New Delhi: A gathering of journalists, editors, authors, civil society members, and human rights defenders convened at the Press Club of India on Thursday, to commemorate the first anniversary of the raids on NewsClick and to assert their solidarity with independent journalism. Organized by the Press Club of India, Delhi Union of Journalists, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, and Kerala Union of Working Journalists, the event focused on resisting increasing attacks on press freedom.
Prominent media figures at the meeting urged their colleagues to remain vigilant in the face of what they described as a systematic crackdown on independent journalism. The occasion marked one year since the raids on more than 70 journalists affiliated with NewsClick and the arrest of its founder-editor Prabir Purkayastha under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The day also coincided with the fourth year of Delhi journalist Siddique Kappan’s imprisonment under UAPA.
Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire, highlighted the Modi government’s efforts to control the media landscape since 2014.
“The first victory was ensuring that television media succumbed to official diktats. By 2016, much of television had become dull, uniform, and pro-establishment, except for NDTV,” he said.
Varadarajan emphasized that the legal actions against NDTV and other media platforms were part of a broader strategy to silence independent voices.
“These raids and false charges under UAPA and PSA are meant to crush dissent,” he added.
N. Ram, founder-editor of The Hindu, shared his message online, calling the raid on NewsClick a “military-style assault” and the lowest point for media freedom since the Emergency of 1975-77.
“This is a political story of an authoritarian regime at war with independent, progressive journalism,” Ram said, underscoring Prabir Purkayastha as a symbol of resistance against these attacks.
Author and journalist P. Sainath, in his online message, expressed concern over the rapid erosion of press freedom under the current regime. He called October 3 the anniversary of the resistance to arbitrary crackdowns on the media and extended his solidarity to journalists standing against such repressive measures.
Gautam Lahiri, President of PCI, opened the event by criticizing the lack of a national media policy, stating that both government and corporate entities are exploiting the media for their interests.
“This absence of policy has enabled the government to hound journalists, especially those who expose uncomfortable truths,” he said.
Prabir Purkayastha, founder of NewsClick, expressed gratitude for the solidarity he had received.
“This support has given me the courage to keep fighting,” he said.
Purkayastha revealed that the devices seized during the raids had yet to be returned, leaving them uncertain about the recovery of essential data and archives.
Following the event, a joint resolution was passed to continue peaceful and democratic resistance to the assault on freedom of speech and expression. The resolution emphasized that the right to work and profess one’s occupation is a constitutional right, and journalists must be allowed to practice their profession without intimidation. It further condemned the seizure of professional equipment without due process and the introduction of new amendments to the IT Act and labor codes that threaten press freedom and workers’ rights.
The event also featured speeches from senior journalists, including Neelu Vyas, Jaishankar Gupta from PCI, S.K. Pande of DUJ, T.K. Rajalakshmi from IWPC, and D. Dhanasumod from KUWJ. Sujata Madhok of DUJ coordinated the program.
The meeting concluded with a united call for journalists and media professionals to stand together against ongoing threats to their freedom and livelihood.
