The country’s ranking has slipped to 159 out of 180 countries, according to a report released by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders. It's neighboring country Nepal is at 74. However other neighboring countries are in the similar range e.g. Bangladesh is at 165, Pakistan is at 152 and Srilanka is at 150.
“The situation has gone from ‘problematic’ to ‘very bad’ in three other countries: Tajikistan down to 155th, India down to 159th and Turkey down to155th.
Even Taliban-led Afghanistan and crisis-hit Pakistan fared better at 152 and 150 respectively. Norway topped the ranking.
India’s slide has come amid many developments in the country that may indicate a shrinking of space for free media.
For instance, the British broadcaster BBC is under severe pressure from prime minister Narendra Modi’s government. It was subjected to income tax raids and a forex-related probe after it carried a documentary scathing of Modi for his alleged role in the Gujarat 2002 in 2023.
If big media like BBC has trouble in India, how about the situation of small medias and bloggers?
