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Please find below links to key media freedom news items for India. These have been organised by publication date.

2023

17.04.23 India: Government amends IT Rules to further restrict press freedom
30.03.23 Government restricts internet and social media access in Punjab, IFJ(Opens in new window)
23.03.23 Three journalists arrested amid crackdown on press, IFJ(Opens in new window)
17.03.23 Indian journalist Sanjay Rana arrested in Uttar Pradesh, CPJ(Opens in new window)
02.03.23 Indian journalist Devendra Khare shot in Uttar Pradesh, CPJ
16.02.23 India: Government raids BBC offices, IFJ
09.02.23 India: Maharashtra journalist targeted in hit and run, IFJ
08.02.23 Indian reporter murdered over story just hours after publication, RSF
01.02.23 NDTV takeover signals end of pluralism in India’s leading media, RSF
25.01.23 India: Government uses emergency powers to block BBC documentary critical of Modi, IFEX
19.01.23 Pakistan and Bollywood: A broken bond, Al Jazeera
16.01.23 Finding 404: A report on website blocking in India, IFEX

2022

26.12.22 - Internet shutdowns in India 2022, IFEX

17.12.22 - India: Why is Gautam Adani so interested in NDTV?, Al Jazeera

24.11.22 - Police in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir raid homes of seven journalists, IFEX

18.10.22 - Indian authorities prevent Pulitzer-winning Kashmiri journalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo from flying abroad, CPJ

23.09.22 - ‘An open-air prison’: Kashmiri journalists on how travel bans undermine press freedom, IFEX

02.09.22 - India: Vice journalist deported from Delhi, IFJ

31.08.22 - ‘Anti-Muslim in its soul’: A boycott hurts Bollywood’s Aamir Khan, Al Jazeera

31.08.22 - Mukesh Ambani: India tycoon launches $25bn 5G rollout plan, BBC

29.08.22 - India: Pro-government tycoon’s TV bid threatens media freedom, IFJ

12.08.22 - Factcheck: How did India become a fake news hotspot?, DW News

06.08.22, The rise of hate speech in India, Al Jazeera YouTube

05.08.22 - India: Union president harassed by National Investigation Agency, IFJ

28.07.22 - Adani Group files criminal defamation suit against freelance Indian journalist Ravi Nai, CPJ

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

24.05.2022 - Journalist shot dead in alleged retaliation for reporting, IFJ

07.05.2022 - Kashmir Walla interim editor summoned by police, IFJ

04.05.2022 - Media rights organisations condemn contracting media freedom in India, IFJ

03.05.2022 - WPFD 2022 India | The Modi Government’s Escalating Offensive Against Freedom of the Press, IPI Media

03.05.2022 - WPFD 2022 India | Narrowing space, IPI Media

2021

31/10/2021 - India: Journalists arrested for reporting on legislative assembly members - IFJ

28/10/2021 - India Today parent company sues media watchdog Newslaundry - CPJ

20/10/2021 - Jammu and Kashmir authorities detain one journalist; at least two others still in custody - CPJ

19/10/2021 - India: Kashmir authorities escalate attacks against media workers - IFJ

15/10/2021 - Jammu and Kashmir authorities detain, question 5 journalists; hold Salman Shah, Suhail Dar - CPJ

07/10/2021 - India: Budgam administration bars journalists for asking questions - IFJ

06/10/2021 - India: Journalist found dead after covering farmers’ protest clash - IFJ

05/10/2021 - Indian journalist Raman Kashyap killed amid Uttar Pradesh clashes - CPJ

19/08/2021 - India: Jammu and Kashmir Police assault journalists covering Muharram procession - IFJ

10/08/2021 - Corrupt cop stabs TV reporter to death in southern India - RSF

06/08/2021 - Kashmir police raid homes of journalist Qazi Shibli and his family members - CPJ

