India drops to 140th rank in press freedom, lowest since 2002
Press Trust of India | 30-Jan 17:59 PM
Washington: India has dropped nine places to 140th rank in the list of 179 countries in the latest World Press Freedom Index, which its authors said is the lowest for the "world's biggest democracy" since 2002.
"In Asia, India (140th, -9) is at its lowest since 2002 because of increasing impunity for violence against journalists and because Internet censorship continues to grow," Reporters Without Borders said in its World Press Freedom Index for the year 2013.
"China (173rd, +1) shows no sign of improving. Its prisons still hold many journalists and netizens, while increasingly unpopular Internet censorship continues to be a major obstacle to access to information."
In 2012, the list was topped by three European countries, Finland, Netherlands and Norway. Turkmenistan, North Korea and Eritrea continue to be at the bottom of the list as has been in the last three years.
"The Press Freedom Index published by Reporters Without Borders does not take direct account of the kind of political system but it is clear that democracies provide better protection for the freedom to produce and circulate accurate news and information than countries where human rights are flouted," Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Christophe Deloire said.
"In dictatorships, news providers and their families are exposed to ruthless reprisals, while in democracies news providers have to cope with the media's economic crises and conflicts of interest. While their situation is not always comparable, we should pay tribute to all those who resist pressure whether it is aggressively focused or diffuse," he said.
According to the report, in almost all parts of the world, influential countries including India that are regarded as "regional models" have fallen in the index.
Observing that there has been general decline in freedom of information in South Asia, the report said the Indian subcontinent was the Asian region that saw the sharpest deterioration in the climate for those involved in news and information in 2012.
"In the Maldives, which crashed to 103rd place (-30), the events that led to the resignation of President Mohammed Nasheed in February led to violence and threats against journalists in state television and private media outlets regarded as pro-Nasheed by the coup leaders," it said.
In India, the "world's biggest democracy", the authorities insist on censoring the Web and imposing more and more taboos, while violence against journalists goes unpunished and the regions of Kashmir and Chhattisgarh become increasingly isolated," it said.
2013 World Press Freedom Index
1. Finland 2. Netherlands 3. Norway 4. Luxembourg 5. Andorra 6. Denmark
7. Liechtenstein 8. New Zealand 9. Iceland 10. Sweden 11. Estonia
12. Austria 13. Jamaica 14. Switzerland 15. Ireland 16. Czech Republic
17. Germany 18. Costa Rica 19. Namibia 20. Canada 21. Belgium 22. Poland
23. Slovakia 24. Cyprus 25. Cape Verde 26. Australia 27. Uruguay 28. Portugal
29. United Kingdom 30. Ghana 31. Surinam 32. United States 33. Lithuania
34. OECS 35. Slovenia 36. Spain 37. France 38. El Salvador 39. Latvia
40. Botswana 41. Papua New Guinea 42. Romania 43. Niger 44. Trinidad and Tobago
45. Malta 46. Burkina Faso 47. Taiwan 48. Samoa 49. Haiti 50. South Korea
51. Comoros 52. South Africa 53. Japan 54. Argentina 55. Moldova 56. Hungary
57. Italy 58. Hong Kong 59. Senegal 60. Chile 61. Sierra Leone 62. Mauritius
63. Serbia 64. Croatia 65. Central African Republic 66. Tonga 67. Mauritania
68. Bosnia and Herzegovina 69. Guyana 70. Tanzania 71. Kenya 72. Zambia
73. Mozambique 74. Armenia 75. Malawi 76. Republic of the Congo 77. Kuwait
78. Nicaragua 79. Benin 80. Dominican Republic 81. Lesotho 82. Bhutan 83. Togo
84. Greece 85. Kosovo 86. Guinea 87. Bulgaria 88. Madagascar 89. Gabon
90. East Timor 91. Paraguay 92. Guinea-Bissau 93. Seychelles
94. Northern Cyprus 95. Guatemala 96. Ivory Coast 97. Liberia 98. Mongolia 99. Mali 100. Georgia 101. Lebanon 102. Albania 103. Maldives 104. Uganda
105. Peru 106. Kyrgyzstan 107. Fiji 108. Brazil 109. Bolivia 110. Qatar
111. Panama 112. Israel 113. Montenegro 114. United Arab Emirates 115. Nigeria
116. Republic of Macedonia 117. Venezuela 118. Nepal 119. Ecuador 120. Cameroon
121. Chad 122. Brunei 123. Tajikistan 124. South Sudan 125. Algeria 126. Ukraine
127. Honduras 128. Afghanistan 129. Colombia 130. Angola 131. Libya 132. Burundi
133. Zimbabwe 134. Jordan 135. Thailand 136. Morocco 137. Ethiopia 138. Tunisia
139. Indonesia 140. India 141. Oman 142. DR Congo
143. Cambodia 144. Bangladesh 145. Malaysia 146. Palestine 147. Philippines
148. Russia 149. Singapore 150. Iraq 151. Burma 152. Gambia 153. Mexico
154. Turkey 155. Swaziland 156. Azerbaijan 157. Belarus 158. Egypt 159. Pakistan
160. Kazakhstan 161. Rwanda 162. Sri Lanka 163. Saudi Arabia 164. Uzbekistan
165. Bahrain 166. Equatorial Guinea 167. Djibouti 168. Laos 169. Yemen
170. Sudan 171. Cuba 172. Vietnam 173. China 174. Iran 175. Somalia 176. Syria 177. Turkmenistan 178. North Korea 179. Eritrea