美国国家公共电台 NPR--Independent journalists in India are being targeted for their critical reporting

Independent journalists in India are being targeted for their critical reporting

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Washington Post columnist² Rana Ayyub, who's been critical of India's prime minister, about threats to press freedom in the country.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Many journalists in India are under threat. Authorities target some for critical reporting and dissenting³ views. Hindu nationalists outside the government also harass⁴ them. Investigative reporter and Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub knows what it's like. Our co-host A Martínez spoke⁵ with her.

RANA AYYUB: A, at this point of time, the kind of press censorship that we are witnessing in India, where journalists are being silenced, arrested for stories they have not even reported - when one of India's leading industrialists⁶ close to Narendra Modi has taken over one of the few independent press bodies' news channels in India and when the prime minister of the country has not taken a single press conference in the last eight years, who does not believe he needs to address the media - I feel like there is nothing like press freedom in the world's largest democracy of 1.3 billion people. We need to have a robust⁷ press, and that is absent because most of the mainstream⁸ media is literally⁹ repeating the government's line, and the ones who are independent, who are critical, are paying a price for doing that.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

And what you described, Rana, is a playbook that regrettably is being used all over the world, in the United States as well. When you consider that, it has to be a chilling thing to think about for a journalist.

AYYUB: It is. I mean, Narendra Modi is a new norm of a new world order, whether it is Duterte in Philippines or Trump¹⁰ here or Erdogan or Bolsonaro or Putin. You look at the attack on the free press, you look at the number of journalists who are behind bars right now, India this year is - in the World Press Freedom Index, India is in the 150th position, where recently a journalist was stopped at the airport from traveling to the U.S. to receive her Pulitzer, when I was stopped this year when I was going to London to speak at a press freedom event.

So this says Modi is only learning and enhancing his skills in silencing the press, which is being practiced by megalomaniac leaders about for - by authoritarian¹¹ leaders who he is great friends with. So they are all learning from each other, and they realize that they can get away with it with impunity¹². Whether it is Mohammed bin¹³ Salman in Saudi Arabia, whether it is Modi in India, we see what has happened to countries that have silenced journalists. There has been no repercussion¹⁴ for them.

MART?NEZ: Rana, what kind of harassment¹⁵ have you gone through? And how have you handled it? How have you dealt with it?

AYYUB: Oh, well, A, the harassment against me has been more than a decadelong, from my image being mapped (ph) on a porn video and circulated all over the country to being cheated on money laundering¹⁶ case which I am going to face now once I arrive in India. Another court summon - I've just received a court summon a month ago for which I have to appear in a court in 28 of January for an article I wrote in the year 2009, and the accusation¹⁷ against me is that I am a practicing Muslim and, hence, prejudiced in my reportage.

MART?NEZ: How does media ownership in India impact the press freedoms there?

AYYUB: Well, I think at this point of time, most of the media groups in India are owned by industrialists and business houses. So to protect their own interests, their platform, the journalism¹⁸ platforms end up becoming a mouthpiece for the government. The structure is such that it is dependent on revenues. Most newspapers in India are dependent on revenues and ads from the government. Many journalists in India who are some of India's finest journalists are now independent consultants¹⁹. They're not employees of a particular organization. There are many journalists in India who are being arrested, silenced. They can't tell their stories. They're being murdered. We are in a very, very grim place where press freedom is concerned.

MART?NEZ: I can't help but just keep thinking about the citizens of India, Rana, who are watching, reading and listening to the news outlets²⁰. I mean, do they have a sense of what's going on? Or do they just not care?

AYYUB: A, if you were in India right now and watching the news channels, especially the mainstream media, the way they are literally issuing a dog whistle against the Muslim minorities in India, against the lower caste, the way they're endorsing²¹ the government's line, the way they are parroting the line, the way they are making enemies of each one of us, it is nauseating²². You have - you might have one Fox News here in India right now. Most of the news channels are incarnates²³ of that. And I think the Indian population, by and large, some sections are, of course, turning to independent platforms, like YouTube and TikTok, but by and large, we are all consuming something that is extremely toxic²⁴.

MART?NEZ: Rana, I recently spoke to Indian comedian²⁵ Vir Das about his new special, and we got to talking about his viral video from the Kennedy Center a little over a year ago called "I Come From Two Indias."