09/08/2021 - Indian journalist stabbed to death in Andhra Pradesh - CPJ

10/09/2021 - India: Jammu and Kashmir police raid journalists’ homes - IFJ

11/09/2021 - India: Five media houses attacked in Tripura during unofficial BJP rally - IFJ

17/09/2021 - India: New form of censorship in Jammu and Kashmir - IFJ

22/09/2021 - India: Dainik Bhaskar journalists pursued and arrested by police for report error - IFJ

26/2/2021 - India: Eight social media users booked for allegedly spreading fake news  - IFJ

25/2/2021 - India: Jammu & Kashmir journalists face criminal charges for reporting - IFJ

17/2/2021 - Nodeep Kaur: The jailed activist Meena Harris tweeted about - BBC

10/2/2021 - Indian finance authorities raid Newsclick office, homes of editors and managers - CPJ

1/2/2021 - Indian police arrest, investigate journalists covering farmers’ protests - CPJ

1/2/2021 - Watch | Journalists Protest Against Arrest of Mandeep Punia - The Wire

29/1/2021 - Times of India parent company sues media watchdog Newslaundry for $13.7 million - CPJ

29/1/2021 - India: Journalists harassed and attacked during farmer protest  - IFJ

27/1/2021/ - Indian journalist Neha Dixit receives threatening calls, break-in attempt - CPJ

22/1/2021 - Indian authorities in Manipur investigate editors for sedition, conspiracy, terrorism - CPJ

22/1/2021 - India: Indian court issues warrant for journalist Paranjoy Thakurta - IFJ

06/01/2021 - India: RSF asks Twitter to restore The Kashmir Walla’s account - RSF

2020

16/12/2020 - Alert: Kerala journalist killed in hit-and-run IFJ

14/12/2020 - India: Police attack and detain three Kashmiri journalists - IFJ

10/12/2020 - Pakistan: Journalist assassinated at home in KP province - IFJ

1/12/2020 - India: Journalist in arson attack after reporting on corruption - IFJ

24/11/2020 - India: Journalist bound and beaten for gambling reports- IFJ

30/10/2020 - #EndImpunity: India - IFJ

18/11/2020 - Journalist Parag Bhuyan killed in hit-and-run in India’s Assam state- CPJ

17/11/2020 - India: Senior journalist killed in road accident - IFJ

10/11/2020 - India: Reporter brutally stabbed to death near Chennai - IFJ

5/11/2020 - Maharashtra police arrest Republic TV anchor Arnab Goswami- CPJ

28/10/2020 - Ankhi Das: Facebook India's policy head quits amid hate speech row - BBC

21/10/2020 - India: Media freedom campaigners call on government to halt use of sedition laws against journalists - IFJ

21/10/2020 - India: J&K administration seals Kashmir Times office- IFJ

19/10/2020 - India: Broadcast journalist arrested after critical news report- IFJ

6/10/2020 - Uttar Pradesh police arrest journalist on his way to cover Hathras gang rape case - CPJ

29/9/2020 - India: Bhumkal Samachar editor assaulted and threatened - IFJ

23/9/2020 - India: Kashmiri journalist summoned, slapped and abused- IFJ

21/9/2020 - India: Freelance journalist arrested under Official Secrets Act- IFJ

25/8/2020 - India: Shillong Times forced to shut down amid Covid-19 - IFJ

19/8/2020 - Facebook India executive files criminal complaint against journalist- CPJ

12/8/2020 - Journalists with The Caravan magazine assaulted by anti-Muslim crowd in Delhi- CPJ

4/8/2020 - Kashmiri journalists describe new government tactics to control the narrative - CPJ

1/8/2020 - Jammu and Kashmir authorities detain journalist and editor Qazi Shibli CPJ

24/7/2020 - India: Journalists attacked in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh - IFJ

22/7/2020 - India journalist shot dead for reporting harassment of niece- BBC

20/7/2020 - SC extends protection from coercive action to journalist Vinod Dua in sedition case - New Indian Express

17/7/2020- India: Journalist arrested in a legal battle with forest officer - IFJ

