Bastar, where journalists are hunted down

“There are only two options for an honest journalist in Bastar: either go to jail or get murdered for the published report,” said Kamal Shukla, 48, who runs Bhoomkal Samachar, a weekly newspaper circulated in Bastar.  The danger in this turbulent part of Chhattisgarh isn’t only from naxals, but also from “state actors”, as Shukla puts it.

Few who live in Chhattisgarh are ready to go on record with this, but speaking to journalists who report from the state, it’s evident that the figure of SR Kalluri, Inspector General of Police, looms ominously over local media. Crossing paths with Kalluri doesn’t end well. Take the case of journalist Prabhat Singh, for example. “IG Kalluri had threatened Prabhat in press conference and within days, he [Singh] arrested for posting ‘offensive’ post about Kalluri in a WhatsApp group,” said  Shukla.  Taking suo-moto cognisance of the arrest, the Press Council of India had sought a report from the state government.

In March, The Editors’ Guild of India sent a fact-finding team to Chhattisgarh to ascertain just how dangerous the state is for journalists. Although the government promised to look into the cases of harassment, it also dismissed certain concerns put forward by the team. For instance, threatening messages sent by Kalluri to a journalist was explained as “miscommunication”.

Shukla told Newslaundry that he too was threatened by Kalluri, but didn’t want to go into further details. Instead, he said, “Kalluri cannot accept reporting on naxal and human rights issues, but even regular reporting on lax implementation and rampant corruption doesn’t make you safe.”

Reporters who dare to do so have faced trouble from both the police and the naxals. According to Shukla, incidents like Sai Reddy’s killing (he was first arrested and then killed, allegedly by Naxals, after he was released) keep honest journalists away reporting. There are also those whose favours are won by the government by underhand means, said Shukla. “A lot of journalists, especially the young journalists, who were doing great work, have now started accepting government tenders and small contract works,” he said. This creates a situation in which the journalist is beholden to the government and it becomes easier for official press releases to be passed off as ‘news’. “These journalists are given stories and reports by IG Kalluri,” Shukla added.

“The situation today is extremely critical,” said the journalist while in conversation with Newslaundry, “but the ground for this has been prepared over 10-12 years.”  Referring to the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, he says, “They have been in power since 2003. When compared to pre-2003 era, there is a 100 percent increase in Maoism in the state. Chhattisgarh has been transformed into a cantonment.”