5 Mar 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Ten Indian journalists were attacked by a group of lawyers outside a court in Bangalore last week. On 2 March, following the high-profile case of a former minister accused of illegal mining, the lawyers attacked journalists, most of whom were TV camera operators, with stones, iron chairs, and flowerpots. Police used tear gas to disperse the crowd. Some reports said the lawyers were angered by “one-sided” coverage of a protest in January, while other news reports said the dispute occurred after the lawyers were angered by television crews blocking the entrance to the courts.
23 Feb 2012 | Asia and Pacific, Index Index, minipost
Indian journalist Chandrika Rai, his wife and two teenage children were found beaten to death in their home in Umaria, Madhya Pradesh state. Rai, 42, who worked for two Hindi-language dailies, Navbharat and Hitavada, had been investigating illegal mining in Umaria. Some local news reports have suggested that his murder could be linked to the kidnapping of a local official’s son or with a personal land dispute.
7 Feb 2012 | Asia and Pacific, News and features
Legal proceedings have been filed against four authors that read aloud from Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic verses. Salil Tripathi explains how outdated Colonial-era legislation is being used to curtail free expression.
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31 Jan 2012 | Europe and Central Asia, Index Index, minipost
The offices of an Indian media group have been attacked by a group of right-wing Hindu nationalists in Mumbai. Dozens of supporters of right-wing nationalist group Shiv Sena attacked the building Times of India on Saturday, protesting against a local newspaper’s coverage of their internal politics. The article, which ran in the Maharashtra Times, a Marathi-language daily that is part of the news group, said Sena politician Anandrao Adsul was going to change allegiances and join the rival National Congress Party (NCP). Seventeen Sena activists were arrested, following the attack.
