THE HEALTH AND SOCIAL ISSUES

1. MEGHALAYA HIT BY AFRICAN SWINE FEVER

THE CONTEXT: At least 259 pigs have died in Meghalaya’s Ri-Bhoi district this year due to African Swine Fever with 45 pigs dying on May 8 alone

THE EXPLANATION:

• African swine fever (ASF) is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting both domestic and feral swine of all ages.
• It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s.
• ASF is not a threat to human health and cannot be transmitted from pigs to humans.
• It is not a food safety issue.
• ASF is found in countries around the world.
• The disease was first reported in November-December 2019 from the areas of China bordering Arunachal Pradesh.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. COMMITTEE ON CRIMINAL LAW REFORMS RECOMMENDED AMENDMENTS TO SEDITION LAW

THE CONTEXT: A panel of experts constituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to suggest reforms to the British-era Indian Penal Code (IPC) has recommended amendments to the sedition law.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Committee for Reforms in Criminal Laws appointed by the MHA in 2020 submitted an exhaustive report in March, which among other IPC sections also examined Section 124-A IPC or sedition.
• There were two school of thoughts – either completely withdraw the law or amend the particular section.
• The panel was largely of the view that if sedition could be dropped and included as a sub-set in a wider range of crimes committed against the State. A person cannot be made to languish in jail for writing a newspaper article. It has to be seen if that article led to serious law and order problems, mere presumption is not sufficient.
• A questionnaire sent by the committee for public consultation in 2020 had under a category called the “Offences Against the State,” asked “Does the offence of sedition under Section 124-A require omission or any amendment in terms of its definition, scope and cognisability?”
• Other than IPC, the committee also examined and has recommended changes to the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Evidence Act, 1872.
• Simply criticising the State should not be enough to invoke sedition, let there be a guilty mind – whether such act wanted to disturbance? The term sedition is colonial. When there is no king, how can a provision meant to protect the king be there?
• The committee largely concluded that sedition can be amended and included in the category of crimes committed against the State to protect its sovereignty, integrity and security.
• According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), as many as 356 cases of sedition were registered in the country between the years 2015 and 2020 in which 548 persons were arrested. Only 62 cases went to trial, there were acquittals in 55 cases and only 12 persons in seven cases were convicted during the period.
• In 2019, as many as 96 persons were arrested for sedition but only two were convicted and 29 persons were acquitted. Of the 93 cases of sedition registered in 2019, charge sheet was filed in only 40 cases.
• On May 9, MHA filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court informed the apex court of its decision to “re-examine” and “re-consider” the sedition law in the background of Prime Minister’s belief that the nation should work harder to shed “colonial baggage”, including outdated laws, while celebrating 75 years of Independence under the banner of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The maximum punishment for the crime is life imprisonment.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

3. THE GRIM FOREWARNINGS OF A GLOBAL STUDY ON BIRDS

THE CONTEXT: The State of the World’s Birds, an annual review of environmental resources published on May 5 by nine natural sciences and avian specialists across the globe, has revealed that the population of 48% of the 10,994 surviving species of birds is declining.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The study found that 5,245 or about 48% of the existing bird species worldwide are known or suspected to be undergoing population declines.
• While 4,295 or 39% of the species have stable trends, about 7% or 778 species have increasing population trends.
• The trend of 37 species was unknown.
• Birds are a truly global taxon, with one or more species occupying all habitats across the earth’s terrestrial surface including urban environments with no natural analogues.
• Birds contribute toward many ecosystem services that either directly or indirectly benefit humanity. These include provisioning, regulating, cultural, and supporting services.
• The functional role of birds within ecosystems as pollinators, seed-dispersers, ecosystem engineers, scavengers and predators not only facilitate accrual and maintenance of biodiversity but also support human endeavours such as sustainable agriculture via pest control besides aiding other animals to multiply.
• The study lists eight factors, topped by land cover and land-use change. The continued growth of human populations and of per capita rates of consumption lead directly to conversion and degradation of primary natural habitats and consequent loss of biodiversity.
• Although global tree cover increased between 1982 and 2016, including by 95,000 sq. km in the tropical dry forest biome and by 84,000 sq. km in the tropical moist deciduous forest biome, this has been driven by afforestation with plantations (often of non-native species) plus land abandonment in parts of the global North, with net loss in the tropics.
• The other factors are habitat fragmentation and degradation, especially in the tropics.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

4. INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE(IBC) SHRINK TO 33%

 THE CONTEXT: Recoveries by financial creditors under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) have dropped significantly in the past two years owing to the pandemic, resulting in larger haircuts for them.

