New York: US State department released the 202 country report on Human Rights. The report includes 68 page chapter on India highlighting the harassment of media outlets, declining press freedom and extra-judicial killings in Kashmir.
· US State department released the 2020 country report on Human Rights which observed that “lack of accountability for official misconduct persisted at all levels of government, contributing to widespread impunity”.
· There have been several instances of critical media outlets being pressured or harassed by the Indian government and the overall press freedom has also declined.
· Indian authorities used security, defamation, sedition and hate speech laws as well as contempt of court charges to curb critical voices in media.
· Indian government also withheld public sector advertising from media outlets that criticized the government, causing some outlets to practice self-censorship.
