The Big Somersault

Though the movie ‘Dhurandhar’ had already grossed over Rs 1,100 crores, a new version has been introduced in movie halls from January 1. 2026. This is not because the movie is banned in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Pakistan. But the Ministry of Information and broadcasting reportedly intervened to mute the reference to Balochistan showing the Baloch inimical to India (sic), as well as to cut out the “political overtones” in the movie.

It is no secret that the government has been using Bollywood for aggrandizing politicians, grandstanding about intelligence, and hiding facts like the land grab in Ladakh.

China is unhappy with the upcoming movie of Salman Khan on the Battle of Galwan, calling its theme and timing inappropriate, presents a one-sided narrative that stokes antagonistic sentiments, when China-India relations have only recently shown hard-won signs of easing. (china-breathes-fire-over-battle-of-galwan-movie).

Concurrently, a strange phenomenon is being witnessed in India - Arnab Goswami criticizing the Central Government (mentioning the BJP by name) on Republic TV. This is when India ranks 151 out of 180 countries in the Global Press Freedom Index, although India looks askance at global indices; one example is dumping the global standards of AQI and devising one to cover up gross incompetence to deal with the crisis.

Press freedom in India is constitutionally rooted in Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech) but faces significant challenges, with journalists experiencing intimidation, censorship, and increasing government control via new laws – like the Telecommunications Act and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 that critics say expands state power over media and raises concerns about data privacy, journalistic sources and harassment.

There have been cases of intimidation, journalists facing arrests, raids, lawsuits (defamation), provisional detention running into months/years, and three journalists killed on an average every year (https://rsf.org/en/country/india).

To top this, media ownership is heavily consolidated in the hands of a few pro-government conglomerates. Therefore, despite a statutory body like the Press Council of India (PCI), press freedom remains categorized as "very serious" due to systemic challenges including journalist safety, media ownership concentration, and legal pressures.

Republic TV is owned by Arnab Goswami, who is founder, MD and Editor-in-Chief of Republic Media Network, holding a majority stake (over 82%) through his company ARG Outlier Media. Three prominent issues were raised by Arnab Goswami as the news anchor recently: Delhi AQI problem; Aravalli Hills judgment; ostentatious display of wealth in wedding of a BJP leader in Madhya Pradesh.

There are numerous reasons being attributed to Arnab’s changed stance. Many are speculating the government’s pipeline to him is going dry. At the same time, we tend to ignore the past. For example, take the write up ‘The History: Bangladesh must not forget’.But we ourselves seem to have already forgotten India’s victory over East Pakistan in 1971 in the blaze of Operation ‘Sindoor’.

For Arnab Goswami, we need not go back that many years. Recall him on Times Now as a ferocious BJP critic. The grapevine then was in order to bring him down on his knees, an industrialist from Mumbai was used to threaten him with a Rs 100 crore defamation suit. Naturally, Arnab buckled and was brought on the Republic TV, co-owned by Rajeev Chandrashekhar.

Rajeev Chandrashekhar, BJP MP of Rajya Sabha from April 23, 2006 to April 2, 2024, has served as the Union Minister for Electronics and IT, Union Minister for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Union Minister for Jal Shakti. Presently, he is President BJP in Kerala since March 24, 2025.

On Republic TV, Arnab Goswami became the most volatile supporter of the BJP, shouting at the top of his voice and as an anchor in group discussions, promptly cutting off any speaker who attempted to raise any point against the government.

That he became the favourite mouthpiece of the BJP was evident from the fact that deliberate government leaks of even classified material, including from the defence ministry, first appeared on Republic TV, with Arnab displaying copies of the document to the viewers. Also, recall when Maharashtra Police took Arnab into custody on a Saturday, a special bench of the Supreme Court was convened on Sunday to have him released.

Three views are in circulation as under from which you can take a pick:

• Arnab’s antics are stage managed by the political hierarchy. There is no change of heart in Arnab. He is a seasoned conman – better actor than some of our politicians even though he cannot change his rig with fancy headgear every 10 minutes. The government's aim is to create an impression that press freedom is alive and kicking in India to gain better ranking in the global Press Freedom Index.
• A stage has been reached where the government doesn’t care what anyone writes or speaks – be it Arnab or anyone else, because there is near total state control of the media.
• The CIA/ISI has bought Arnab.

Meanwhile, Times Now, like the bulk media (99.9%) was taken over by the government-favoured corporate. Navika Kumar was photographed sitting in the rear seat of Narendra Modi’s car (with Modi in the co-driver seat) during the Prime Minister’s last road trip in Punjab. So, Navika Kumar is in the hot seat now; earning more than Rs 22.75 Lakh per month, plus allowances, according to a social media post from early 2024. Arnab Goswami probably earns many times that.

Lt General Prakash Katoch is an Indian Army veteran. Views expressed here are the writer’s own.