- Sunday, April 28, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
Rana Ayyub, the Indian journalist who is known to be a strong critic of prime minister Narendra Modi’s allegedly anti-Muslim stance and policies, on Wednesday (8) received the prestigious John Aubuchon Award which was conferred on her by the National Press Club of Washington DC.
It is the club’s highest honour for press freedom.
This evening I received the John Aubuchon honour in a room full of the country’s finest. I dedicated the award to Shirin Abu Akhleh and to every single journalist fighting an isolating battle. History will be kind to us. Thank you @PressClubDC @mccarrennews pic.twitter.com/SDhjYGvBES
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) December 8, 2022
The 37-year-old Mumbai-born Ayyub, who has authored the investigative book ‘Gujarat Files: Anatomy of a Cover Up’ that deals with the Gujarat riots of 2002, also writes for The Washington Post.
She has allegedly been facing harassment and threats for her critical takes on the Modi government.
After her name was announced for the coveted prize in July, Ayyub dedicated it to her colleagues who are languishing in different prisons in India.
“Dedicating this to my colleagues Mohammad Zubair, Siddique Kappan, and Asif Sultan incarcerated for speaking truth to power,” she said.
In her acceptance speech on Wednesday, Ayyub said press freedom existed no more in India.
“I’m here, trying to feel less alone at a time I feel very lonely,” she said
“I happen to be a Muslim and a woman. How dare I speak? … Thank you for making me feel less alone & isolated,” she added.
It has been alleged that the freedom of press has come under increasing harassment under the Modi government which has been accused of silencing any reporting that is critical.
Media rights group Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières in French or RSF) have ranked India at a lowly 142 (out of 180) in its World Press Freedom Index, claiming that pressure has increased on the media to toe Modi’s Hindu nationalist government’s line.
“Indians who espouse Hindutva, the ideology that gave rise to radical right-wing Hindu nationalism, are trying to purge all manifestations of ‘anti-national’ thought from the public debate. The coordinated hate campaigns waged on social networks against journalists who dare to speak or write about subjects that annoy Hindutva followers are terrifying and include calls for the journalists concerned to be murdered,” the RSF said.
It also said that the campaigns are particularly violent if the targets are women.
