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Dear Reader,
The screws have been steadily tightening on online news media platforms in India. In the latest turn, the government has decreed that a platform or an intermediary be made culpable if it is deemed to have carried “fake news”.
The decision as to what is fake, and what is not, is entirely in the hands of the Press Information Bureau of the I & B Ministry – an agency that in the past has not been beyond bias in its decisions on what is kosher. The decree, almost predictably, has virtually no safeguards on its misuse. MediaNama traces the five ways that the Centre has, in the recent past, sought to erode the freedom of digital news media.
Last week, the tussle between the Supreme Court and the government reached a flashpoint. The apex court not only reiterated the collegium’s decision on five appointments to the High Courts but, as Supreme Court Observer reports, scathingly questioned the government on the delays in operationalising the decisions. In an unprecedented move, it also outed the Union government’s cited reasons for not accepting some of the recommendations which, the Court said, “had no standing”.
During the pandemic lockdown, significant sections of citizens, mostly the marginalised, for instance, the tribals, were unable to access government programmes and services simply because they did not have the necessary documents to prove their identity. Recently, Kerala’s Wayanad launched a successful campaign to provide basic documents and services -- Aadhaar, ration & elections cards, birth/death certificates, and bank accounts to the tribals. Main Bhi Bharat reports.
And, in Chhattisgarh, a state hit by militancy, abysmal road connectivity and poor access to education, an initiative by the government -- 'portacabin' residential schools -- for tribal children in remote areas is paying dividends, and fuelling aspirations. ThePrint reports from the ground.
For more such stories from the grantees this week, please read on.
With faith in our hearts and the Constitution in our thoughts, let's salute the nation on this 74th Republic Day.
Warmly,
Sunil Rajshekhar
IPSMF
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