India ranked 140th in 2019 World Press Freedom Index

India has slipped two places to rank 140th among 180 nations in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index (WPFI), report released by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), an international NGO based in Paris. The report notes that attacks against journalists by supporters of the ruling BJP increased in the run-up to the ongoing Lok Sabha elections.The index is topped by Norway, followed by Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. In its 2019 index, RSF finds that hatred of journalists has degenerated into violence, contributing to an increase in fear around the world. In reference to India, it found an alarming rate of coordinated hate campaigns waged on social networks against journalists who dare to speak or write about subjects that annoy Hindutva. The critics are branded as ‘anti-national’ in the current discourse that is shaping up. The Reporters Without Borders is a non-profit organisation that works to document and combat attacks on journalists around the world.