Indian media has always backed free speech: President Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI: President Pranab Mukherjee has said that the media in India has always fought authoritarian tendencies and supported the freedom of individuals to speak out.

Speaking at an event where he received the first copy of an English version of the book ‘ The Eighth Ring,’ the autobiography of KM Mathew, former editor and publisher of Malayala Manorama, Mukherjee hailed the media for not compromising on freedom of speech and expression. He said the history of Indian journalism was closely associated with the freedom movement.

"Many national leaders founded newspapers or were closely associated with it during the freedom struggle. Jawaharlal Nehru wrote in October 1937 in The Modern Review of Calcutta under a pseudonym and criticised himself for having dictatorial tendencies. People wondered who had dared criticise Nehru. It was only much later that people realised Nehru himself had written the article in order to encourage criticism," the President said.

This is not the first time the President has emphasised the role of journalists in society. On National Press Day celebrated on November 16, he had said that the media recognised as the fourth estate served as a "facilitator, protector and enabler of democratic institutions and processes and that it was an important component in the fabric of a functional democracy.