Skip to main content

Journalists' murder in largest democracies: Those working in conflict zones not alone in facing the brunt

By Nava Thakuria*
As we complete the first half of 2018, shocking news broke from America, one of the professed liberal spaces for journalists in a democratic world. A gunman stormed into the newsroom of a Maryland newspaper in USA and killed five media employees, including journalists. The June 28, 2018 shooting incident at "Capital Gazette" in Annapolis eliminating news-desk personnel Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John Mcnamara, Wendi Winters etc. suggests that journalists working in conflict zones alone are not facing dangerous times.
If the grand old democracy turns dangerous for scribes, the largest democracy in the globe maintains its status as a hazardous place for journalists. India reported the murder of four journalists in the last six months, and its troubled neighbour, Pakistan, follows with the casualties of two scribes. Another neighbour, Bangladesh, reported the murder of one editor-publisher, whereas other countries in the Indian subcontinent, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and Maldives, evaded any incident of journo-killing.
India lost three journalists in mysterious accidents within twelve hours in Madhya Pradesh and Bihar on March 25 and 26, 2018. Sandeep Sharma (36), a dedicated reporter of Bhind locality of MP, was mowed down by a truck in morning hours.The "News World" reporter succumbed to injuries in the hospital. Sandeep used to contribute media reports against the sand mafia and he had been receiving threats.
On the previous night, two scribes, Navin Nischal and Vijay Singh, were hit by a luxury vehicle in Bhojpur locality of Bihar and died on their way to the hospital. Navin (35), who used to work for "Dainik Bhaskar" and Vijay (26), who was associated with a Hindi magazine, were riding on a two-wheeler when the accident took place.
Latest was the sensational report of the murder of well-known Kashmiri journalist Syed Shujaat Bukhari, who was shot dead in Srinagar on 14 June by a group of militants. The proprietor and chief editor of "Rising Kashmir", Shujaat earlier faced similar attacks in 2000 and 2006. The brave and outspoken journalist was since provided government security. But this time, both of his security guards, Hamid Chaudhary and Mumtaz Awan, also died, facing the bullets of Islamist forces.
Starting his career in "Kashmir Times", Shujaat shifted to "The Hindu" as its Kashmir correspondent. Later he established Kashmir Media House that publishes the English daily "Rising Kashmir", Urdu daily "Buland Kashmir" and Kashmiri daily "Sangarmal". Hailing from Kreeri locality in Baramulla district, Shujaat has left behind his parents, wife and two minor children. He was cremated on the day of Eid after Ramzan's fasting days in his home place.
Pakistan lost journalist Anjum Muneer Raja, who used to work in Urdu daily "Qaumi Pukaar", to assailants on March 1. Raja, 40, was shot dead by the miscreants in a Rawalpindi locality while he was on his way to home in the late the evening. The second case was reported on March 27, when Zeeshan Ashraf Butt, a journalist from another Urdu daily "Nawa-i-Waqt" faced the bullets. Butt, 29, was allegedly targeted by the Begowala union council chairperson.
Bangladesh reported the murder of Shahzahan Bachchu on June 11 at Munshiganj locality. Editor of "Amader Bikrampur", Bachchu was suspectedly targeted by Islamists for his free-thinking comments. Various international rights bodies condemned the murder of Bachchu and urged the authority for genuine probe to find the culprits.
According various international agencies nearly 50 journalists lost their lives to assailants till date this year, where Afghanistan (casualty 11) tops the list. It is followed by Syria (7), Yemen, Mexico (5 each), India, USA (6), Pakistan, Mexico, Palestine, Philippines, United States of America, Ecuador (2 each), Bangladesh, Indonesia, Brazil, Nicaragua, Slovakia, Syria (1 each) etc.
