The Income Tax (IT) department’s sudden raid at the BBC premises in India has drawn widespread condemnation against the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It has shocked journalists, activists and opposition politicians alike. Such a high-handed action against one of the oldest and most trusted global broadcasting networks, understandably, will be a cause of concern and discomfort in Western capitals, as well as those in every democratic country.
The raid, which the IT officials have described as a “survey” follows recent controversy over the BBC’s showing of a two-part investigative documentary, ‘’India: The Modi Question’’, which for the first time revealed a confidential investigation by the British government into the 2002 Gujarat riots that left more than a thousand Muslims dead. The British investigation report concluded that the violence had “all the hallmarks of genocide” and found Modi “directly responsible” for not stopping the killings of Muslims.
The BBC didn’t air the documentary in India or anywhere else except the United Kingdom and had not explained the reasons for such restricted dissemination. But, it didn’t help the BBC to shield itself from the wrath of the government of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Indian government used its emergency powers under Information Technology Rules to block YouTube videos and social media posts sharing links to the documentary, and slammed the documentary as "hostile propaganda and anti-India garbage". Besides the government’s invoking of emergency law to stop its showing in India, some rightwing groups associated with Hindutva politics petitioned the Supreme Court seeking a complete ban on the BBC in India over the documentary, which the court has declined, calling the petition "entirely misconceived".
All these official and unofficial acts were a kind of warning signal of what would ultimately follow.
The tax officials’ attempt to disguise the raid as a survey wasn’t helped either by the comment of the BJP spokesman Gaurav Bhatia, who described the BBC as the "most corrupt organisation in the world". He said, "India is a country which gives an opportunity to every organisation, as long as you don't spew venom." His explanation that the searches were lawful and the timing had nothing to do with the government failed to mask his party’s vengeance against a news organisation which they now characterise as anti-Indian.
Opposition leaders were quick to protest the raid. Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "Here we are asking for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row, and there the government is hounding the BBC." Leaders of Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress and other regional parties have condemned the raid and called it an act of desparation.
Rights group Amnesty International, which was forced to stop its operation in India following its accounts being frozen by another government agency, has said, "overbroad powers of the Income Tax Department are repeatedly being weaponised to silence dissent". Tax raids have been carried out on Oxfam and several think tanks, too, for carrying their critical roles against some government policies.
The top professional body that guides journalism in India, the Editors Guild of India (EGI), expressing its concerns said, “It is distressed by the continuing trend of government agencies being used to intimidate and harass news organisations that are critical of (the) ruling establishment.” It listed similar surveys by tax officials at the offices of NewsClick and Newslaundry in September 2021, at Dainik Bhaskar and Bharat Shamachar in June 2021, and raids conducted by another agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at the office of NewsClick in February 2021. The EGI noted that in each case, the raids were against the backdrop of critical coverage of the government establishment by the news organisations.
The Press Club of India described the “surveys” as part of a series of attacks on the media by government agencies in recent times. It said that this latest instance appears to be a clear cut case of vendetta. And that such actions on an international broadcasting network will damage the reputation and image of India as the largest democracy in the world.
What is even more disturbing is the seizure of laptops and mobile phones of journalists working there. As the raid continued throughout the night, people were expressing their concerns and anger in real time on social media platforms. MK Venu, founding editor of The Wire in a tweet asked whether due process was followed in seizing phones, reminding that the Supreme Court of India in a separate case made some observations about searching phones. Karishma Mehrotra, a correspondent of The Washington Post termed seizing journalists’ phones “”stunning and apparently retaliatory.”
Some leading Indian newspapers including the Indian Express and the Hindustan Times ran special explainers outlining the differences between tax raids and surveys. Quoting the IT Act, they said tax officials cannot seize any books of accounts, cash and documents during the course of the surveys, but in searches such actions are permitted. Whatever official narrative is given, there’s no doubt that this latest episode will be seen as a dangerous attack on press freedom and a slide into authoritanism.
The global advocacy group on media freedom, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), said press freedom in India has fallen since Modi came to power. India now ranks 150th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index, which is the historical low for the nation that regularly takes pride as the world’s largest democracy. India’s worsening media environment is a matter of concern in other countries too, particularly in its neighbourhood as other leaders frequently emulate experiences of an aspiring superpower. As India holds the presidency of the G20 nations and promises to set an alternative course to the current world order, its slide into authoritarianism and dictatorship should worry us all.
However, many observers express their frustrations over the international community’s inaction due to geo-strategic and economic considerations. Western powers' need of a powerful ally to counter China’s increasing global influence means little appetite on the part of the Western countries to confront India’s current Hindu nationalists on the crucial issue of human rights, freedom of press and weakening of democracy.
(Published on The Daily Star's online portal on February 15, 2023)
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