Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic. – Alexis de Tocqueville
A free press is crucial for a functional democracy, and if not truly free, paves the way for manipulation undermining the premise of democracy itself. “With great power comes greater responsibility,” responsibility of bringing out the truth in front of the people. Press in India is considered to be the fourth pillar of the world largest democracy after Judiciary, Legislation and Executive. However, Reporters Without Borders placed India as the 140th out of 180 countries that was surveyed for the level of free speech. The Constitution of India does not distinctively mention the freedom of press but it is implied from the Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution which subjects to the following restrictions that are provided under the Article 19(2) of the Constitution:
- security of the State,
- friendly relations with foreign States,
- public order,
- decency and morality,
- contempt of court,
- defamation,
- incitement to an offence, and
- sovereignty and integrity of India.
May 3rd is celebrated as World Press Freedom Day which is aimed to remind the governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right of freedom of expression under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The UNESCO every year confers the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize in honour of the Columbian journalist who was assassinated in front of the office premises of his newspaper, EL Espectador on 17th December 1986. Any individual or organization that has made outstanding contribution to the defence and/or promotion of press freedom, especially, after facing danger while doing so is awarded with the prize.
The theme for this year is “Media Freedom for a Better Future: Shaping the post-2015 Development Agenda.” It focuses on the media’s importance in development; the safety of journalists and the rule of law; and the sustainability and integrity of journalism. An international conference will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on 5-6 May.
As per Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. the role of media in development and good governance are not mutually exclusive, rather they support each other while promoting a nations socio-economic development. Free press is important for good governance and transparency. Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. believes that independent media provides a platform for discussion on various developmental issues like poverty, environment, science, gender, youth, peace etc. Free press can be utilized to monitor, investigate and criticize policies of any nation. A society that has access to public documents and processes can highlight the conflict of interests and empower its citizens to hold accountable the elected representatives. Media plays a crucial role in creation of society where everyone’s voice is heard and everyone is empowered. The World Press Freedom Day is provides an opportunity to deepen our understanding about the role of media and post-2015 development agenda.
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference, and impart information and ideas through any media regardless of frontiers”
Grant me thirty years of equal division of inheritances and a free press, and I will provide you with a republic. – Alexis de Tocqueville
Rahul Choudhury
Innovative Financial Advisors Pvt. Ltd. – Media Team
Fiinovation - Opportunity Solutions, Simplified. 
Today the freedom of media is as important as food is,, Its like mirror what actually shows clear picture. the role of media in development and good governance are not mutually exclusive.
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On this day, we also remember the journalist who have lost their lives in the search of truth through their journalistic efforts..
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Freedom is as important as responsibility. In countries like India, the media have a responsibility to fight backward ideas such as casteism and communalism, and help the people fight poverty and other social evils.
So press should do what it can do..
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Media is biggest tool to spread awareness in society. so its very important to give full freedom to speak and write any thing for writers but in appropriate manner, after all we are living in democratic country.
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We do have a freedom of expression, but every now and then we see cartoonist and social media enthusiasts getting arrested because of their updates. Hopefully things change in the years to come.
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India is a democratic country and we all have the right to express our views in right manner. No doubt these days, media is one of the platform to highlight the things happening in the society be it social,economic or political..
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this is not an ideal enviroment where one can publish anything they want and get away with . even posting status and comments on social media website is proved enough to put someone behind bars. time and again it is proved that though this freedom is possible, its difficult . it is somewhere in the grey area.
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Freedom of press is very important for democratic country, we have to raise awareness of the importance of freedom of the press and remind governments of their duty to respect and uphold the right to freedom of expression.
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In last 10 years media has undergone major change. Now, everybody is informed and knows whats happening around them. It has impacted the mindsets of the general community and a number of reforms have taken place because of it only. May this process continues so that we can have a better society to live in.
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This day encourage and develop initiatives in favour of pressfreedom,and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide.
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