The Press Club of India (PCI) and the Indian Women Press Corps (IWPC) on Tuesday said attacks on press freedoms had seen an exponential rise and that India did not fare too well in this regard, ranking 150 out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by the Reporters Sans Frontières.
On World Press Freedom Day, the PCI said journalists had been incarcerated under draconian laws for flimsy reasons, and on some occasions, faced threat to their lives as well from "self-styled" custodians of iaw In the social media space.
"The freedom of the press is Integral to the functioning of a vibrant democracy. The media has to come together to reclaim its role towards realisation of this objective," they said in a joint statement.