Indian govt hits NDTV with 24-hr blackout on Nov 9

I&B said the top Indian news channel’s coverage revealed "strategically-sensitive details" while counter-terrorism operations by the security forces were still ongoing at the Pathankot airbase on January 4, putting not only national security but the international standing of the country at risk. NDTV has denied the accusation and said it is "examining all options in this matter". "It is shocking that NDTV has been singled out in this manner," it said in a statement. "Every channel and newspaper had similar coverage. In fact NDTV’s coverage was particularly balanced. After the dark days of the Emergency when the press was fettered, it is extraordinary that NDTV is being proceeded against in this manner.” The I&B order, however, states that the telecast referred to the ammunition stockpiled in the Pathankot airbase, MiGs, fighter planes, rocket launchers, mortars, helicopters, and fuel tanks which were likely to be used by the terrorists, or their handlers, to cause massive harm to defence personnel and civilians. The order of a 24-hour blackout, which comes into effect from 12:01am Indian Standard Time on November 9, has been criticised by many notable journalists in India, with some saying the ministry’s decision should be perceived as a violation of the freedom of press. Editors Guild of India, a representative body of newspaper and magazine editors in the country, was among those to condemn the I&B Ministry’s decision. "The Editors Guild of India strongly condemns the unprecedented decision of the inter-ministerial committee of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to take NDTV India off the air for a day and demands that the order be immediately rescinded," it said in a statement. "The decision is a direct violation of the freedom of the media and therefore the citizens of India, and amounts to harsh censorship imposed by the government reminiscent of the Emergency. This first-of-its-kind order to impose a blackout has seen the Central government entrust itself with the power to intervene in the functioning of the media and take arbitrary punitive action as and when it does not agree with the coverage."