The murder of 55-year-old independent journalist Gauri Lankesh at the hands of unidentified assailants outside her house in Bengaluru on Tuesday once again raises questions on freedom of press in our country. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists research, at least 27 journalists have been murdered in direct retaliation in India for their work since 1992. India also ranks 13th on CPJ’s latest Impunity Index, which is a measure of countries worldwide where journalists are killed and the murderers go free.

In May 2017, Reporters Without Borders also released an Index which ranks 180 countries according to the extent of press freedom for journalists. On that list, India stands at the 136th position, slipping three positions from the previous year. The report cites the rise of Hindu nationalism as a reason for the drop. “With Hindu nationalists trying to purge all manifestations of “anti-national” thought from the national debate, self-censorship is growing in the mainstream media,” the report states. Conflict-ridden Palestine state stands at the 135th position. Qatar, UAE, South Korea and Israel among the nations who have performed better than India on the list.