New Delhi: The evening began with a call for a minute’s silence – as tribute to all those who have died in recent hostilities between India and Pakistan.On May 12, at New Delhi’s Jawahar Bhavan, The Wire’s national affairs editor, Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, opened proceedings recalling how The Wire’s journey began a decade ago.To do that, she began where one must – of her own journalistic journey, through the last decade, with The Wire. “I can tell you here without the blink of an eye that it was nothing but exhilarating; a full-on thrilling experience, of course, interspersed with a raidhere, government blocking the website there, and loads of cases and social media trolling in between,” Pisharoty said, to laughter from the audience.She added that today’s journalism needs a streak of courage, to speak truth to power as soldiers of press freedom.“Therefore, at this moment of celebration,” Pisharoty said.Indeed, The Wire has turned 10 and to kick off a year of events, it had organised a talk on ‘A Decade of Living Dangerously: Pressing Unmute in Naya India.’‘A new record’In her welcome note on behalf of The Wire Hindi, its deputy editor Meenakshi Tewari, held how the state of Hindi journalism in the country is not hidden from anyone. “Just last week we have seen a new record being made!” Tewari said.Stressing how The Wire Hindi exists as much more than a shadow of The Wire English, Tewari noted that the organisation’s editors have never considered the vertical as an outlet of mere translation but given it the freedom to encourage the best journalistic practices.Pisharoty also added here that the Northeast has special and prominent place in The Wire’s daily news wheel. “It was the first mainstream digital media platform to do so. Thank you, Siddharth, for breaking that glass ceiling,” she said.Pisharoty also mentioned that often The Wire’s morning news meetings comprised only women, a rarity even today in Indian mainstream newsrooms. “By the way, thanks to the Wire’s inclusive policy, am also the first woman from the Northeast to head anational news bureau in mainstream media,” she said, to great applause.‘We are still here’Two of The Wire’s founding editors, M.K. Venu and Sidharth Bhatia, were unable to attend this event. Siddharth Varadarjan, represented all three when he spoke.“Saying it’s time to ‘press unmute in Naya Bharat’ is just Gen Z’s way of saying ‘bol ki ab lab aazaad hain tere’ – and one of the nicest things about The Wire on its 10th birthday is that we have our following among the young and the old, from the clever kids to thegrandmas and uncles – I see all of you in the audience today – and not any WhatsApp Uncles!” Varadarajan said.He spoke of recent events that have made news:On a serious note, when we themed our year-long celebration of The Wire as the ‘decade of living dangerously’, and this particular event as ‘pressing unmute in Naya Bharat’, we had no idea that our Pradhan WhatsApp Uncle would try and shut us down. Beginning at some time in the early hours of Friday, May 9, and stretching till late that night, access to The Wire was blocked on government orders. The reasons were never given and only when we write to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to find out what was happening that we were told, late that night, about their objections to a story about CNN’s report on the loss of an Indian aircraft! We believe the story takedown and site blocking orders are unconstitutional and we will be challenging them in court but what is important is that the block is lifted, we are still here, still publishing and reaching millions.Varadarajan said that he, along with Venu and Bhatia, launched The Wire 10 years ago on May 11, 2015 with three big assumptions.First, that India’s established media was not going to be up to the task of reporting and analysing and providing perspective on what was going on in India.Second, that if we wanted to create an independent news platform, we would not be able to rely on the usual investors and advertisers because they are the first to buckle when the chips are down.Third, that the people of India – as readers and viewers but most importantly as conscious citizens – would see the value in independent journalism and would help to financially sustain our venture.He said that 10 years on, these assumptions of ours have proved correct.Devoting good time in his speech to the value that The Wire and its readers, viewers and donors have in each other’s existence, Varadarajan also spoke of the “unprecedented assault” on press freedom in India.This attack has come on two fronts, the first official, i.e. from the government, and the second, from within – by the abandonment of professionalism by a big section of the national media, by its blatant communalisation, by its