THE EXPLANATION:

• As of March 2022, financial creditors have recovered 33 per cent of the amount admitted as claims.
• It was 39.3 per cent as of March 2021, and as high as 46 per cent till March 2020, according to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) data. Further, on a quarterly basis, realisation by financial creditors as a percentage of their admitted claims in Q4FY22 dropped to as low as 10 per cent.
• In the preceding quarter (Q3FY22), it stood at 13 per cent. However, in the first two quarters of FY22 (Q1 and Q2), the rate was 25 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively.
• In Q4, the amount realised by financial creditors dropped below the liquidation value of assets. “The haircut for cases resolved in Q4FY22 was high at 90 per cent. The overall haircut scenario is not very encouraging.
• Some of the weaker assets where there are incomplete projects or sectors which are seeing very poor demand from buyers, the realization values have started to come down.
• The number of new cases admitted under the insolvency process has also gone down in FY22, with only 834 cases admitted as against 2,000 cases in FY20.
• Experts reckon the pandemic-induced slowdown in the economy and delays in the resolution process are the root cause behind the drop in realisation. Having said that, recovery under the IBC is still far higher than other measures.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. WHAT IS A ‘MARSQUAKE’, AND WHAT CAUSES IT?

 THE CONTEXT: On May 4, NASA’s InSight lander detected a quake on Mars, the largest ever observed on another planet.

THE EXPLANATION:

• NASA has reported that on May 4, its InSight Mars lander detected the largest quake ever observed on another planet.
• The rover first landed on Mars in November 2018, and has since heard 1,313 quakes.
• The largest previously recorded “marsquake” was detected in August 2021.

What are marsquakes, and why do they happen?

On Earth, quakes are caused by shifts in tectonic plates. Mars, however, does not have tectonic plates, and its crust is a giant plate. Therefore, NASA notes, ‘marsquakes’ are caused due to stresses that cause rock fractures or faults in its crust.

What is InSight doing on Mars?

• InSight is not looking for life on Mars, but is studying what Mars is made of, how its material is layered, and how much heat seeps out of it.
• This is important because Earth and Mars used to be similar — warm, wet and shrouded in thick atmospheres — before they took different paths 3-4 billion years ago. Mars stopped changing, while Earth continued to evolve.
• With InSight, scientists hope to compare Earth and Mars, and better understand how a planet’s starting materials make it more or less likely to support life.
• There are other missions to Mars that are looking for life on the planet, which makes Insight’s mandate unique. It mostly boils down to the possibility that the atmosphere of Mars was once warm enough to allow water to flow through its surface, which could mean life existed there too.
• In fact, what makes scientists curious about Mars is the “defining question” of the existence of life on the planet, because of the possible presence of liquid water on it, either in the past or preserved in its subsurface.
• This question makes the planet more intriguing for scientists since “almost everywhere we find water on Earth, we find life.
• If Mars harboured a warmer atmosphere enabling water to flow in its ancient past (3.5-3.8 billion years ago), and if microbial life existed on it, it is possible that it exists in “special regions” even today.
• But regardless of life having existed on Mars or not, there is the idea that humans themselves might be able to inhabit the planet one day.
• Some missions studying the possibility of life on Mars include UAE’s Hope, China’s Tianwen-1, and NASA’s Perseverance.

