Indian government under fire for cases against journalists who reported farmers tractor rally

NEW DELHI – Indian journalist bodies have condemned the filing of sedition charges against six editors and journalists for reporting the farmers’ tractor rally in the Indian capital on January 26, India’s Republic Day.

The Indian government had filed sedition charges against six journalists and Congress MP Shashi Tharoor for ‘misreporting’ and ‘spreading disharmony’ on Republic Day when a tractor rally ended in violent clashes between the protesting farmers and police.

A protest meeting in New Delhi that was attended by a number of journalist bodies, including the Press Club of India, Editors Guild of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Delhi Union of Journalists, and Indian Journalists Union (IJU) lambasted the government for the cases against the journalists for merely doing their jobs.

Delhi Union of Journalists President SK Pande said everyone in India including journalists, farmers, trade unions, artists, writers, and even intellectuals are facing a lockdown of the mouth.

India, which claims to be the biggest democracy in the world, is coming under great criticism for its recent actions that are sheer violation of the right to free speech and freedom of the press.