-Mohd.Naushad Khan
India Islamic Cultural Center (IICC), under its initiative IICC Dialogues, hosted a public meeting titled “State of Media in India” on Saturday evening. The event marked World Press Freedom Day and featured some of India’s top journalists who are known for dissent and alternate media voices.
Panelists included Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire, Ashutosh, co-founder of SatyaHindi, and veteran journalist-author Urmilesh.
Siddharth Varadarajan said that though Narendra Modi became PM in 2014, his image from before that cannot be erased. After the 2002 Gujarat riots, Modi had told international media that his only regret was failing to manage the media. Since then, said Varadarajan, Modi has succeeded in controlling it. He cited examples like the targeting of journalists in Kashmir and cases like Siddique Kappan, saying these were state-led actions to intimidate the press.
Varadarajan added that people now prefer digital platforms over mainstream media, which only spreads hate and fuels Hindu-Muslim division.
Ashutosh slammed the media narrative of “Amritkal”, saying poison of hate has spread across institutions. He blamed the State post-2014, not just the media. By simply observing benches, one can predict court judgments, he said, also criticizing the Election Commission.
He noted that previous power changes—during the eras of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, H.D. Deve Gowda, and I.K. Gujral—never caused such a shift. The change from Manmohan Singh to Narendra Modi was not routine; it resembled 1947. He said it marked the rise of Hindutva and a shift toward a Hindu Rashtra, changing the very nature of the Indian State.
Urmilesh, highlighting the Media Freedom Index, said that democracy and media freedom are closely linked. Strong democracies have free media. He urged support for independent media platforms to protect democracy.
The event was moderated by senior journalist and author Saba Naqvi, and conducted by Iqbal Ahmed of BBC.