THE INTERNAL SECURITY

                   6. SURVIVING SOLDIERS OF ‘OPERATION DUDHI’ FETED

THE CONTEXT: Back in 1991, the Assam Rifles had eliminated 72 militants in a single counter-insurgency operation in Jammu & Kashmir and the force on Monday felicitated the surviving heroes.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Assam Rifles battalions are well-known for their valour and self-sacrifice but the story of Operation Dudhi is the most inspiring. It will remain etched in the annals of Assam Rifles’ history.
• The operation, undertaken by the battalion during its tenure in Jammu & Kashmir from 1990 to 1992, remains the most successful counter-insurgency operation conducted by any security force to date. Not only the battalion had eliminated 72 militants but it also apprehended 13 others in that operation.
• Conducted on May 3, 1991, Operation Dudhi was undertaken by a column comprising a Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) and 14 other ranks under the command of Naib Subedar Padam Bahadur Chhetri. The column had moved from Battalion Headquarters, Chowkibal, for a routine patrol to check the winter vacated post of Dudhi, with the staging camp established at Bari Baihk.
• Located about 13 km away from the battalion headquarters, the camp was covered with five to six feet of snow.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

7. A HISTORY OF THE PULITZER PRIZE

THE CONTEXT: A team of four Indian photographers from Reuters news agency — slain photojournalist Danish Siddiqui, Adnan Abidi, Sanna Irshad Mattoo and Amit Dave — have won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for feature photography for their coverage of the Covid-19 crisis in India.

THE EXPLANATION:

• A member of the Ghadar Party in America, Indian American journalist Gobind Behari Lal, was the first from India to win the Pulitzer Prize for journalism in 1937.
• He won the award for reporting with four others, for their coverage of science at the tercentenary of Harvard University. A postgraduate from University of California, Berkeley, he also received the Padma Bhushan in 1969.
• The latter also won in the the 2020 Pulitzer in the Breaking News Photography category as part of the team from Reuters that covered the 2019-20 Hong Kong protests.
• In 2020, Channi Anand, Mukhtar Khan and Dar Yasin of Associated Press won the Pulitzer in the Feature Photography category “for striking images captured during a communications blackout in Kashmir depicting life in the contested territory as India stripped it of its semi-autonomy,”

Who was Joseph Pulitzer, after whom the awards are named?

• Born to a wealthy family of Magyar-Jewish origin in Mako, Hungary, in 1847, Joseph Pulitzer had a stint in the military before he built a reputation of being a “tireless journalist”.
• In the late 1860s he joined the German-language daily newspaper Westliche Post, and by 25 he had become a publisher. In 1978, he became the owner of St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Under him, the paper published several “investigative articles and editorials assailing government corruption, wealthy tax-dodgers, and gamblers”.
• In 1883, he also negotiated the purchase of The New York World, which was in financial straits, and elevated its circulation.
• In 1884, he was elected to the US House of Representatives from New York’s ninth district as a Democrat and entered office on March 4, 1885. During his tenure, he led a movement to place the newly gifted Statue of Liberty in New York City.

When were the Pulitzer awards instituted?

• The awards were instituted according to Pulitzer’s will, framed in 1904, where he made a provision for the establishment of the Pulitzer Prizes as an incentive to excellence.
• Pulitzer specified solely four awards in journalism, four in letters and drama, one for education, and five travelling scholarships.
• In his will, Pulitzer bestowed an endowment on Columbia of $2,000,000 for the establishment of a School of Journalism, one-fourth of which was to be “applied to prizes or scholarships for the encouragement of public service, public morals, American literature, and the advancement of education.After his death in 1911, the first Pulitzer Prizes were awarded in June, 1917.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 11th MAY 2022

Q. Consider the following statements about African swine fever (ASF):

1. It was first detected in Africa in the 1920s.
2. ASF is a threat to human health and can be transmitted from pigs to humans.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

ANSWER FOR THE 10TH OF MAY

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Cyclone ’Asani’ originated in May 2022 in Bay of Bengal.
• Name of the cyclone was given by Sri Lanka. It means ‘wrath’ in Sinhalese language.
• It did not make landfall, rather it weakened in Bay of Bengal.