India is placed at 138 out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders' (RWB's) 2018 global press freedom index, followed by Pakistan (139), Thailand (140), Cambodia (142), Malaysia (145), Bangladesh (146), Mexico (147), Russia (148), Singapore (151), Turkey (157), Iraq (160), Egypt (161), Iran (164), Laos (170), Cuba (172), China (176), Syria (177) etc.
Norway and Sweden have maintained their first two positions, whereas North Korea continues to be at the bottom of the list. Countries which perform better than India include Myanmar (137), Philippines (133), Sri Lanka (131), Qatar (125), Indonesia (124), Maldives (120), Afghanistan (118), Nepal (106), Bhutan (94), Israel (87), Hong Kong (70), Fiji (57), Mauritius (56), South Korea (43), Taiwan (42), United Kingdom (40), Ghana (23), Belgium (7), Switzerland (5), Netherlands (3) etc.
The year 2017 was reported to be a deadliest year for journalists, as the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) claimed 82 casualties. India witnessed the murders of Hari Prakash, Brajesh Kumar Singh, Shyam Sharma, Kamlesh Jain, Surender Singh Rana, Gauri Lankesh, Shantanu Bhowmik, KJ Singh, Rajesh Mishra, Sudip Datta Bhaumik, Naveen Gupta and Rajesh Sheoran.
Among those casualties, northeast's tiny State of Tripura reported two incidents of journo-murder within few weeks. Shantanu Bhowmik, a young television reporter was beaten and stabbed to death during a protest demonstration at Mandai locality of western Tripura. On the other hand, Sudip Datta Bhaumik, who used to work for a Bengali newspaper, was shot dead by a Tripura State Rifles constable at RK Nagar locality in the same area.
Both the murders created sensation in northeast India and the then State chief minister Manik Sarkar received widespread criticism from various quarters. Earlier the Communist chief minister had to digest brickbats following the murder of three media employees (Sujit Bhattacharya, Ranjit Chowdhury and Balaram Ghosh) in Agartala during 2013. Lately, a young reporter (Suman Debnath) faced serious attacks at Dharmanagar locality of Tripura on June 18; however he survived.
By now, Tripura has a Bhartiya Janata Party led government and the new chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb, following the saffron party’s poll promises, recently handed over the cases of Shantanu and Sudip to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for further probes. Meanwhile, CBI has booked three tribal leaders, Dhirendra Debbarma, Balram Debbarma and Amit Debbarma, in connection with Santanu’s murder. Dhirendra is a legislator nominated by Indigenous People's Front of Tripura, which is an ally to the ruling government in Agartala.
In 2017, Pakistan lost seven journalists, Muhammad Jan, Taimoor Khan, Abdul Razzaque, Bakshish Ellahi, Haroon Khan, Samar Abbas and Utpal Das, along with a novice scribe (Mashal Khan) to assailants. On the other hand, India's other neighbours namely Bangladesh, Myanmar and Maldives witnessed the murder of one scribe each.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), over 260 scribes faced imprisonment in 2017 for their works. Turkey, for the successive second year, emerged as the country with the highest number (73) of reporters imprisoned, followed by China (41), Egypt (22), Eritrea (11), Azerbaijan (10), Bahrain (9), Iran and Syria (7), Uzbekistan (6), Saudi Arabia (4) etc.
The Indian subcontinent reported the imprisonment of 25 media employees. Bangladesh leads with 10, followed by Myanmar (5). Besides imprisonments, many media persons are being abused and physically assaulted in different countries for their journalistic activities.
While international media rights bodies like RWB, CPJ, IFJ etc. have raised voices for justice to all slain media persons, the media fraternity in the Indian subcontinent continue pursuing for a pragmatic action plan to safeguard the journalists in the line of military, police and doctors on duty. They have put their arguments loud and clear, that if the nations want scribes to do risky jobs for greater interest, their security along with justice must be ensured.
---
*Media activist based in Guwahati, northeast India

