The Network of Women in Media, India, welcomes the Delhi High Court’s 15 July order to take down “defamatory and insinuating” articles and videos posted by a section of the news media on Dhanya Rajendran, editor and co-founder of The News Minute, and an NWMI member. Targeted and malicious attacks aiming to discredit Dhanya began over a year ago through the television and/or digital news outlets of Janam TV, Janmabhumi, Hindu Post and Karma News. The NWMI is deeply concerned about this orchestrated vilification of Dhanya, who has received several awards and accolades for her work as a journalist, including the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Media Person (2023).
The prejudicial campaign by such media outlets began soon after a global media conclave in Kochi (Kerala) on 25 March 2023, organised by the Kerala Media Academy, with sessions coordinated by a group of independent media organisations, including The News Minute. The title of the conclave, ‘Cutting South’ – a play of words inspired by terms like ‘cutting edge,’ ‘cutting chai,’ etc., was used by a section of the media to claim that it was an attempt to ‘cut’ and divide India. Some media outlets began publishing articles linking the organisers of the conclave to the banned organisation, Popular Front of India (PFI).
On 27 May 2024 Janam TV and Janmabhumi reported that Dhanya was facing a probe by the Intelligence Bureau (IB) for “attempts to create civil conflict” in India. The reports alleged that Dhanya was the representative of Hungarian-American philanthropist George Soros and has acted as an intermediary in arranging funds for anti-national activities. Numerous articles along similar lines were published by Janmabhumi, Karma News and Hindu Post over subsequent days. These reports have garnered thousands of views and elicited crude, insensitive and threatening comments, thereby underscoring the damaging and deleterious effect of such false and mischievous reports. Not only were many of the comments abusive and sexist, but some went so far as to demand lifelong imprisonment, the death sentence and/or deportation as punishment for Dhanya.
Some of these reports also made similar allegations against media organisations like Newslaundry and Confluence Media, which were also involved with the 2023 media conclave in Kochi. Some reports alleged that DIGIPUB Foundation, a membership organisation of digital media groups, has received foreign funds to create communal riots in the country. Despite an order by the Delhi High Court on 6 July 2023 prohibiting Karma News from publishing defamatory articles against Newslaundry and Confluence, they have persisted with the false and malicious campaign. This amounts to contempt of court and calls for strong action against the media house concerned.
In the recent order asking such media portals to take down the URLs of the defamatory online articles and videos within ten days, the Delhi High Court observed that the allegations were not based on any credible and reliable sources. The court took serious note of the grave and irreparable damages caused to the petitioners. “…The alleged videos and posts contain defamatory and libelous allegations and insinuations, made in a reckless manner without regard to the truth, to injure the reputation of the plaintiffs,” it observed.
The NWMI stands in solidarity with Dhanya in her courageous fight against such attempts to intimidate, discredit and silence her. We note with deep concern this worrying trend to silence journalists through defamatory and malicious media campaigns.
The Network of Women in Media, India
23 July 2024