1. True dharma is not religion, cult, or path READ MORE
2. Ensure life of dignity for specially abled READ MORE
3. Prayer and prayerfulness READ MORE

1. Long-term plan needed to combat heat waves READ MORE
2. Unscientific tree plantation programmes waste money and cause more harm than good READ MORE

1. The women who went missing in our demographic dividend READ MORE
2. Communal violence is not new to India. But something is different now READ MORE
3. Measuring the change: India should invest more to enhance the reliability of various socio-economic surveys READ MORE
4. NFHS-5 data shows literacy and delivery of services, not religion, influences fertility READ MORE

1. Induct more women into the police force READ MORE
2. Sedition law: Time-bound re-examination should be followed by repeal READ MORE
3. Common ground: Balanced judiciary-executive ties can help settle contentious issues READ MORE
4. Defections: Take away the Speaker’s powers READ MORE
5. How Do We Make the Wheels of the Police and Criminal Justice System Run Faster? READ MORE
6. Will a Common Undergrad Entrance Test Fix the Problems of India’s Education System? READ MORE
7. Opinion: Tackling India’s communalism challenges will require constitutional reform READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Committee on criminal law reforms recommended amendments to sedition law READ MORE
2. The grim forewarnings of a global study on birds READ MORE
3. Explained: What is a ‘marsquake’, and what causes it? READ MORE
4. Explained: A history of the Pulitzer Prize; and the Indians who have won it READ MORE
5. Surviving soldiers of ‘Operation Dudhi’ feted READ MORE
6. Future looms dark for 48% of bird species READ MORE
7. Data | How much of Europe’s gas comes from Russia? READ MORE

Main Exam 

GS Paper- 1

1. The women who went missing in our demographic dividend READ MORE
2. Communal violence is not new to India. But something is different now READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Induct more women into the police force READ MORE
2. Sedition law: Time-bound re-examination should be followed by repeal READ MORE
3. Common ground: Balanced judiciary-executive ties can help settle contentious issues READ MORE
4. Defections: Take away the Speaker’s powers READ MORE
5. How Do We Make the Wheels of the Police and Criminal Justice System Run Faster? READ MORE
6. Will a Common Undergrad Entrance Test Fix the Problems of India’s Education System? READ MORE
7. Opinion: Tackling India’s communalism challenges will require constitutional reform READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. Measuring the change: India should invest more to enhance the reliability of various socio-economic surveys READ MORE
2. NFHS-5 data shows literacy and delivery of services, not religion, influences fertility READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Ukraine conflict won’t make Biden abandon Indo-Pacific strategy READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Control inflation by acting on liquidity: Inflation in India cannot be described just as ‘cost-push’; an abundance of liquidity has been an important factor READ MORE
2. Power sector needs attention for recovery READ MORE
3. Textile in trouble: Govt must revisit the GM policy READ MORE
4. Modi govt’s coal reforms go beyond the current crisis. It transforms India’s energy security READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Long-term plan needed to combat heat waves READ MORE
2. Unscientific tree plantation programmes waste money and cause more harm than good READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. True dharma is not religion, cult, or path READ MORE
2. Ensure life of dignity for specially abled READ MORE
3. Prayer and prayerfulness READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘Inflation in India cannot be described just as ‘cost-push’.’ With reference to this statement, Explain the contemporary inflation-growth dynamics in India.
2. Discuss the importance of socio-economic survey in governance. Why India should invest more to enhance the reliability of various socio-economic surveys?
3. How far do you agree with this view that for the anti-defection law to be effective, the power to decide on disqualification cases should be vested in an independent authority? Anlayse your view.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Nuclear weapons offer us nothing but a balance of terror, and a balance of terror is still terror.
• Inflation in India cannot be described just as ‘cost-push’; an abundance of liquidity has been an important factor.
• If we want to control inflation, action on liquidity is very much needed with a concomitant rise in the interest rate on deposits and loans.
• India should invest more to enhance the reliability of various socio-economic surveys.
• India has achieved the replacement rate for its population. Now, ‘unmet need’ for family planning tools must be provided for.
• There is enough evidence to suggest that India’s demographic dividend is not playing out like it was expected to. While women are getting more educated and having fewer babies, they are not taking up paid jobs.
• Early warning systems, heat-proof shelters and major afforestation are of vital need to reduce heat wave fatalities.
• The judiciary and the executive appear to be looking for a mutually acceptable method of dealing with issues on which opinions are divided.
• Land acquisition for coal mines has had a complicated history in India. But Present govt’s reforms pave the way for a paradigm shift in energy security.
• The common entrance exam will determine the experience of learning, especially in schools with limited resources, rather than addressing issues of access, equity and social justice.
• The current system places too much power in the hands of the majority. A diverse nation should opt for a US model of secularism and decentralised governments.

