– Mohd.Naushad Khan
Siddharth Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire, spoke at its 10th anniversary celebration on Monday evening at Jawahar Bhawan. The event was themed “Decade of Living Dangerously”.
He said The Wire has earned support from both young and old—ranging from students to grandparents. Light-heartedly, he acknowledged this diverse audience. He emphasized that The Wire remains firm despite recent attempts to silence it.
Just days before the event, the government blocked access to The Wire. Varadarajan called the action unconstitutional and promised to challenge it in court.
He recalled launching The Wire in 2015 out of concern that mainstream media was failing. He felt relying on advertisers or investors would hurt independence. He believed informed citizens would support real journalism. A decade later, he said these beliefs proved true. He credited readers, viewers, and donors for keeping the platform alive.
Reflecting on the past decade, he called it a time of constant attacks on press freedom in India. He said there were two main threats. First, from the state—through legal harassment, arrests, censorship, and surveillance. Second, from within the media—due to loss of professionalism and rise of communal, biased reporting.
He said digital media is a key target. New IT rules and proposals aim to let the government fact-check and silence critics. The Wire and others are challenging this in court.
He honoured four journalists who reflect the risks of independent journalism. Gauri Lankesh and Shujaat Bukhari were killed after online hate campaigns. Pawan Jaiswal and Zubair Ahmed faced false charges for reporting the truth. These cases show how fear and criminalization are used to stop honest journalism.
Despite this, he remains hopeful. He pointed to a growing group of independent platforms, freelancers, and YouTubers who speak the truth. He urged the public to keep supporting and donating to such efforts.
He ended by asking everyone to stay vocal and “keep the unmute button pressed”. He said only then can Naya Bharat reflect the voice of its people.
The program also featured a panel on truth-telling through film. It included directors Dinkar Banerjee, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Alankrita Shrivastava; actors Shahana Goswami, Shashank Arora; and documentary filmmaker Vani Subramanian.
The panel was moderated by The Wire’s Deputy Editor Jahnavi Sen. Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, National Affairs Editor, conducted the event. Ajoy Ashirwad, Political Editor, gave the vote of thanks.
