These are dangerous times for mediapersons. With rising intolerance among certain sections of the society, they appear to be at the receiving end in almost every part of the country. The latest shocker has come from Bihar where a 26-year-old journalist was shot dead in front of his house at Sakho village in Begusarai district.
Subhash Kumar Mahto, who worked for some Hindi newspapers and was also associated with a local cable channel in Begusarai, was returning home with his father and other relatives after a community dinner at his friend’s house. He was shot in the head near his house by four attackers before they fled the scene. He was rushed to the local government health centre where he was declared dead.
Mahto is said to have earned the wrath of the sand and liquor mafia operating in Begusarai because of his fearless reporting on these issues. In 2018, Mahto had run a video report on how a drunk man was let off by the local police. The police had alleged that the video was staged and lodged a case against Subhash under the Information Technology (IT) Act. He was arrested and later got bail from a local court.
Mahto was the only son of his parents. He has two sisters.
The phenomenon of intolerance of opinion is actually being witnessed not just in India but around the world. Several journalists have been attacked and killed while performing their duty in different countries. According to one report, at least 24 journalists were killed worldwide in the line of duty last year. While some were murdered, some like India’s Danish Siddiqui who lost his life in Afghanistan, were killed in crossfire in conflict zones. The total number of journalists in prison also reportedly reached a record high, with 293 in jail as of December 1, 2021.
India has the highest number of journalists who were killed in retaliation for their work, according to one report. Four journalists in India were murdered allegedly because their work annoyed others. Another died while carrying out a “dangerous assignment”.
China continues to have the dubious distinction of being the “world’s worst jailer of journalists” with a total of 50 journalists in prison. Myanmar has also earned notoriety in this regard following the crackdown on media in the wake of a military coup. Egypt, Vietnam, and Belarus also have bad track records.
This is happening despite repeated appeals by media bodies around the world for fair treatment of journalists by creating an atmosphere in which they can discharge their duties fearlessly. Governments around the world have been asked to be more sensitive and protective towards the nature of duty of mediapersons who take huge risks to perform their job. Indiscriminate shelling in conflict zones has claimed the lives of some brilliant journalists whose absence will always be felt by the media fraternity. It is time to call a halt to this gory trend of attacks on journalists.
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