India Falls 8 Places To 150th Position In World Press Freedom Ranking

India’s rating withinside the World Press Freedom Index has fallen right all the way down to a hundred and fiftieth role from remaining year’s 142nd rank out of a hundred and eighty nations, consistent with a file via way of means of a worldwide media watchdog launched on Tuesday.

The rating of India’s neighbours, besides that of Nepal, have additionally slid down, with the index putting Pakistan at 157th role, Sri Lanka 146th, Bangladesh 162nd and Maynmar at 176th role, the file launched via way of means of Reporters Without Borders stated.

According to the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, Nepal has climbed up via way of means of 30 factors withinside the worldwide rating at 76th role. Last year, the Himalayan country were positioned at 106th role, Pakistan at 145th, Sri Lanka 127th, Bangladesh 152nd and Myanmar at one hundred and fortieth role withinside the index.

This year, Norway (1st) Denmark (2nd), Sweden (3rd) Estonia (4th) and Finland (5th) grabbed the pinnacle positions, even as North Korea remained at the lowest of the listing of the a hundred and eighty nations and territories ranked via way of means of the Reporters Without Borders.

Russia changed into positioned at a hundred and fifty fifth role, down from a hundred and fiftieth remaining year, even as China climbed up via way of means of positions with the Reporters Without Borders putting it at one hundred and seventy fifth role. Last year, China changed into positioned at 177th role.

“On the World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders and 9 different human rights firms ask Indian government to forestall concentrated on reporters and on-line critics for his or her work,” the global non-earnings business enterprise stated in a announcement on its website.

“More specifically, they need to forestall prosecuting them below counterterrorism and sedition legal guidelines,” it added.

The Reporters sans frontieres (RSF) stated the Indian government need to admire the proper to freedom of expression and launch any reporters detained on trumped-up or politically encouraged costs for his or her important reporting and forestall concentrated on them and muzzling impartial media.

“The government’ concentrated on of reporters coupled with a broader crackdown on dissent has emboldened Hindu nationalists to threaten, harass and abuse reporters important of the Indian authorities, each on-line and offline, with impunity,” it stated.

“The government need to additionally behavior prompt, thorough, impartial and unbiased investigations into allegations of threats and assaults concentrated on reporters and critics, such as from authorities officials,” the RSF stated, adding, “reporters need to now no longer should chance their freedom and their lives to do their work.” About the worldwide scenario, the RSF stated the twentieth World Press Freedom Index famous a -fold boom in “polarisation” amplified via way of means of statistics chaos, that is, media polarisation fuelling divisions inside nations, in addition to polarisation among nations on the global level.

Reacting to the RSF 2022 World Press Freedom Index, 3 Indian reporters our bodies stated in a joint announcement, “While the process insecurities have grown so have the assaults on press freedoms visible an exponential rise. India does now no longer fare too nicely on this regard, rating a hundred and fifty out of a hundred and eighty nations withinside the World Press Freedom Index compiled via way of means of RSF.

“Journalists were incarcerated below draconian legal guidelines for flimsy motives and on a few activities confronted chance to their lives as nicely from self-styled custodians of regulation withinside the social media space,” the Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Club of India and Press Association added.

Noting that freedom of press is indispensable to the functioning of a colourful democracy, they stated the media has to return back together “to reclaim its position toward realisation of this objective”.