Defending the defenders initiative
Human rights defenders and activists have come under concerted attack and repression in India in the recent times. In the current state of surveillance, suppression and harassment of dissenters, journalists and social activists, it is important to collectivize the various struggles and resist the oppression.
This is especially pertinent in the context of current political regime which is using all powers at its disposal to intimidate dissenters. RTI activists are living under threat of death and false cases. Journalists are facing pressures from their owners and editors to desist from doing critical stories.
The pressures range from threats of physical assault and sexual violence against women journalists, to financial threats of losing their livelihood, to shrinking democratic space. In addition to the same, vulnerable groups like Dalits and Muslims are being severely marginalized and repressed by the state and security agencies. The mass incarceration of Dalit, Muslim and minority activists based on false terrorism and national security cases has led to widespread fear, frustration and trepidation.
Human rights activists in India have also come under repeated attacks in recent times. Right to information (RTI) activists have been killed and a number of civil rights activists have been implicated and imprisoned in false cases using oppressive draconian laws. There is an urgent need to protect and defend the human rights activists/institutions, especially journalists in India today.
Despite the growth in the number of newspapers, TV channels and increased access to the web space; freedom of speech and expression which is a fundamental right enshrined in the Indian Constitution (from which the freedom of the press and media derives) is being greatly compromised in India. Three powerful forces – the state, corporate interests, and religious/nationalist extremist forces – seek to abridge, compromise and muzzle the free voice of the media.
The attempts to throttle the freedom of expression also continue. Extreme right-wing organizations have attacked media offices frequently in the past few years. Prominent Journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her house in Karnataka. Senior Journalist Malini Subramanium was attacked in her house in Chhattisgarh.
Senior journalists like Sai Reddy in Chhattsigarh, Lenin Kumar in Orissa, have also spent several years in prison for raising their voices against the atrocities of their respective state police and governments. Seema Azad[journalist] was in judicial custody in UP in 2010 and in West Bengal Swapan Das Gupta (a prominent journalist) died while in custody in 2009. While powerful forces file cases against journalists, they receive scant support from media organizations. Stringers are intimidated, harassed by petty government officials and their organisations and fellow journalists too are helpless to support them.
The condition of social media users and bloggers in India is no better. 125 million Indians use the Internet; 60 million Indians use Facebook; and India ranks first in the number of Facebook users ahead of the U.S. and Brazil. However the civil rights of the social media users and bloggers are increasingly in the firing line.
Read our publications >
News coverage on the attacks on journalists and human rights defenders in India >
- Gauri Lankesh murder case: Key accused points to leader of Hindutva outfit
- Gauri Lankesh was anti-Hindu, had to be killed: Chilling confession of journalist’s murderer
- NDTV’s Ravish Kumar says frequency of death threats increased, calls it ‘all well organised’
- CBI refuses to take Tripura journalists murder case
- After Jignesh Mevani, JNU student leader Umar Khalid claims of receiving death threat from fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari
- Reporters assaulted by paramilitary officers in India
- World Press Freedom Index: India down two ranks to 138, one place above Pakistan
- After Ravish Kumar, Rana Ayyub, Journalist Barkha Dutt says she is under threat from people within Indian government
- Jharkhand Journalist Found Dead in Palamu Health Centre
- India: 20 Internet Shutdowns in 2017
- From internet blackouts to violent attacks, India & South Asia saw new threats to free speech & expression online in 2017
- Doubts raised on Pune police’s PM assassination claim against Dalit activists
- UP journalist death: Son of scribe moves SC for CBI probe
- Wondering where India’s version of American Civil Liberties Union is?
- Denial of certification to 2 films: HC seeks Centre,CBFC reply
- Filmmaker seeks Censor Board certificate for documentary
- Mihir Desai: There is a Strong Attack on Human Rights From Modi Govt
- The Mysterious Death of an Indian Muckraker
- Disappeared, denied but not forgotten: IPT hears testimonies of kin of victims of enforced disappearances in Punjab
- Find us a house, we are also victims of war: Hounded Bastar lawyers
- Life and Death: Defending Land Rights in India a Dangerous Job
- India desperately needs a witness protection law. Just look at the Asaram Bapu case
- India’s civil society comes out in support of Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand
- Why activists live in fear of govt and Maoists
- Threat and actual physical assault of journalists and human rights defenders, in many cases leading up to murder for carrying out the duty
- Illegal arrest or detention of human rights defenders, RTI activists and journalists
- Increased number of defamation and sedition cases against journalists and human rights defenders who dare to question the authority or criticise it in any way
- Use of blackouts and other strategies as weapons of mass intimidation to foster the climate of self-censorship
Slideshow - PIL's and Cases
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What HRLN Does
The initiative aims to create a nationwide network of journalists and other human rights defenders working on different issues. In this regard, the centre helps various local and regional organizations is conducting consultation and preliminary meetings to discuss the modalities of defending the defenders at local and regional levels. Our activities include emergency response, extending solidarity, issuing action alerts, contacting Human Rights Commissions, providing legal aid/guidance, medical help and documentation of the cases of attacks on HRDs.
