</p><p style="text-align:justify"><br /><strong><em>References</em></strong></p><p style="text-align:justify">2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, <a href="https://rsf.org/en/india" title="https://rsf.org/en/india">https://rsf.org/en/india</a>&nbsp; &nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify">Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res, please <a href="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre" title="https://rsf.org/en/barometer?year=2020&amp;type_id=235#list-barometre">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">Online trolling takes its toll on the country&#39;s press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please <a href="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html" title="https://im4change.org/news-alerts-57/online-trolling-takes-its-toll-on-the-country039s-press-freedom-ranking-4684479.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please <a href="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html" title="https://im4change.org/latest-news-updates/prakash-javadekar-slams-press-freedom-report.html">click here</a> to access</p><p style="text-align:justify">&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:justify"><strong>Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Fronti&egrave;res</strong></p>'
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Restrictions on media & internet in Kashmir has cost the country its press freedom ranking but score improves

Although no journalist was murdered in the country last year as opposed to six such murders in 2018, it would be wrong to say that press freedom has never been violated, says the recently released report by Reporters without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières - RSF) -- a media watchdog organisation that works for freedom of expression and information. The report says that India's performance in 2020 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) among 180 countries has been affected not only by curbs on media and internet (also fixed lines) in Kashmir but also by pressure on media to follow the Hindutva ideology and policies of the ruling nationalist government unquestionably. Journalists, especially women, often face online harassment on social networking websites for saying or writing something that annoys the supporters of the ruling nationalist government. In order to gag journalists who are critical of the authorities, Section 124a of the Indian Penal Code is often invoked (apart from criminal prosecutions), under which ‘sedition’ is punishable by life imprisonment.   Journalists in the country often face police violence, covert attacks by political activists, and retaliations that are instigated by criminal groups or corrupt local officials, according to the recently released report by Paris-based RSF.    As a result, the country’s WPFI ranking has fallen two places to 142nd position this year. Among 180 countries, India ranked 140th last year with a score of 45.67. In 2018, it attained 138th position with a score of 43.24 in terms of WPFI. The South Asian countries, which have ranked better than India in terms of 2020 WPFI are Bhutan (67), Nepal (112), Sri Lanka (127) and Myanmar (139). The neighbouring countries, which fared worse than us on WPFI ranking this year, are Pakistan (145), Bangladesh (151) and China (177). Please consult table-1 for more details.   Table 1: World Press Freedom Index rankings & scores of various countries during 2017-2020   Source: Reporters without Borders - RSF, https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019 ; and https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020 --- RSF's press freedom barometer has observed that three journalists were imprisoned in India in recent times -- Gautam Navlakha of Newsclick.in (on 14th April, 2020), Doddipalya Narasimha Murthy of Nyayapatha / Gauri Media Trust (on 25th October, 2019) and Aasif Sultan of Kashmir Narrator (on 24th August, 2018). Has India’s press freedom index in 2020 really worsened? India's WPFI scores were 41.22 (rank 140) in 2013, 40.34 (rank 140) in 2014, 40.49 (rank 136) in 2015, 43.17 (rank 133) in 2016, 42.94 (rank 136) in 2017, 43.24 (rank 138) in 2018, 45.67 (rank 140) in 2019 and 45.33 (rank 142) in 2020. Please check chart-1.   Source: Reporters without Borders - RSF, https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2013 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2014 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2015 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2017 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2018 ; https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2019 ; and https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2020 --- The 2020 WPFI report by RSF says that ever since the 2013 WPFI, countries have been given scores ranging from 0 to 100, with '0' being the best possible score and '100' the worst. The WPFI score for a particular country in a year can be compared with that of previous years. Since India's WPFI score in 2020 was less than that in 2019 (which is desirable) by -0.34 points, it is obvious that the country has fared better recently. However, other countries have fared much better than India. As a result, our ranking (relative to other countries) has fallen by two places in 2020 WPFI vis-à-vis 2019 WPFI. Since the colour category for India's map is 'red', it means press freedom here is in a 'difficult situation'. It is worth noting that the WPFI for a country is compiled by combining the quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period under evaluation with the qualitative analysis based on responses of the experts (such as media professionals, lawyers and sociologists) to an online questionnaire (having 87 questions, translated into 20 languages), which has been devised by RSF. The questionnaire by RSF focuses on such criteria categories that assess a country’s performance with respect to pluralism, media independence and respect for the safety and freedom of journalists. Each question in the online questionnaire for experts is linked to one of the six following indicators (excluding the 7th one): 1. Pluralism; 2. Media independence; 3. Environment and self-censorship; 4. Legislative framework; 5. Transparency; 6. Infrastructure; and 7. Abuses. Please click here to know more about the methodology. References 2020 World Press Freedom Index in India, Reporters Sans Frontières, https://rsf.org/en/india    Violations of press freedom barometer, Reporters Sans Frontières, please click here to access Online trolling takes its toll on the country's press freedom ranking, News alert by Inclusive Media for Change dated 27 April, 2018, please click here to access India slips in press freedom rankings; Javadekar slams report, The Hindu, 3 May, 2020, please click here to access   Image Courtesy: 2020 World Press Freedom Index, Reporters Sans Frontières