Noise on suppression of press freedom and free speech has not yet reached a crescendo. This noise has just begun in India with Left parties, their frontal organisations and Opposition alliance partners going for the kill. Few activists from these political formations hit the streets on Wednesday protesting a probe against the alleged China-funded portal NewsClick that reportedly laundered money to bankroll the China ‘propaganda’ vehicle.
Portal’s founder Prabir Purkayastha and his human resources head were rounded up by the special operations unit of Delhi Police after having questioned over a dozen writers, journalists, and consultants and seized their devices for further investigation.
The big question therefore is, why all the noise on purported suppression of press freedom in India? Well, this is not the first time that such a false narrative has been peddled or reported in domestic and foreign media outlets.
Two big charges against NewsClick and its front-enders are that the organisation worked as a ‘propaganda vehicle’ for China. The second serious charge is that foreign funds were routed through a millionaire businessman Neville Roy Singham to take forward the nefarious Chinese Communist Party agenda in India. Well, only an in-depth investigation will bring out the facts and stick out from the organised noise of fringe Left parties that claim to protect, cherish and embellish Mao’s jinxed political thought.
Firstly, is it a crime to investigate possible wrongdoing by anyone concerned with NewsClick? The probe was launched by Delhi Police, Enforcement Directorate and other agencies only after having taken cognisance of ‘Chinese Propaganda machine’ related reports that appeared in The New York Times. These very political formations and self-styled proponents of the ‘free press’ that hit the streets have sworn by the NYT on more than one occasion to hit out at the Modi government. Now, what’s wrong with investigating NewsClick based on newspaper reports and the Enforcement Directorate’s own research?
The New York Times had pointed to a global web of Chinese propaganda that involved American non-profits and stretched from Chicago to Shanghai. This web, as per NYT, had NewsClick as an active participant. Now, why can’t the law enforcement agencies do their job of enforcing probity in public life, negate possible China propaganda campaigns and stem the laundering of foreign funds that were intended ‘against the Indian state’? Is this tantamount to suppressing press freedom? Or, is the initiation of an inquiry anti-democratic by any stretch of the imagination?
It’s rather surprising that newspapers like The Hindu and The Indian Express, which were at the forefront of investigating the Bofors scam in the early ‘80s and ‘90s, editorialised the police action on NewsClick as smacking of suppressing press freedom. And, it is rather laughable. Crackdown against suspected crime by elements inimical to Bharat’s interests or exposing NewsClick handlers in the US and China definitely cannot be equated with Indira Gandhi’s decision to suspend basic citizens’ rights, impose an internal emergency and curb press freedom in 1975 after an adversarial verdict of Allahabad High Court.
Like any other individual or organisation, don’t journalists have a basic responsibility to submit before law enforcement agencies seeking to get the truth? Making hue and cry of a probe may not drown the truth about irregularities at NewsClick. At best, the portal is a scrappy outlet that used invectives and propaganda to try and corner the Narendra Modi government. And it gained prominence only after The New York Times investigation linked it to a network that funded pro-China campaigns.
Similar noise and public outrage was on show after BBC India operations were scrutinised for violation of Indian taxation laws. Tax sleuths’ assessment forced the BBC to admit that it had under-reported revenues, and profits and thereby evaded taxes. Reuters, Hindustan Times and The Mint newspapers reported that the BBC under-reported incomes worth Rs 40 crore to evade taxes.
Well, income tax assessment of UK government-funded BBC accounts was blown out of proportion and several of these very propagandists had jumped in to cite suppression of press freedom. There was no plausible explanation for how enforcement of domestic tax laws was the same as suppression of press freedom. The big question in the first place was how a foreign government-funded media organisation gathered the courage to evade taxes. Certainly, India is neither a banana republic nor a subservient outpost of the erstwhile British imperialist rulers.
When Newslaundry, yet another website, was surveyed by Income Tax officials in 2021, similar charges of ‘intimidation and press freedom’ were heaped against law enforcement agencies. The rule of law is what matters. Whether it is Bharat Samachaar or Dainik Bhaskar, media organisations need to be upfront given their distinct responsibility to readers, who go by what appears in the media and the country.
If thousands of websites, newspapers, TV channels, and social media handles owned by Indians, domestic corporations and foreign collaborations have been freely undertaking news operations, then where’s this suppression of press freedom? Seeking accountability is not equivalent to suppression of press freedom and rights.
Newspapers, magazines and other media outlets in India like elsewhere have taken an independent editorial line in sync with their beliefs, understanding and assessment of a government, its policies and political ideologies. Editorial positioning of a media organisation is distinctly different from resorting to irregularities, wrongdoing, anti-India propaganda or going with the foes.
Let’s not equate press freedom with irregularities and anti-India tacit operations. Freedom comes with responsibility.
The author is Director & Chief Executive of New Delhi-based non-partisan think tank, Centre for Integrated and Holistic Studies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18’s views.
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