continuous ‘speaking lies for power’.The official assault on press freedom itself takes multiple forms — the filing of fake and trumped up cases against reporters for stories they have done, the arrest of journalists coupled with the denial of bail, the harassment of journalists – especially in Jammu and Kashmir – by the police for the so-called crime of expressing their opinions on social media. Colleagues from Kashmir have been stopped from travelling abroad and dozens have had their passports seized.All of this is unconstitutional but carries on anyway. The government has also tried to push new rules and regulations that will allow it to throttle digital media – the one arena of India’s news industry where they have been unable to control the narrative. A few yearsback, they set up a Group of Ministers on Communication and they lamented the fact that while TV and newspapers are under control, the government is unable to control the online narrative. So these new rules and laws are aimed at establishing that control.The Wire and other independent media platforms have resisted and will continue to resist this.Varadarajan remembered four journalists who are no longer with us. “They exemplify the threats that journalists face in Naya Bharat,” he said.The first two are Gauri Lankesh and Shujaat Bukhari, assassinated in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Both of them were victims of irrationality, intolerance and hate. But there is something else we need to remember at this time: Both of them were also the victims of online smear campaigns, and their murders should serve as a reminder that the vicious trolling which goes on – a lot of it sponsored from the the top – can sometimes have nasty repercussions in the real world.The other two journalists I want to mention are Pavan Jaiswal and Zubair Ahmed. Both exemplify the intolerance of our rulers and the way in which journalism is criminalised as a warning to others. Pavan’s ‘crime’ was to file a story on how schoolchildren in Uttar Pradesh were being given roti and salt as their midday meal. He was charged and arrested for his report and had to spend months defending himself.Zubair Ahmed was a reporter in Port Blair. He made the mistake of tweeting about how the local police had quarantined a family because one of their members had spoken to a Covid patient on the telephone! The police filed criminal charges against him and he had to go all the way to the Calcutta High Court to get these ridiculous charges dismissed.Varadarajan also requested donors to be regular in their donations to The Wire, and asked them to not get annoyed if we phone or message them with reminders.“Above all, let’s resolve to keep that unmute button pressed at all times. There is no place for fear or anxiety. Indians have to speak up. Because that is the only way to ensure Naya Bharat is Apna Bharat,” he said.Cinema, censorship and freedomSeema Chishti, editor, The Wire introduced ‘Changing Direction’, a short film festival that The Wire is organising, as a hat-tip for new ways of telling stories, and as a way of acknowledging the love of short videos that Indians have. How to document, comment upon and steer Naya India ahead is best explored through a 20 minute-long film. The last date for the entries is October 31, 2025. The jury will be headed by director Payal Kapadia and others in the jury include Faiza Khan. Other guidelines and details are up on The Wire’s website. Six films would be chosen for uploading on The Wire’s YouTube channel, that all members can see.The jewel in the crown was the panel of writers, film directors, actors and documentary film makers that was steered sparklingly by Jahnavi Sen, deputy editor.While introducing the panel, Sen mentioned the censorship that is visible from the outside when looking at the film industry: certain films not being released at all because the OTT platforms that produced them decided not to show them (like Tees) or because the CBFC refuses to grant certification unless really substantial cuts are made (like Santosh); films being released but then going through extensive cuts and filmmakers even being raided (like L2: Empuraan); and a censorship-by-mob situation where sets, screenings and theatres are vandalised if some groups decide a film is ‘hurting sentiments’.The panel comprisedDibakar Banerjee, an acclaimed filmmaker who has explored the nature of power, capitalism, inequality, gender, state, faith and their interrelationships. His films include Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, LSD, Shanghai and the unreleased Tees.Shahana Goswami is a celebrated actor who has been in films and series including Midnight’s Children, A Suitable Boy, Zwigato and most recently, the unreleased film Santosh.Vani Subramanian is a renowned documentary filmmaker