15/7/2020 - Indian police arrest journalist Sharjeel Usmani in Uttar Pradesh- CPJ

14/7/2020 - India: J and K administration extends ban on 4G internet again- IFJ

6/7/2020 - India: investigative journalist Rana Ayyub receives rape and death threats for social media posts about Kashmir - IFJ

1/7/2020 - India: Journalist attacked for investigating factory pollution - IFJ

30/6/2020 - Ban on Chinese apps, including TikTok, surprises India content makers - BBC

24/6/2020 - India: Journalist killed after exposing controversial sand-mining deals - IFJ

19/6/2020- India: Uttar Pradesh police charge Scroll.in executive editor Supriya Sharma - IFJ

19/6/2020 - FIR against Scroll reporter an overreaction, will undermine freedom of media: Editors Guild - The Indian  Express

16/6/2020 - Police investigate Indian journalist Vinod Dua for alleged sedition - CPJ

26/5/2020 - It’s just wrong’: Maharashtra journalist booked for reporting on migrant relief camps- News Laundry

26/5/2020  India: Government intensifies clampdown to media over Covid-19 reporting - IFJ

15/5/2020 - 15/5/2020 - India increasing abuse of laws to harass journalists - IPI 

15/5/2020 - Aarogya Setu: Why India's Covid-19 contact tracing app is controversial - BBC

12/5/2020 - Gujarat Journalist Slapped with Sedition, Arrested for Speculative Story on CM’s Replacement - Newsclick

24/4/2020 - India: Press freedom rapidly deteriorating - IPI Media

21/4/2020 - In India, a Pandemic of Prejudice and Repression - The New York Times

16/4/2020 -When Freedom of the Press is Stricken With the Coronavirus - The Wire

13/4/2020 - Charges Smack of Vindictiveness': Journalists' Union Condemns FIRs Against The Wire - The Wire

9/4/2020 - Journalist Gautam Navlakha tells CPJ he fears imprisonment amid COVID-19 pandemic - CPJ

2/4/2020 - Uttar Pradesh starts criminal probe into The Wire editor for alleged 'discord' during COVID-19 lockdown - CPJ

3/4/2020 - No Democracy Is Fighting The COVID-19 Pandemic By Gagging Its Media: Editors Guild Of India  - NDTV

2/4/2020 - Media’s trial and tribulations in times of deadly coronavirus - The Federal

30/3/2020 - India's internet curbs in Kashmir hamper coronavirus fight - Reuters

27/3/2020 - India: Kashmir’s blocked Internet could be deadly during coronavirus pandemic - RSF

26/3/2020 - Ban on high-speed Internet on mobiles extended till April 3: J&K govt.  - The Hindu

24/3/2020 - Journalists assaulted by police amid coronavirus lockdown in India- CPJ

21/3/2020 - Coronavirus: India Tells Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Other Social Media Firms to Curb Misinformation - Gadgets360

17/03/2020 - Journalism in Kashmir: State of repression- IPI

13/03/2020 - Global Monitor Adds India to Watchlist for 'Decline' in Fundamental Freedoms - The Wire

06/03/2020 - India temporarily bans 2 news channels over coverage of Delhi riots - CPJ

27/02/2020 - Death toll from Delhi's worst riots in decades rises to 38 - The Guardian

25/02/2020 - Hindu supremacist mobs orchestrate violence against Muslims where BJP won in Delhi elections - The Caravan

24/02/2020 - India's media is failing in its democratic duty - Aljazeera

24/02/2020 - J&K internet curbs vs press freedom - The Telegraph

14/02/2020 - India keeps lid on Kashmir’s internet 6 months into lockdown - AP News

13/02/2020 - How one Kashmiri magazine survived a press crackdown - Columbia Journalism Review

29/02/2020 - India citizenship law: Media accused of pro-government coverage - Aljazeera 

28/01/2020- India partially lifts internet block in Kashmir - ZDNet

25/01/2020 - India says internet is being restored to Kashmir, but no social media - DW

