London Vārta: The Process Is The Punishment Says Paranjoy Guha Thakurta

Arm-twisting through legal means and harassment of journalists by the current govt in India is to create “a chilling effect”. And there’s a word for it, SLAPP, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta explains:  Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation. The process is the punishment, Thakurta says. 

Thakurta is one of India’s best known journalists. But he’s controversial too. Besides having been questioned by Delhi Police for freelancing with a news portal which is under investigation by the govt, Thakurta also faces various allegations in multiple court cases for his writings, primarily, the defamation.

Paranjoy was one of more than 180 editors, investigative reporters and other journalists around the world who were selected as possible candidates for surveillance by government clients of the surveillance firm NSO Group, according to Amnesty International. 

Paranjoy is in conversation with broadcaster Pervaiz Alam, discussing the challenges faced by journalists in protecting the freedom of speech in India. Having worked with Business India, BusinessWorld, The Telegraph, India Today, The Pioneer, Television Eighteen (now Network 18), Lok Sabha Television and other networks, Paranjoy joined India’s prestigious Economic and Political Weekly as its Editor in 2016 but had to resign amid a controversy.

He has been a visiting faculty member at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. Thakurta has published, authored and collaborated with other writers on more than 30 books, including, Gas Wars, Sue The Messenger and Flying Lies.