The Press In India: Somewhere Between Free and Unfree

In the first half of 1988, I was doing research in Uttarakhand, when news came of the murder of a brave young journalist from the region. His name was Umesh Dobhal, and he had published a series of articles exposing the link between the liqour mafia, the police and excise departments, and local politicians. He was almost certainly killed by an assassin hired by liqour contractors.

In the second half of 1988, I was living and working in Delhi, when a raging controversy broke out over a new law...