50-WORD TALK

• Punjab is inured to stray incidents. But police intelligence headquarters hit with a rocket-propelled grenade is unprecedented. The usual suspects want to relight fires Punjab extinguished by 1993. It’s important that the state and central governments work together to counter this. Instead, unfortunately, they are at war with each other.
• Apart from coal supply, the main issue preventing the power sector from becoming viable and profitable is the fact that power distribution companies are not making payments to power-generating firms. The undeniable fact is that state govts are not prepared to levy viable user charges on power from most of their constituents, especially farmers. Every election brings more promises of free power which in turn make the discoms less and less viable.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

[WpProQuiz 220]

THE CONTEXT: The Country Reports on Human Rights were released by the US Secretary of State on 12 April 2022. The report on India has flagged concerns over arbitrary arrests and detentions, extra-judicial killings, violence against religious minorities, curbs on free expression and media, including unjustified prosecution of journalists. This article primarily focuses on press freedom in India and concerns issues raised in the report.

THE REPORT: The report is prepared by the US Department of State and submitted each year to the US Congress it is retrospective in nature and contains a country-wise discussion of the state of the internationally recognised individual, civil, political, and worker rights, as set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international agreements.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE REPORT

ARBITRARY ARREST AND DETENTION: Indian law prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention but both occurred during the year, with police using “special security laws to postpone judicial reviews of arrests. Pre-trial detention was arbitrary and lengthy, sometimes even exceeding the duration of the sentence given to those convicted.

VIOLATIONS OF PRIVACY: Citing media reports on journalists being targeted for surveillance through the Pegasus malware, the report flagged violations of privacy by government authorities, including the use of technology to arbitrarily or unlawfully surveil or interfere with the privacy of individuals.

CURBS ON FREE EXPRESSION AND MEDIA: The report highlighted instances in which the government or actors considered close to the government allegedly pressured or harassed media outlets critical of the government, including through online trolling. It detailed the government’s order of February-2021 directing Twitter to block accounts of journalists covering protests against the three (later repealed) farm laws.

ON FREEDOM OF ASSOCIATION: The report highlighted the cases of Amnesty International India, whose assets were frozen by the Enforcement Directorate, and the suspension of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) license of Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) for alleged violations.

THE REPORT AND THE PRESS FREEDOM IN INDIA

• The report systematically lists cases where freedom of the press was endangered by government and non-government actors.
• The report noted that international watchdogs including Freedom House and Human Rights Watch had also documented a downslide in India’s application of democratic rights for the media and an increase in continuous harassment.
• There were also cases, especially in states, of journalists being killed or targeted by vested interests due to their professional work, it says.
• In June 2021, a journalist for the newspaper Kampu Mail was killed by two gunmen in Uttar Pradesh, allegedly for his investigative reports into illegal sand mining.
• The UNESCO director-general Audrey Azoulay had also taken cognizance and asked authorities to end “gunpoint censorship”.
• The report also mentions the arrest of comedian Munawar Faruqui and four other persons for allegedly offending religious sentiments with jokes that he did not even deliver but planned to perform.
• The report also noted that the World Press Freedom Index 2021 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described India as “very dangerous for journalists” with the rank of 142 among 180 countries.
• Further, the report listed that government officials at both local and national levels were involved in “intimidating critical media outlets through physical harassment and attacks, pressuring owners, targeting sponsors, encouraging frivolous lawsuits, and in some areas blocking communication services, such as mobile telephones and the internet, and constraining freedom of movement”.

