United Nations. Controversial Indian journalist Rana Ayyub, who writes for the American media, has called upon the world to pay attention to media freedom in India. He said this at a program sponsored by UNESCO and organized at the United Nations.
Raising questions on India’s democratic credentials and freedom of the press, he said at the United Nations General Assembly hall on Tuesday in a program organized on World Press Freedom Day, saying, it is important for the world to pay attention to India because we really do not talk much about India. And I really hope that you will do so in the days to come.
He said, when we talk about attacks on the press, we usually never look at India because India is seen as a land of democracy – syncretistic values and cultural pluralism.
Earlier, on the 30th anniversary of the World Press Freedom Day Global Conference, New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger criticized India, saying that in India, authorities have raided newsrooms and treated journalists like terrorists.
In countries where press freedom was strong, including the US, journalists now face systematic campaigns to undermine their credibility, he said. This is followed by attacks on the legal protections that protect their work.
Samantha Power, Administrator of the US government’s Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the launch of Reporters Shield, which aims to provide investigative journalists around the world with insurance against defamation lawsuits and legal threats that silence critical voices.
Ayyub, who works for The Washington Post, told the Dice of the General Assembly: I usually see world leaders talking about democratic values from this podium (and) some of us journalists who are watching them on TV They say, ‘Hey, you can be anything except a democrat.
Talking at length about the attack on press freedom, he said, “I am from India, the land of democracy, which prides itself on its democratic values. I love my country the most and that is why it becomes all the more important to me.
They claimed she was facing a legal battle through money laundering and tax evasion charges and for an undercover assignment in which she presented herself as a Hindu nationalist and carried eight cameras on her body. Had to face defamation cases.
He referred to the murder of journalist Gauri Lankeshwar in 2017, who had translated Rana Ayyub’s book into Kannada. He said that Gauri Lankesh had dismissed the threats as a paper tiger.
He said that he has been receiving threats of death and physical assault on social media and at his home.
He insisted that the Mumbai Police was indifferent, saying that the threat was only online.
Ayyub, who emphasized his Muslim identity, claimed that 200 million minority Muslims and lower caste people are still under constant attack in India even as the country prepares to host the G20 summit, which will be attended by world leaders. All the leaders will come to India and praise democracy.
It is noteworthy that the published list of speakers for the conference did not include anyone from China, or working in China or overseas Chinese.(IANS)
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