Importance Of Freedom Of Press Essay

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Media plays a pivotal role in building the public opinion and views of millions on various topics of regional, national and international agenda and bringing into light the hidden injustices. Therefore the existence of an independent, free and powerful media forms the cornerstone of a democratic nation. Today the democratic integrity of a country is judged by the ambit of the freedom that the media enjoys in that country. It is worth mentioning here the Blackstonian concept of freedom of press which still forms the shell of the concept of press freedom. They are: 1) Liberty of the press is essential to the state 2) No previous restraints should be placed on the publications. 3) That does not mean there is freedom for doing what is prohibited …show more content…

regulation of media dates back to the times of British regime. During the colonial rule, the British Govt. passed a number of legislations to control the activities of the press. They enacted the Indian Press Act, 1910, the Indian Press (Emergency) Act and so on. In addition to this, during the Second World War, the British exercised exhaustive power under the Defence of India Act and enforced censorship on press. They also declared the publication of news related to the Congress activities as illegal. Thus having experienced the waves of repression during the British regime and realising the importance of freedom of press in a democratic India, the founding fathers of the Indian Constitution emphasised on the freedom of press in the Constituent Assembly. Despite this, it is surprising to note that freedom of press was not included as a fundamental right in the Constitution. The chief architect of Indian Constitution, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar countered the criticisms that arouse regarding this omission by stating that, freedom of press is included in the right freedom of speech and expression and it is not necessary to mention it as a separate right. Now when Article 19(1) provides the freedom of speech and expression, there is Article 19(2) of the Indian Constitution which states the reasonable restrictions to the freedom of press. Right form the history of press in India there are many major and minor cases where Govt. has employed Article 19(2) to restrict

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