20/01/2020 - Inside Kashmir's media facility amid blackout - Aljazeera

15/01/2020 - Kashmir blackout eases but restrictions remain - BBC

2019

27/11/2019 - India puts new Bill for regulating media up for public consultation; some issues - Medianama

27/11/2019 - Modi Government's Draft Press Registration Bill May Restrict Digital Media's Freedom - The Wire 

21/11/2019 - Indian Government Asserts Widespread Digital Surveillance Powers After WhatsApp Hack - Gizmodo

19/11/2019 - Southern Indian state cracks down on “false” reports - Reporters Without Borders 

15/11/2019 - Foreign Journalists' Presence in Kashmir Could 'Incentivise' Display of Stir, Says Jaishankar - The Wire

11/11/2019 - Srinagar Media Facilitation Centre: Now, Freelancers, Web Journalists Not Allowed - THE WIRE 

08/11/2019 - India strips overseas citizenship from journalist who criticised Modi regime - The Guardian 

01/11/2019 - WhatsApp confirms: Israeli spyware was used to snoop on Indian journalists, activists - The Indian Express

21/10/2019 - India Plans to Regulate Social Media to Protect Against ‘Unimaginable Disruption’ - Bloomberg

18/10/2019 - India: Andhra Pradesh government pushes for power to sue on fake news - IFJ

16/10/2019 - India partially lifts communications blackout in Kashmir, internet still down - Global Voices 

27/09/2019 - Indian reporter who covers corruption beaten, left for dead - Reporters Without Boarders 

07/09/2019 - Watch | 'Official Pressure on the Media Is Weakening Democracy': Ravish Kumar - THE WIRE

04.09.2019 - No entry for foreign journalists, Assam gets protected zone tag after NRC - APN NEWS 

04/09/2019 - India reporter fears for life after exposing corruption - Travel Wire News 

03/09/2019 - Reporting the Kashmir lockdown: 'What sort of normalcy is this?' - Aljazeera

01/09/2019 - 'We risk everything': Reporting Kashmir amid lockdown, harassment - Aljazeera 

28/08/2019 - Media Front: India - The future of journalism - BBC

27/08/2019 - India antitrust watchdog to assess media, broadcasting sector - Zawya 

10/08/2019 - Kashmir: Are Foreign & Indian Media Reporting on the Same Place? - the quint 

08/08/2019 - In Kashmir, obstruction, confiscated equipment, and hand-carrying stories and photos on flash drive - CPJ

06/08/2019 - India Shuts Down Internet and Phone Services in Kashmir - YouTube 

04/08/2019 - UN report claims women journalists in India denied fair share - My Nation

07/07/2019 - How Modi government uses ad spending to ‘reward or punish’ Indian media - The Independent

01/07/2019 - Kashmiri editor arrested for 27-year-old terrorism case - IFJ

30/06/2019 - Journalists held as hostages, questions shielded: Priyanka Gandhi slams Yogi Adityanath - India Today

27/07/2019 - Indian journalist G. Muthuvel attacked, threatened after reporting on police officer - CPJ

26/06/2019 - Government suppressing media: Congress in Lok Sabha - The Times of India 

15/06/2019 - India journalists decry 'escalating attacks' on press freedom - Al Jazeera

10/06/2019 - UP journalist arrests show disregard for rule of law by state: SAMDEN - CHRI

09/06/2019 - Police arrest journalists for airing 'defamatory content' against Uttar Pradesh chief minister - CPJ

10/06/2019 - India has lots of newspapers and lots of readers and one big journalism problem - CRJ

29/05/2019 - Media Ownership Monitor: Who owns the media in India? - RSF

23/05/2019 - Elections in India and the EU mean a flood of homegrown fake news - NiemanLabs

10/05/2019 - Journalists injured in election-related violence in West Bengal - CPJ 

17/05/2019 - 'The battle is still on': Fake news rages in India's WhatsApp elections - CBC

