Reporters Without Borders published the WorldPress Freedom Index (WPFI) rankings for 2024 which should be seen as an alarming situation for India as India was ranked at 159th position out of a total of 180 countries. As compared to last year India’s ranking has improved by 2 but still India falls into the Dark Red Zone which indicates that the condition, position and situation of journalism in India is very serious and it’s high time to work. Months after the release of the index, general elections were held in India and its result was declared on the 4th of June 2024.
Unlike the past two years, this time the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) failed to get a single party majority in the house (272) and won only 240 seats. To get the majority in the house for forming the government, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) party came forward. NDA is a coalition of BPJ, JDU, TDP and others with Amit Shah being the chairman. Since a coalition government is again back in power it would be interesting to see the impact of the coalition particularly on journalism as journalism was considered to be under the control of the ruling party and acting accordingly in favour of the ruling party.
A Comparative Analysis of India’s Ranking in WPFI
World Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) since 2002 based upon the organizations own assessment of the countries’ press freedom records in the previous year. The main objective of the organisation is to protect the rights of journalists worldwide and to safeguard the right to freedom of information. Every year since 2002 a total of 180 countries are ranked according to the level of press freedom enjoyed by journalists and media in that particular country. The index ranking is based upon scores ranging from 0 to 100 that are assigned to each country with 100 being the best score and 0 the worst. Scoring criteria include political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.
Taking a look at its rankings of India in the World Press Freedom Index since its start, one can see that a coalition government in India plays a positive role towards the freedom of the press, journalists and media. India’s best ranking to date is 80, which came under the rule of NDA (BJP-led coalition party) in 2002 whereas the worst ranking of India is 161, which came under the rule of single majority party BJP.
(Source: Statista)
Let’s bifurcate the above years concerning the ruling party:
So now if we compare the rankings of India between the periods from 2002 to 2013 and 2014 to 2023, it can be concluded that whenever India had a coalition government at the centre, the press, the journalists and the media all enjoyed much more freedom as compared to a single majority party at the centre.
Analysing Reasons for Differences in Press Freedom During Both Government Situations
The impact of the coalition government versus a single majority party government on the freedom of the press, journalism and media can be significant.
1. Coalition Government
A coalition government is formed by merging various parties into one to get the desired majority in the House to form the government. Since it is formed by multiple parties, it brings various ideologies and agendas which can create a more balanced approach towards media regulation and freedom. As a result, the journalists may have more freedom to report on different viewpoints as coalition partners may have different stances on media freedom.
A coalition government is always accompanied by Checks and Balances which can be absent in a single majority party as the former does not have absolute power. So, it would encourage more debates, discussions and arguments before implementing any stringent policy against press freedom as multiple stakeholders can act as a check on one’s attempt to control or influence the media.
Also, it would slow down the implementation of any media-restrictive policy as it needs to be passed through various ideologies of coalition partners and this slowdown would allow more room for press freedom. Policies related to the press or media might be more moderate as they need to accommodate the views and thinking of all coalition partners.
2. Single Majority Party Government
In a general election, when a single party wins the majority seats of the house then it forms its government without the support or alliance of any other party and is termed as a single majority party government. The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) in the years 2014 (282) and 2019 (303) won the majority seats in the house and formed its government. A single majority party government has an absolute power at the centre and this could lead to a more streamlined and consistent approach towards press regulations.
There’s a minimal or no concept of Checks and Balances present in a single majority party government as all the members of the party have the same ideologies and agendas which makes it quite difficult for a policy to be slowed down or viewed with different perspectives before its implementation. So, there’s a risk of increased control or censorship of the press or media if the ruling party decides to suppress the voices against it.
Current Media Environment in India
In recent years, India has seen various concerns regarding press freedom under a single majority party government with increased incidents of censorship, harassment of journalists and pressure on media to align with government viewpoints. Instances of arrest of journalists, raids on media offices and restrictions on free expression on digital platforms have also been noted.
Talking particularly about the BJP-led government since 2014, the government has faced high criticism from the public both nationally and internationally for controlling media narratives and making it work accordingly to promote the ruling party’s good work while restricting the media and press from showcasing the ruling party’s failure.
Arresting journalists on the charges of Sedition Law and the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was at its peak. From the year 2010 to 2020, a total of 154 journalists were “arrested, detained, interrogated or served show cause notice for their professional work” according to a report by Free Speech Collective. Out of 154, only 19 were arrested during the ruling of the coalition government of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) while the rest happened during the ruling of the Bhartiya Janata Party government.
Way Forward
Almost after a decade, India is again going to witness the coalition government era and this can turn out to be a fruitful era for the media, the journalists and the press, if the right steps are taken in the right direction and at the right time. Since a coalition government has always been more moderate and less restrictive towards press freedom the same can be hoped this time too. India has been consistently performing poorly in terms of scores and rankings in the World Press Freedom Index and it is high time to bring in certain reforms and policies favouring press freedom and independence.
Implementing Justice J.S. Verma Committee (2012), the Press Council of India and the National Human Rights Commission recommendations can be the right option for the present government. It would be interesting to see how the BJP-led coalition government act towards the media as BJP has ruled for almost a decade as a single majority party and now it needs to take into consideration the viewpoints and ideologies of its allied partners before implementing any restrictive policy particularly to curb media freedom.
