On October 3, Indian journalists Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakraborty were arrested by New Delhi police under the ‘Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act’ – a draconian anti-terrorism law. As of November 2023, both remain behind bars. Chakraborty is the Human Resources administrator and Purkayastha the Chief Editor of the progressive Indian news site, Newsclick.

More than one hundred others associated with Newsclick, Peoples Dispatch and the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research have faced intimidation, harassment, detention and interrogation – including having their homes raided and devices seized by Indian authorities.   

Newsclick’s Pro-People Agenda

According to the International People’s Assembly (IPA), the repression of Newsclick has been justified on the following grounds:

1. The Police questions suggest that it was inappropriate if not “anti-national” for the journalists to cover the great struggles of the Indian people, particularly the farmers’ struggle.
2. The Police allege that Newsclick is the recipient of Chinese funds (government or private) and that it is obliged to follow the Chinese direction (government or private).

The first charge relates to Newsclick’s unwavering criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s far right government and support for progressive peoples’ movements. As explained by Leftword Books,

“It was the coverage done by Newsclick of the struggles of workers and farmers, women and Dalits, Adivasis and others that bothered the government. Newsclick’s coverage of the violence against minorities as well as disastrous policy measures such as demonetisation, and the sudden, total lockdown during Covid’s first wave have also been exemplary”.

Of particular significance was the outlet’s daily coverage and support for the November 2020 to December 2021 mass farmers’ struggle. Led by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (United Farmers Front, SKM) – a coalition of over five hundred organisations – this movement was successful in forcing Modi to withdraw the disastrous anti-people ‘Farm Laws’.

Neo-McCarthyite Attacks in the US and India

The second charge against Newsclick relates to a bogus allegation contained in the New York Times (NYT). The paper ran a McCarthyite hit piece accusing various left-wing organisations associated with the International People’s Assembly (IPA) of involvement in a global conspiracy to spread pro-Chinese government propaganda.

In the United States, the NYT article was used by the conservative Right in a failed attack on the anti-war Left, with Republican Senator Marco Rubio calling for an investigation into organisations including Codepink and the People’s Forum.

However, in India, the same article provided an excuse to launch a witch hunt against critics of the Modi government. People’s Dispatch reports that:

“Police records show that the case against Newsclick under UAPA was registered on August 17, just over a week after a New York Times report… sparked a political and media scandal within India, which saw right-wing news outlets running dozens of pieces lodging baseless accusations that the members of the outlets are Chinese propagandists. Members of parliament from the far-right ruling Bharatiya Janata Party as well as high-level authorities like Home Minister Amit Shah also made similar statements on the parliament floor and to media”.

The Movement in Solidarity with Prabir and Amit

The repression of Newsclick and arrest of Prabir and Amit has been met with condemnation and solidarity with those jailed. At the 14-18 October Dilemmas of Humanity Conference (DoH) in Johannesburg, South Africa, delegates chanted “free Prabir and Amit!” and “hands off Newsclick!”

On behalf of the hundreds of participants from progressive social and political movements and groups involved in the DoH process, the IPA issued a statement calling upon, “our friends across the world to join us in demanding the immediate release of Prabir and Amit and in demanding the end to the intimidation and harassment of journalists and researchers in India”.

The Red Ant Collective in Australia echoes these calls.

Free Prabir Purkayastha and Amit Chakraborty!

Hands off Newsclick!

** The first published version of this article listed Amit Chakraborty as the Editor of Newsclick. This has been corrected as of 6 May 2024.