16/05/2019 - Fact-checking vigilantes in India are a bulwark against the move to a ‘post-truth’ world - Scroll.in

29/04/2019 - India Has a Public Health Crisis. It’s Called Fake News - The New York Times 

24/04/2019 - India Internet Clampdown Will Not Stop Misinformation - HRW 

23/04/2019 - In India, WhatsApp is a weapon of antisocial hatred - T= he Conversation 

19/04/2019 - India election 2019: The debunked fake news that keeps coming back - BBC 

18/04/2019 - India: Fake News and Agitprop - Al Jazeera 

17/04/2019 - India Is Leading the World in Internet Shutdowns - Slate 

16/04/2019 - India's other media boom- CIMA 

11/04/2019 - Indian court gags news outlets from reporting 'derogatory' information about candidate - CPJ 

08/04/2019 - The unsolved assassination of a journalist - CJR 

06/04/2019 - WhatsApp: The 'black hole' of fake news in India's election - BBC 

02/04/2019 - India: WhatsApp launches fact-check service to fight fake news - Al Jazeera 

02/04/2019 - Despite being exposed, fake news thrives on social media ahead of India polls - Reuters

01/04/2019 - In India Election, False Posts and Hate Speech Flummox Facebook - NY Times

25/03/2019 - Disinformation is everywhere in India -The Hindu

05/03/2019 - Fatal, not Funny: Nationalist Outrage & Journalists against Journalists - The Hindu Centre

06/03/2019 - The India-Pakistan Conflict Was a Parade of Lies - NY Times 

March 2019 - India Digital News Report - Reuters Institute

28/02/2019 - India and Pakistan Are Already at War on Truth - Bloomberg

28/02/2019 - DD, AIR can’t operate the way they did in the past, says Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati - Financial Express

18/02/2019 - India: Vigilante ‘Cow Protection’ Groups Attack Minorities - Human Rights Watch 

16/02/2019 - Chhattisgarh’s plan for journalist safety law could be template for all India - Blitz

13/02/2019 - Why is Twitter's Jack Dorsey wanted in India? - BBC

09/02/2019 - The ease of listening FM on Smartphones will be the driving factor for expanding the FM footprint, says Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati - Radio and Music

07/02/2019 - Facebook starts labeling political ads in India as election looms - CNN

02/02/2019 - Threat to press freedom in India as vice president wants a 'code of conduct' - Busines Insider

28/01/2019 - India politician jailed for posting morphed picture of Modi on Facebook - Khaleej Times

23/01/2019 - India’s Not-So-Free Media - The Diplomat

19/01/2019 - What the Delhi HC held on information related to corruptrion, human rights violations under the RTI Act - Bar & Bench

10/01/2019 - Focus on PSM - India - Public Media Alliance

04/01/2019 - AIR to shut down national channel, regional training academies in 5 cities to cut costs - Financial Express

04/01/2019 - Those fighting for rights being arrested, journalists silenced: Naseeruddin Shah in Amnesty video -  India Today

2018

24/12/2018 - Centre wants fake news traced - The Hindu

06/12/2018 - India’s War on Reporting - The Diplomat

04/12/2018 - Prasar starts manpower audit to ‘trim’ broadcaster - Times of India

14/11/2018 - Kashmiri journalists face multiple restrictions, attacks in October - Committee to Protect Journalists

05/11/2018 - Report Says Indian Journalists Remain Soft Targets; Murder Investigations 'Tardy' - The Wire

04/11/2018 - Nationalism a driving force behind fake news in India, research shows - BBC

05/10/2018 - Punya Prasun Bajpai: ‘India is witnessing social collapse’- Columbia Journalism Review

03/10/2018 - Dangerous times for the press in Kashmir - Columbia Journalism Review

17/09/208 - Selling the Fourth Estate: How Free is Indian Media? - Engage

10/09/2018 - WhatsApp launches second phase of radio ad campaign in India to tackle fake news - Asia Radio Today

