Unpacking the State of Freedom of Press in India

India is currently ranked at 142 out 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index.

A month after taking office in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India's "democracy will not sustain if we can't guarantee freedom of speech and expression".

However, 8 years on, the freedom of one of the fundamental pillars of democracy – the press – has taken a nosedive. In 2015, the World Press Freedom Index, which is compiled annually by Reporters Without Borders, ranked India at 136 out of 180 countries. This number in 2021 reached the all-time low of 142.

While India has not slipped further down the index, Reporters Without Borders continues to classify India as “bad” for journalism and termed it as one of the “world’s most dangerous countries for journalists trying to do their job properly.”