AN ANALYSIS OF THE REPORT

• Citing media reports on journalists being targeted for surveillance through the Pegasus malware, the report flagged violations of privacy by government authorities. The report was also critical of the government’s involvement in allegedly pressuring or harassing the media outlets critical of the government while noting that the government generally respected the right to freedom of expression.
• Though there are instances of the alleged government pressure on the media houses and even there have been circumstances that warrant courts cautioning the media about the manner of its reportage. However, the general view is that the public has a right to know and it is the duty of the media to disseminate the information. The court in various instances took cognizance of the media reports and directed the state machinery to do the needful.
• The USA is entitled to have views; India also posted its strongest repudiation against America for constantly pontificating on human rights and press freedom.

PRESS FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY

MAKING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE: Free Media makes people question the decisions of the government and make it accountable. It conveys the people’s needs and desires to government bodies, making informed decisions and strengthening society as a result.

VOICE OF THE MARGINALISED: The free media by being the voice of the masses empowers them with the right to express opinions.

FREE EXCHANGE OF IDEAS: A free exchange of ideas, free exchange of information and knowledge, debating, and expression of different viewpoints are important for the smooth functioning of democracy. A free press can inform citizens of their leaders’ successes or failures.

FOURTH PILLAR OF DEMOCRACY: Due to these attributes, the Media can be rightly considered as the fourth pillar of democracy, the other three being legislature, executive, and judiciary.

THREATS TO FREEDOM OF PRESS

BIASED MEDIA: Corporate and political power has overwhelmed large sections of the media, both print and visual, which leads to vested interests and destroys freedom.

FAKE NEWS: The government’s pressure in the name of regulations, the bombardment of fake news, and the influence of social media are dangerous for the occupation.

PAID NEWS: Corruption-paid news, advertorials, and fake news are threats to free and unbiased media.

ATTACK AGAINST JOURNALISTS: The security of journalists is the biggest issue, killings, and assaults on Journalists covering sensitive issues are very common. Reports such as ‘Freedom in the World 2021 (Freedom House, US)’, ‘2020 Human Rights Report (US State Department)’, and ‘Autocratisation Goes Viral (V-Dem Institute, Sweden)’ have all highlighted the intimidation of journalists in India.

CENSORSHIP BY THE STATE:

• The political leaders encourage censorship of media. Various efforts are made to control and contain media through stringent norms and regulations.
• The IT Rules 2021 force digital news publishers and video streaming services to adhere to a three-tier structure of regulation. It will have a government committee at its apex. It is feared that the new rules will have implications for freedom of expression and the right to information as:
• I&B Ministry is entrusted to formulate an oversight mechanism and establish an inter-departmental committee for hearing grievances. This body will also have censorship and blocking powers.
• The regulation will be done by a body composed of bureaucrats who might perform discretionary censorship thereby enhancing political control.

SEDITION LAW: Arbitrary use Section 124A of IPC under which sedition is punishable by life imprisonment endangers the freedom of journalists. This leads to fear among journalists to work freely.

POLITICAL INFLUENCE: Corporate and political power has overwhelmed large sections of the media, both print and visual, which leads to the promotion of biased views and vested interests thereby harming the very nature and mandate of free journalism.

HOW JUSTIFIED ARE THE OBSERVATIONS MADE IN THE REPORT?

ARTICLE 19 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA: The Indian Constitution guarantees freedom of speech and expression under Article 19, which deals with ‘Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech, etc. Freedom of the press is not expressly protected by the Indian legal system but it is implicitly protected under article 19(1)(a) of the constitution. However, Freedom of the press is also not absolute. A law could impose reasonable restrictions on the exercise of this right explicitly mentioned under Article 19(2).

