An umbrella body for digital media organisations has called out the Narendra Modi government’s claim on journalism not serving a public purpose as “deeply disturbing and antithetical to the foundation of a democracy”.

The government had allegedly made the claim while cancelling the non-profit status of two digital media platforms, the investigative journalism portal Reporters’ Collective and the File, a Kannada website.

“Such a claim could be used to target other independent news outlets financially. If the government believes India is a democracy, not just one in name, it should retract this position,” the DIGIPUB News India Foundation said in a statement.

Both the outfits that had their non-profit status cancelled – because the government allegedly reasoned that journalism is not a function that has a public purpose – published reports critical of the Narendra Modi government.

On January 25, The Reporters’ Collective, a non-profit news organisation, had in a statement released on its website announced the cancellation of its non-profit status by the income-tax department. The Reporters’ Collective was launched in 2021.

“…the tax authorities have cancelled our non-profit status, claiming journalism does not serve any public purpose and therefore cannot be carried out as a non-profit exercise in India,” the Reporters’ Collective statement read.

In its statement on Monday DIGIPUB mentioned the tax authorities’ comment on Reporters’ Collective and said the income-tax department in its order to the Delhi-based collective of reporters who do investigative journalism that “the main aim of the trust is to promote and carry out journalism… the applicant has failed to justify as to how these activities are beneficial to the public at large.”

“This means the Reporters’ Collective, a publicly funded non-profit trust since 2021, would no longer be exempt from paying taxes. They could potentially be taxed retrospectively for the journalism the Income Tax department permitted them to do as a charitable organisation in the first place,” DIGIPUB said in its statement.

DIGIPUB also reminded the Narendra Modi government of India’s dismal track record in the world Press Freedom Index.

“In a time when India’s press freedom index has plunged to its lowest ever and large swathes of the mainstream media have become the government’s cheerleaders, independent media outlets are questioning the government of the day and its policies,” the statement said.

“Most of these outlets, which sustain themselves without government and commercial advertisements, are struggling financially. The government makes it difficult for them to survive by attacking them in myriad ways, legally and financially. It removes the last few spaces where the public can access critical coverage.”

In the world Press Freedom Index published annually by Reporters without Borders (RSF), India ranked 161 out of 180 countries in 2023. Last year, it moved two ranks up at 159, well below neighbours Pakistan (152) and Sri Lanka (150).