and rights activist. Her work explores the connections between our everyday practices, perceptions and prejudices, and the larger political questions confronting us. Her films include Ayodhya Gatha, Stir Fry Simmer, The Death of Us, and, most recently, Cinema Pe Cinema.Alankrita Shrivastava is a household name as a director and screenwriter. Her work includes the films and series Lipstick Under My Burkha, Dolly Kitty Aur Woh Chamakte Sitaare, Made in Heaven and Bombay Begums.Shashank Arora is an actor and musician who has appeared in films and series including Titli, Made in Heaven, Superboys of Malegaon and the unreleased film Tees.Details about the intense and candid discussion will be up soon, on video and in text.‘Did not set out to do brave things’The evening was closed by The Wire’s political editor, Ajoy Ashirwad Mahaprashasta, whose journey with The Wire is contiguous with its existence. He began by expressing gratitude towards Jawahar Bhawan which so generously and unwaveringly has stood by all progressive discussions and events.He said:“Just when The Wire was at the cusp of successfully finishing our tenth year, we were thrown another challenge. In the middle of a war-like situation, we were ordered to be blocked for publishing information that most of the media houses already knew about but didn’t dare, or even care, to publish. We did, because we believed that our readers have the right to know the whole story, and not merely what the powerful thought we were supposed to know.”Mahaprashasta said that through multiple crises, The Wire emerged a winner, not only surviving, but also flourishing.We fought off court cases and police action, buckled down in the face of organised hostilities, and recovered from one crisis after another to emerge stronger and more determined than before.Mahaprashasta mentioned that while the word ‘brave’ is often used for independent media – often, also, for outlets like ours – it’s an epithet that he does not like. “In the last 10 years, we never particularly sought to do brave journalism. In our everyday functionings, I don’t think any of our team members have ever felt that we were doing anything brave. We did not set out to do brave things,” he said.The Wire set out to do honest journalism, he added.There is no denying that multiple factors worked for us: the fearlessness of our editors, the team’s fundamental distrust of POWER, an inclusive and equal newsroom that we have built over the years, a common worldview and tight professional camaraderie between our team members, and almost an unquenchable thirst in all for seeking the truth – all sides of it. We differ sometimes, look at developments differently, debate over them occasionally, get worked up, but have never lost an opportunity to learn from each other. There is no talking up, no talking down. The Wire may be small but none of us in its team have ever felt insignificant.But, Mahaprashasta said, above all of these factors, it is The Wire’s readers and viewers who believed in its vision, and have, from the very beginning, kept The Wire protected. “I would like to think that The Wire has not only evolved as a media house, but has also become a home for our dedicated supporters. They have pushed us to break new ground, have forgiven our mistakes, held us close in our bad times, and nudged us to move forward. It is this undaunted support, I believe, that has never let us lose hope in times of despair,” he added.After 10 years, The Wire is now a community – a novel collective of journalists, writers, press associations, readers, supporters, viewers, and honest individuals who have always held the flag of democratic ideals high. Our greatest success is that we have been able to steer an ever-growing community of non-conformists and could bring together people who are guided by principles of justice, people who are not easily swayed by the calling of power.Ultimately, it is a community that is made of collective dreams. You stood with us like a rock when we were at our weakest, and celebrated us whenever we pushed new journalistic grounds. You also pushed us to be a better version of ourselves. That community, I have realised, has as much stake as us in The Wire’s progress.When we are called brave, we think of those whose fearlessness and determination in supporting us have kept the torch of pro-people journalism lit in these dark times.Mahaprashasta said that The Wire experience has shown us the path towards solidarity. “Joining hands and walking ahead is an act of resistance in such unprecedented times. Let us cheer for another decade of pursuing solidarity and hope that The Wire community keeps growing,” he said.Let us also hope that we can all speak our minds openly and debate our differences freely, Mahaprashasta added, capping off an fearless evening.