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

From plagiarism to proxy exams: Galgotias and systemic failure in education

By Sandeep Pandey*   Shock is being expressed at Galgotias University being found presenting a Chinese-made robotic dog and a South Korean-made soccer-playing drone as its own creations at the recently held India AI Impact Summit 2026, a global event in New Delhi. Earlier, a UGC-listed journal had published a paper from the university titled “Corona Virus Killed by Sound Vibrations Produced by Thali or Ghanti: A Potential Hypothesis,” which became the subject of widespread ridicule. Following the robotic dog controversy coming to light, the university has withdrawn the paper. These incidents are symptoms of deeper problems afflicting the Indian education system in general. Galgotias merely bit off more than it could chew.
5 comments
»

Farewell to Saleem Samad: A life devoted to fearless journalism

By Nava Thakuria*  Heartbreaking news arrived from Dhaka as the vibrant city lost one of its most active and committed citizens with the passing of journalist, author and progressive Bangladeshi national Saleem Samad. A gentleman who always had issues to discuss with anyone, anywhere and at any time, he passed away on 22 February 2026 while undergoing cancer treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He was 74. 
Post a Comment
»

From ancient wisdom to modern nationhood: The Indian story

By Syed Osman Sher  South of the Himalayas lies a triangular stretch of land, spreading about 2,000 miles in each direction—a world of rare magic. It has fired the imagination of wanderers, settlers, raiders, traders, conquerors, and colonizers. They entered this country bringing with them new ethnicities, cultures, customs, religions, and languages.
Post a Comment
»

The 'glass cliff' at Galgotias: How a university’s AI crisis became a gendered blame game

By Mohd. Ziyaullah Khan*  “She was not aware of the technical origins of the product and in her enthusiasm of being on camera, gave factually incorrect information.” These were the words used in the official press release by Galgotias University following the controversy at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi. The statement came across as defensive, petty, and deeply insensitive.
3 comments
»

Conversion laws and national identity: A Jesuit response response to the Hindutva narrative

By Rajiv Shah  A recent book, " Luminous Footprints: The Christian Impact on India ", authored by two Jesuit scholars, Dr. Lancy Lobo and Dr. Denzil Fernandes , seeks to counter the current dominant narrative on Indian Christians , which equates evangelisation with conversion, and education, health and the social services provided by Christians as meant to lure -- even force -- vulnerable sections into Christianity.
2 comments
»

Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov, the artist who survived Stalin's cultural purges

By Harsh Thakor*  Sergei Vasilyevich Gerasimov (September 14, 1885 – April 20, 1964) was a Soviet artist, professor, academician, and teacher. His work was posthumously awarded the Lenin Prize, the highest artistic honour of the USSR. His paintings traced the development of socialist realism in the visual arts while retaining qualities drawn from impressionism. Gerasimov reconciled a lyrical approach to nature with the demands of Soviet socialist ideology.
Post a Comment
»

Development vs community: New coal politics and old conflicts in Madhya Pradesh

By Deepmala Patel*  The Singrauli region of Madhya Pradesh, often described as “India’s energy capital,” has for decades been a hub of coal mining and thermal power generation. Today, the Dhirouli coal mine project in this district has triggered widespread protests among local communities. In recent years, the project has generated intense controversy, public opposition, and significant legal and social questions. This is not merely a dispute over one mine; it raises a larger question—who pays the price for energy development? Large corporate beneficiaries or the survival of local communities?
Post a Comment
»

Development at what cost? The budget's blind spot for the environment

By Raj Kumar Sinha*  The historical ills in the relationship between capital and the environment have now manifested in areas commonly referred to as the "environmental crisis." This includes global warming, the destruction of the ozone layer, the devastation of tropical forests, mass mortality of fish, species extinction, loss of biodiversity, poison seeping into the atmosphere and food, desertification, shrinking water supplies, lack of clean water, and radioactive pollution. 
Post a Comment
»

Public money, private profits: Crop insurance scheme as goldmine for corporates

By Vikas Meshram   The farmer in India is not merely a food provider; he is the soul of the nation. For centuries, enduring natural calamities and bearing debt generation after generation while remaining loyal to the soil, this community now finds itself trapped in a different kind of crisis. In February 2016, the Modi government launched the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) with the stated objective of freeing farmers from the shackles of debt. It was an ambitious attempt to provide a strong safety net to cultivators repeatedly devastated by excessive rainfall, drought, and hailstorms.
Post a Comment
»