New delhi: Kanchan Gupta, senior adviser in India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, recently appeared on “India, Russia and the World,” a weekly podcast hosted by Runjhun Sharma, head of news at RT India. During the conversation, Gupta highlighted several key issues concerning media ethics and democratic processes in India.
According to Russia Today, Gupta urged the Western media to reevaluate their ethical standards, asserting that biased reporting on India undermines their credibility. He expressed criticism towards Meta for blocking a video of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, labeling it as unacceptable interference in India’s democratic process. Gupta further elaborated on the concept of free speech in India, explaining that the Indian Constitution provides for conditional speech rather than absolute free speech.
He also addressed the political dynamics in South Asia, specifically noting that the recent protests in India should not be equated with those in Nepal or Bangladesh. Gupta argued
that Indian society is more layered and diverse, which sets it apart from its neighbors.