How many Indian journalists have to die before the government acts?

Dear Friend,

Less than three weeks after Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged India to put press freedom at the center of its democratic debate, three journalists were viciously murdered for doing their job this week. This does not include attacks that have left journalists wounded or soldiers who target journalists working for local media outlets with the central government’s tacit consent.

This increasingly violent trend against journalists has led to a consistent drop in India’s ranking on RSF’s World Press Freedom Index for the past two years.

Crimes against freedom of the press like these are why Reporters Without Borders is working to protect journalists around the world, and we need your help.

An Indian journalist holds a placard during a protest against the murder of journalists this week. SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP

“The endemic violence affecting reporters in India has reached unparalleled levels in the past four years and the impunity so often enjoyed by those responsible sustains an unbearable security environment for journalism,” says Daniel Bastard, the head of RSF’s Asia-Pacific desk. “Concrete measures must be taken at the federal level to protect journalists.”

We are so thankful for the generous individuals like you who have helped us enact the advocacy efforts the reporters of India deserve, and who support our larger scale efforts to lobby the UN for a Special Representative for journalists’ safety to help protect journalists investigating stories which put them in danger.

Thank you so much for your support. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress in the fight for freedom of the press in India and around the world.

Sincerely,