AYYUB: "Two Indias."

MART?NEZ: When I - yeah. When I found out that I was talking to you, Rana, I remembered this part in particular.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

VIR DAS: I come from an India where journalism is supposedly dead because men in fancy suits and studios give each other [expletive], and yet women on the road with laptops are still telling the truth.

MART?NEZ: Vir Das is not a journalist. He took a lot of abuse and was threatened for his speech. He did say in that - in the start of that clip that, I come from an India where journalism is supposedly dead. I think he hopefully is talking about journalists like you and the others that are fighting back. But how close to dying do you think journalism is in India?

AYYUB: Well, A, there's not a day that goes by where I wake up wondering, how long will I be free or how long will my colleagues be free or how long will the journalists who are writing in India be free? One of my colleagues, Gauri Lankesh was shot dead outside her house in 2017. Till today, nobody knows who killed her. But we do know that Hindu nationalists in India, many members of the government, were celebrating her murder on social media, right? So at this point of time, I worry about every single person, especially independent journalists in India who are putting everything at risk to fight that battle. Journalists should only worry about reporting the stories and not becoming the story themselves. And that's what, unfortunately, we all have become. We have become the stories in the new India that we live in, the India that Vir Das was talking about.

MART?NEZ: Rana Ayyub is an investigative journalist and Washington Post columnist from India. Rana, thank you very much.

AYYUB: Thank you so much for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

3 dissenting   

adj.不同意的

参考例句：

• He can't tolerate dissenting views. 他不能容纳不同意见。
• A dissenting opinion came from the aunt . 姑妈却提出不赞同的意见。

4 harass   

vt.使烦恼，折磨，骚扰

参考例句：

• Our mission is to harass the landing of the main Japaness expeditionary force.我们的任务是骚乱日本远征军主力的登陆。
• They received the order to harass the enemy's rear.他们接到骚扰敌人后方的命令。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

6 industrialists   

n.工业家，实业家( industrialist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This deal will offer major benefits to industrialists and investors. 这笔交易将会让实业家和投资者受益匪浅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has set up a committee of industrialists and academics to advise it. 政府已成立了一个实业家和学者的委员会来为其提供建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

8 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

11 authoritarian   

n./adj.专制(的)，专制主义者，独裁主义者

参考例句：

• Foreign diplomats suspect him of authoritarian tendencies.各国外交官怀疑他有着独裁主义倾向。
• The authoritarian policy wasn't proved to be a success.独裁主义的政策证明并不成功。

12 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

13 bin   

n.箱柜；vt.放入箱内；[计算机] DOS文件名:二进制目标文件

参考例句：

• He emptied several bags of rice into a bin.他把几袋米倒进大箱里。
• He threw the empty bottles in the bin.他把空瓶子扔进垃圾箱。

14 repercussion   

n.[常pl.](不良的)影响，反响，后果

参考例句：

• After being put out,service has received very good market repercussion.服务推出后收到了非常好的市场反响。
• The president's death had unexpected repercussion.总统的逝世引起出乎意料的反响。

15 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

16 laundering   

n.洗涤（衣等），洗烫（衣等）；洗（钱）v.洗（衣服等），洗烫（衣服等）( launder的现在分词 )；洗（黑钱）（把非法收入改头换面，变为貌似合法的收入）

参考例句：

• Separate the white clothes from the dark clothes before laundering. 洗衣前应当把浅色衣服和深色衣服分开。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He was charged with laundering money. 他被指控洗钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

18 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

19 consultants   

顾问( consultant的名词复数 )； 高级顾问医生，会诊医生

参考例句：

• a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
• There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。

20 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

21 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网

22 nauseating   

adj.令人恶心的，使人厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I had to listen to the whole nauseating story. 我不得不从头到尾听那令人作呕的故事。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• There is a nauseating smell of rotten food. 有一股令人恶心的腐烂食物的气味。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 incarnates   

v.赋予（思想、精神等）以人的形体( incarnate的第三人称单数 )；使人格化；体现；使具体化

参考例句：

• He incarnates all the qualities of a successful manager. 他表现出了事业有成的经理人员所具有的一切品质。 来自互联网

24 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

25 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。