New Delhi: The media collective Digipub, of which The Wire is a part, has condemned the Income Tax department ‘surveys’ on three independent bodies on September 7, calling it part of the “repressive trend” of curtailing independent journalism and research.
DIGIPUB condemns the raids on the IPSMF, the CPR and Oxfam India. pic.twitter.com/v0uADTY1NQ
— DIGIPUB News India Foundation (@DigipubIndia) September 8, 2022
On Wednesday, officials of the I-T department conducted ‘surveys’ at the offices of the Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation, the Centre for Policy Research and Oxfam India.
Officials were reported to have said that the surveys were part of the department’s inquiry into the alleged contravention of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act.
The IPSMF, Digipub notes, funds independent, public-spirited and socially impactful journalism. It had supported several independent digital media platforms, including The Wire (from 2016 to 2019). Digipub, in its statement, notes that this is something that is “desperately needed in the bleak news media landscape.”
The Centre for Policy Research is a public policy think tank. Oxfam is a global NGO with the stated objective of fighting inequality and poverty.
Both are known for bringing out reports and data-driven papers that highlight social and economic issues. “All this is important for a healthy democracy,” says Digipub.
The group has also noted that this is hardly the first time that such raids have been conducted in recent years.
“Without any clarity on allegations or evidence, Income Tax teams are being used to intimidate and harass organisations involved in public service journalism. This is a brazen waste of human resources and of the efforts of government officials who have joined the service to add value to India’s administrative mechanism,” it says.
Noting that using them as political tools is an insult to their abilities, the group has called on I-T officials to clarify why the three organisations have been subjected to searches.
Condemning the surveys, Digipub also noted that any attack on independent journalists is a threat to freedom of press in India.
Such actions, it notes, also exhibit how “petrified our government is of independent media.”
Digipub was formed in 2020 to “represent, amplify and evolve best practices to build a robust digital news ecology”. The umbrella group – DIGIPUB News India Foundation – comprises Alt News, Article 14, Boomlive, Cobrapost, HW News, Newsclick, Newslaundry, Scroll.in, News Minute, The Quint and The Wire.