On November 26, 1947, a little over three months after India’s independence, Mahatma Gandhi presciently cautioned that use of media by a ruling party for its own propaganda and image building would usher in dictatorship. He said this while dealing with a complaint that the Congress party was employing radio for broadcasting information about itself and its activities. “If the Congress uses the radio, etc., like this for its own propaganda, it is bound to bring about dictatorship in the end,” he warned.
https://thewire.in/media/press-freedom-under-modi-worse-than-during-emergency
During the 11 years of Modi’s regime, there has been no official proclamation of emergency, yet the status of media is worse than during the Emergency period of 1975-77. The essence of Mahatma Gandhi’s warning – that if the ruling party used media for propaganda it would lead to dictatorship – is being played out more viciously during Modi’s tenure, with adverse consequences for democracy and the Constitution.
In the press freedom index, India occupies the 151st position among 180 countries. This low ranking has been accompanied by coercive measures against journalists, many arrested using draconian laws. A news platform like NewsClick has faced raids by agencies including the police and the enforcement directorate.
by S N Sahu
26/06/2025