On January 2nd, 1881, a brave freedom fighter in Pune took a bold step in undermining the British authority in India. This freedom fighter recognised the power of the press and launched a weekly English newspaper called ‘The Mahratta’. This freedom fighter was none other than Bal Gangadhar Tilak. He launched The Mahratta to reach a wider, English-speaking audience to propagate his nationalist ideas, critique British policies, and advocate for swaraj. The Mahratta was established with his widely known newspaper ‘Kesari’, which was printed in Marathi, as a platform for radical ideas and bold calls for change. At around the same time, on the other side of the country in Chennai, another influential newspaper was launched by a group referred to as the "Triplicane Six," which included four law students and two teachers. This newspaper was ‘The Hindu’, which was established to protest British policies and promote a voice for Indian public opinion during a time of colonial rule. This is the proud legacy of the Indian press, which has always striven to serve the public.
To enable the press to serve public interests and be free from outside interference, the Press Council of India was established. The council has been a valuable moderator, protecting the press from intimidation, surveillance attempts and any outside dangers that threaten its integrity. On the other hand, the council has also taken significant steps to ensure that the press remains within ethical and legal thresholds. The council regularly hosts seminars and events on subjects like media ethics, the role of the media in a democracy, etc. The wide array of its functions enables the PCI to regulate and protect one of the most ferocious, dedicated and one of the oldest press in the world- The Indian press.
The Indian Press has been in danger many times throughout its long history. Right from its establishment, the press was persecuted by the British, who viewed it as a dangerous platform for anti-colonial and independent ideas. The Vernacular Press Act of 1878 introduced by the Viceroy Lord Lytton was a tyrannical law which enabled the British to ruthlessly censor the press. The persecution of the press continued to the very end of British rule in India. An era of welcome development and co-operation was ushered in after the Independence and the establishment of the Indian constitution, which guaranteed all citizens the right to freedom of speech and expression that included the press. As a result, the Press in India experienced a rapid expansion of print media in the early years after independence. Several prominent newspapers, including The Times of India, The Hindu, Hindustan Times, and The Indian Express, were established and became influential voices in the nation’s political discourse.
However, the darkest time in the history of the press was yet to come. On June 25th, 1975, the government announced a state of emergency, and overnight, the freedom of speech was suspended and the press was heavily censored. The Press Council of India was abolished. Under the Emergency, the government imposed strict control over the press through censorship, and to highlight this, some newspapers published blank pages in protest. The state of emergency was lifted in 1977, and the PCI was re-established in 1979. While the Emergency was lifted and the Indian press began rebuilding itself, the challenges were far from over.
Today, India ranks 159th in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index. The present administration has been a recipient of global criticism regarding the routine silencing of journalists and the press. A dangerous and hostile atmosphere has prevailed, with an average of two to three journalists allegedly killed due to their work every year. Journalists who are critical of the government sometimes fall prey to online harassment, intimidation, threats and physical attacks, as well as criminal prosecutions and arrests. The circulation of fake news, particularly those generated with the help of AI erode public trust, hence more and more people turn to streaming platforms for news. A combination of these factors undermine the core functions of the press, which are to educate the public as an informed and objective entity.
The National Press day is not a mere commemoration of the establishment of the Press Council of India, it's a reminder of the unforgiving origins of the Indian press, and the importance of preserving its Independence and Integrity. In the words of the French philosopher Albert Camus, “A free press can be good or bad, but, most certainly, without freedom, the press will never be anything but bad.”
-Yogiraj Kolhatkar
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