ROMESH THAPPAR v. STATE OF MADRAS, 1950: The Supreme Court observed that freedom of the press lay at the foundation of all democratic organisations and was of the opinion that Constitution framers choose to not include the word “Sedition” in Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India which shows that “criticism of Government, exciting disaffection or bad feelings towards it, is not to be regarded as a justifying ground for restricting the freedom of expression and of the press unless it is such as to undermine the security of or tend to overthrow the State.”

VINOD DUA v. UNION OF INDIA: The Supreme Court said that “Every journalist is entitled to the protection under the Kedar Nath Singh case (which defined the ambit of the offence of sedition under Section 124A IPC).”

• In Kedar Nath Singh (1962), five judges of the Supreme Court made it clear that “allegedly seditious speech and expression may be punished only if the speech is an ‘incitement’ to ‘violence’, or ‘public disorder’”.

SELF REGULATION AND MEDIA ETHICS:

• Media in India is free and self-regulated with no state interference.
• The concept of Self-regulation is a voluntary act on the part of an individual media professional as well as a media organisation. It is not imposed by any external agency therefore it carries more credibility in the eyes of the public.
• Self-regulation ensures that the media can operate independently which is in the interest of the media as well as its different stakeholders and the audience.
• To facilitate ethical conduct, a number of self-regulatory mechanisms exist for the Indian media such as codes of ethics and the Press Council of India.
• Organisations like News Broadcasters Standards Authority (NBSA) and Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) have been set up as an internal self-regulatory mechanism for television (news and entertainment) respectively.

VIBRANT DIGITAL NEWS ECOSYSTEM:

• In the past few years, India has witnessed a plethora of vibrant online news broadcasting organisations. With the public looking beyond mainstream media for reports from the ground, independent digital platforms are emerging as a source of credible news.
• While digital media has helped amplify local issues and movements, its emergence has also turned the lens on issues concerning vulnerable communities, remote regions, and the environment, subjects that many sections of the mainstream media might have maintained a distance from.

JUDICIARY TO THE RESCUE

• In April 2022, the Delhi High Court quashed the lookout circular issued by the Enforcement Directorate against journalist Rana Ayyub on the ground of it being devoid of merits as well as infringing her human right to travel abroad and freedom of speech and expression.
• In March 2022, the Supreme Court stayed the Central government’s decision to revoke the security clearance of Kerala-based news and current affairs TV channel Media One “on the basis of intelligence inputs which are sensitive and secretive in nature”.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Legislation: Similar to the Epidemic Diseases (Amendment) Act, 2020 which provides protection to the healthcare service personnel from the ‘act of violence, and the Whistleblower Protection Act, 2014 which provides adequate safeguards against victimization of the person making such complaints, the country needs a more detailed law regarding the media to protect not only the freedom of expression and speech but also journalists’ safety.
• Better regulation: Efforts must be made to enable regulations that would lower the barriers to media ownership and reduce the concentration of media ownership.
• Strengthening the justice system: Strengthening the courts, the police, the justice system, and the rule of law is important to provide adequate protection for journalists.
• Incentivization: Government must Institute awards and other forms of recognition for excellence in watchdog reporting.
• Independent agencies: There is a need to establish independent press councils; media watch groups, ombudsmen, and other media self‐regulatory bodies autonomous from the government.
• International Reports: Reports from international watchdogs such as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch shall also be used as a mirror to reflect upon the lacunas and failures and not just a reason for rebuke.

THE CONCLUSION: The Indian government has emphasised that the Indian Constitution provides for adequate safeguards under various statutes for ensuring the protection of free voice even for journalists. Expressing disaffection or bad feelings towards the government is not to be regarded as a justifying ground for restricting the freedom of expression and of the press. Furthermore, the media houses and journalists should also be mindful of the manner of their reportage in their duty to disseminate the information.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTIONS:

1. “Various reports have highlighted the intimidation of journalists in India and India’s ranking on various indices such as World Press Freedom Index has been falling in past few years.” Elaborate on the reasons for the same and suggest measures to strengthen the freedom of the fourth pillar of democracy.
2. “US-India relations share strength and comfort level to deal with differences even if the two sides may not agree on all issues.” Examine-in context of Country Reports on Human Rights, 2021.