24/08/2018 - India: ruling party is harassing critical media - International Federation of Journalists

20/08/2018 - On the frontline of India's WhatsApp fake news war - BBC

06/08/2018 - Indian govt seeks inputs from ISPs for blocking Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, Telegram - Medianama

06/08/2018 - The art of bullying: Online trolls in India abuse, threaten journalists for doing their jobs - Gulf News India

03/08/2018 - Resignations of two journalists at ABP News cause disquiet in newsrooms and far beyond - Scroll

01/08/2018 - Journalists covering alleged illegal sand mining attacked in India's Punjab state - Committee to Protect Journalists

29/07/2018 - There is No Disputing the 'Emergency-Like' Situation in the Country - The Wire

24/07/2018 - Modi govt may turn DD and AIR into public sector firms, disband Prasar Bharati - The Print

19/07/2018 - Cable Operators In Srinagar Asked To Block Pakistani, Saudi Channels - NDTV

18/07/2018 - If WhatsApp Doesn't Regulate Itself, Parliament May Have to Step In - The Wire

17/07/2018 - Kashmir journalist summoned by NIA over interview - International Federation of Journalists

05/07/2018 - Focus on PSM - Prasar Bharati - Public Media Alliance

24/06/2018 - Media bodies demand strict action against BJP leader - Business Standard

16/06/2018 - Backstory: What Shujaat Bukhari's killing tells you about journalism on the razor's edge - The Wire India

14/06/2018 - Kashmir journalist Shujaat Bukhari shot dead in Srinagar - BBC News

03/06/2018 - India journalist gets death threats, online hate over government exposé - Rappler

01/06/2018 - Kashmiri reporters assailed by both security forces and protestors - Reports Without Borders

30/05/2018 - Escalation in threat campaigns against Indian journalists - Reporters Without Borders

28/05/2018 - The story barely reported by Indian media - BBC News

27/05/2018 - How women have to fight to be journalists in India - IFEX

14/05/2018 - India ranks first in internet shutdown, UNESCO shows concerns - ENTrackr

14/05/2018 - Former PMA president denied opportunity to speak in India - Public Media Alliance

13/05/2018 - It's time to address online violence against women in India - Al Jazeera

08/05/2018 - Indian fact-checkers step up right against 'fake news' - Nikkei Asian Review

03/05/2018 - How RTI Act is dying a slow death in India - Hindustan Times

27/04/2018 - RSF urges Indian authorities to protect woman journalist - Reporters Without Borders

26/04/2018 - Over 16,000 hours of internet shutdowns cost India over $3 billion in five years - The Indian Express

10/04/2018 - Rights activists claim deaths of three Indian journalists engineered by state - Irish Times

09/04/2018 - India forms committee to regulate online media - IFJ

09/04/2018 - NHRC glare on 'rights abuse' at thana - The Telegraph India

03/04/2018 - India drops plan to punish journalists for 'fake news' following outcry - 

26/03/2018 - Journalist killed after reporting on corruption - Amnesty

23/03/2018 - For 74 Indian activists, the punishment for seeking the truth has been death - Business Insider

15/02/2018 - Indian authorities clamp down on foreign journalists - IFJ

29/01/2018 - Gauri Lankesh and the non-existent pursuit of justice for India's slain journalists - The Wire

20/01/2018 - Eleven journalists killed, 46 attacked, 27 cases of police action: Report on press freedom 2017 - The Wire

04/01/2018 - 65% of population to be covered under FM network - WebIndia

03/01/3018 - MPs call for tighter broadcast regulations in India - Rapid TV News

2017

15/11/2017 - A creeping quiet in Indian journalism? - Huffington Post

26/04/2017 - India ranks 136 on World Press Freedom Index, slips three places since 2016 - Scroll.in

26/04/2017 - Jammu and Kashmir state government censors 22 social media services - Committee to Protect Journalists

30/03/2017 - India had 31 Internet Shutdowns in 2016 - Slate.com