India continues to be counted among the countries classified as “bad” for journalism and is also termed as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.
Context
India continues to be counted among the countries classified as “bad” for journalism and is also termed as one of the most dangerous countries for journalists.
About the World Press Freedom index 2021
- Report: World Press Freedom Index 2021 is published by the international journalism, a not-for profit body, Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
- The index ranks 180 countries.
- Rankings: The list is topped by Norway followed by Finland and Denmark.
- Eritrea came at the bottom.
- China is ranked 177, and is only above North Korea at 179 and Turkmenistan at 178.
- In the South Asian neighbourhood, Nepal is at 106, Sri Lanka at 127, Myanmar (before the coup) at 140, Pakistan at 145 and Bangladesh at 152.
- India’s ranking: India is ranked 142 which is same as last year.
- The report stated that India shares the “bad” classification with Brazil, Mexico and Russia.
- For India, the latest report blames an environment of intimidation created by BJP supporters for any critical journalist, who, is marked as “anti-state” or “anti-national”.
World Press Freedom Index
- It is published every year since 2002 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
- It is an important advocacy tool which is based on the principle of emulation between states.
- The Index ranks 180 countries and regions according to their level of freedom available to journalists.
- It evaluates the media freedom situation on the basis of pluralism, independence of the media, safety of journalists and quality of legislative framework in each country and region.
Reporters Without Borders
- It is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization.
- It aims for safeguarding the right to freedom of information.
- RSF has consultative status at the United Nations, the Council of Europe, UNESCO, and the International Organisation of the Francophonie.
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