India ranks 136 out of 180 countries in press freedom

In the country section, the report states 'Threat from Modi’s nationalism' as the concern for the freedom of the press in India.

The murder of journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bengaluru brings to notice the ranking of India in the Global Press Freedom Index.

India was ranked 136 out of 180 counties in the report released by Reporters without Borders in 2017. In fact, India was in 133rd position in 2016, slipped three notches below the last year's ranking.

In the country section, the report states 'Threat from Modi's nationalism' as the concern for the freedom of the press in India.

''With Hindu nationalists trying to purge all manifestations of "anti-national" thought from the national debate, self-censorship is growing in the mainstream media. Journalists are increasingly the targets of online smear campaigns by the most radical nationalists, who vilify them and even threaten physical reprisals,'' media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said.

"Journalists working for local media outlets are often the targets of violence by soldiers acting with the central government's tacit consent.''

It said, "Prosecutions are also used to gag journalists who are overly critical of the government, with some prosecutors invoking Section 124a of the penal code, under which "sedition" is punishable by life imprisonment."

Amongst South Asian countries India fared better than Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Bangladesh was ranked-146, Sri Lanka- 141, Pakistan -139. Bhutan is in top 100 countries in 84 the position and Nepal is at 100.

Five Nordic countries -Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Netherlands- have occupied the top five positions. China, Syria, Turkmenistan, Eritrea, North Korea are in the bottom five.

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