Indian Journalists Face Heckling and Attacks Amid Anti-Government Protests

Indian television reporter Dev Kotak described being beaten by dozens of protesters during a large youth demonstration against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government. Kotak, who works for the Times Now channel, was covering the protest in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir, when he was targeted amid chants of "lapdog media."

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The mob might have actually killed me. There was a seething anger among them because they felt the media hadn't reported their side of the story.

Kotak stated that the protesters felt the media had not reported their side of the story, leading to intense anger. He recounted being slapped, kicked, and punched, with water bottles also thrown at him. "The mob might have actually killed me. There was a seething anger among them because they felt the media hadn't reported their side of the story," Kotak said, expressing his fear for his life and his desire to escape.

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There were slaps, kicks, punches and water bottles being thrown. I was very scared and feared for my life; I just wanted to get out alive.

The physical attack on Kotak is part of a broader trend of heckling and abuse directed at crews from mainstream Indian television channels during recent protests. These channels are widely perceived by protesters as pro-government and "sold out." The anger has intensified following a police crackdown on protesters marching toward parliament, which injured many students.

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People kept shouting that we hadn't shown their side of the story. That's simply not true, I've reported injuries on both sides.

This hostility reflects a significant decline in media freedom in India since 2014. The country's ranking on the Reporters Without Borders' World Press Freedom Index has fallen sharply, from 122nd in 2010 to 157th out of 180 countries in 2026. The watchdog attributes this decline to violence against journalists, concentrated media ownership aligned with the government, and increasing political polarization. The Editors Guild of India condemned the attacks but also warned that flawed reporting exacerbates the situation and weakens the media's role in democracy.

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Flawed and biased reporting not only makes a bad situation worse, but has more serious and longer-lasting consequences which impact the fabric of our society and also weaken the media's position as one of the key pillars of a functional democracy.