New Delhi: Several foreign journalists have flagged a slew of challenges they face while reporting from India, which includes visa renewal pressures and lack of access to the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). These pressures, they say, have increased over the past three to four years — a charge denied by sources in the Indian government who said everyone must adhere to the law of the land.
These issues bubbled to the surface after two foreign correspondents, freelance French journalist Vanessa Dougnac and Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s (ABC) South Asia bureau chief Avani Dias, left the country citing curbs on journalistic freedoms.
While the Indian government said Dougnac had violated “rules and regulations”, it maintained that Dias received a visa extension and her two other colleagues at ABC were given access to cover the 2024 general election, contrary to her claims.
This was followed by a group of foreign journalists issuing a joint statement condemning the developments. Nearly 30 foreign correspondents based in India — reporting for Financial Times, The Washington Post, France 24, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and others — collectively signed open letters after Dougnac and Dias’ exits on 26 January and 23 April, respectively.
Open letter: foreign correspondents protest the case of ABC’s Avani Dias, who was effectively forced out of #India this week after being told her reporting “crossed a line”. #PressFreedom pic.twitter.com/dvx1lr5aIq
— John Reed जॉन रीड (@JohnReedwrites) April 23, 2024
In these letters, they expressed “increased visa restrictions” on foreign journalists, growing pressures on journalists who are Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cardholders due to “opaque administrative burdens” and other issues that they claim hamper their work.
An open letter from the foreign correspondents of India, in solidarity with our colleague Vanessa Dougnac pic.twitter.com/pAdxyoAh4L
— Hannah Ellis-Petersen (@HannahEP) January 26, 2024
Asked about the open letter, a source in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) told ThePrint that over the past year, “a sizable number” of foreign journalists from countries like Japan, France and Germany have been issued permits to visit J&K.
A second source in the MEA added that while applying for a ‘J’ visa, applicants are made aware that they are barred from travelling to certain sensitive locations without prior permission from the MEA which coordinates such visits with central security agencies. Even Indians have to procure an inner land permit to visit some areas in the Northeast, the source pointed out.
However, a foreign journalist working in India, who did not wish to be named, told ThePrint: “There are serious issues like visa pressures and not getting permissions from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to go to J&K and the Northeast, which have been quite under-reported. There’s growing concern among foreign journalists here but there’s also growing concern from foreign governments, from what we hear.”
“I don’t have any issues with bureaucrats and actually; I appreciate the Press Information Bureau (PIB) sometimes for organising meetings,” added the journalist, referring to the nodal agency under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
ThePrint reached 10-15 foreign correspondents based in India, some of whom feared speaking on the issue as it may endanger their work visas which require annual renewal.
Meanwhile, three foreign journalists who hail from Latin America, the Middle East and Russia, respectively, denied facing any obstacles. “I don’t have any complaints. I’ve not faced any issues while reporting in India,” said a Russian journalist who has been based out of Delhi for the last three years.
There are approximately 70 journalists in India who are foreign nationals, according to data provided by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club (FCC) of South Asia to ThePrint. It should be noted that this number could be higher as some may not be registered with the FCC.
‘Increased pressure on OCI cardholders’
An Indian journalist working in the Delhi office of a Western media outlet, claims government pressures on foreign colleagues, especially OCI cardholders, “rapidly increased” in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s second term.
“Before 2019, we had decent access to BJP ministers but after 2019, this changed. There has been a rapid increase of pressure on OCI cardholders in indirect ways, such as what we saw with Vanessa Dougnac,” the Indian journalist told ThePrint.
Dougnac, who was served an MHA notice for “malicious” reporting ahead of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to India as the Chief Guest for the Republic Day Parade, was an OCI cardholder. She had lived in India for over 20 years.
“Some OCI cardholders have faced delayed renewals of their work permits which is a clear sign that the government is unhappy with their reporting. I’ve noticed these OCI cardholders are actively avoiding covering the 2024 election or ambitious journalistic projects due to fear. They are deliberately staying away from political stories,” said the Indian journalist quoted earlier.
Government sources, meanwhile, told ThePrint that under OCI rules — last amended in 2019 — a cardholder is required to apply for a special permit if they wish to report from India. Earlier, OCI cardholders were only barred from buying agricultural land or taking part in the electoral process either as a candidate or a voter.
ThePrint reached the MHA spokesperson via email and phone for comment on the complaints voiced by foreign journalists and OCI cardholders about movement to J&K and the Northeast, but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
The complaints notwithstanding, certain journalists have received permission to visit J&K for tourism-related stories.
Andreas Franz, a German TV journalist with ARD, told ThePrint: “I was doing a story on tourism in Gulmarg. The permit to travel there took a while.”
According to the source in the MEA quoted earlier, almost all foreign journalists who applied for accreditation to cover the G20 meet in Srinagar last May got approval and many received permits in the following months. Permits for election coverage, too, are also under processing, the source added.
After Dougnac’s departure, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had said that her case did not have anything to do “with aspects of journalism” and that “people are free to do what they are accredited to do”.
In the case of Dias, she claimed she had to leave India “abruptly” as she was told that her “visa extension would be denied”. Dias also said she was denied accreditation for coverage of the general election, though the MEA said authority letters for access to polling booths and counting stations cannot be issued while visa extension is under process.
Last Thursday, sources in the Australian High Commission told The Hindu that India had granted a visa to Dias and that Australian authorities expressed satisfaction over the MEA’s handling of the case.
Incidentally, Dias was one of the signatories to the open letter issued by foreign correspondents in January expressing concern over Dougnac’s departure.
In ABC’s documentary, titled “Sikhs, Murder and Spies” — which aired on 21 March but has since been taken down in India — Dias could be seen arguing with officials at the Attari-Wagah border who did not allow her to film there.
Asked why she was denied permission to film there, a source in the MEA said the Attari-Wagah border is a different case in which journalists require specific permission from the Border Security Force (BSF) for videography. “The BSF is in charge. They may have their own criteria to issue permits for shooting,” the source added.
Sources also told ThePrint that one criterion is that any media organisation, be it Indian or foreign, has to get footage shot cleared from the BSF in order for the force to check whether or not any sensitive location has been shot by mistake or design.
It is learnt that the Australian media outlet in question had refused to share the footage and hence permission to shoot was not granted.
Apart from alleged visa pressures and restrictions on movement, foreign journalists have complained about lack of access to India’s Defence Ministry and press conferences held by the Army.
“We’re usually given accreditation for public events like Defexpo but for press conferences and entering the Defence Ministry, only our Indian colleagues get access. We’re told it’s because of security reasons,” a journalist working in India, who hails from a country in the Indo-Pacific, told ThePrint.
ThePrint reached the Defence Ministry for clarification via email but had not received a response by the time of publication. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
However, Defence Ministry sources said that no foreigners are allowed within defence establishments without proper security clearances.
“This is the practice all over the world. No Indian journalist, even with a valid PIB pass, can enter the Defence Ministry or defence establishments without an appointment. In the case of foreigners, even if they represent an arms company and are selling their products to India, they have to get Military Intelligence clearance internally first,” a source explained.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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Good job Modi Govt. They should throw all these “journalists” out of the country. Show them their place. These journalists are nothing more than “Wolf in sheep’s clothing” colonizers.
Evict them and save India. I will lobby GoI to punish journalists who give too large a platform to these foreigners. The Print should stop pampering them
The Print is showing its true colours….color made solid from its time in darbar…its has joined ranks with its western masters in attacking govt. The print must be fixed at the right time especially its chief – Shekhar Coupta .