Mumbai Press Club

13/06/2025

Mumbai Press - “South Asia In Flux: Decoding the new Geopolitical Order.” Lecture by Pravin Sawhney

07/06/2025

10/05/2025

Mumbai Press Club Statement on Crackdown on the Media

A well-known news portal, The Wire, has claimed that access to its website was blocked by the Government of India on May 9, 2025. The publication further stated that access was restored only after it took down a specific report related to the ongoing India–Pakistan conflict. Similarly, a YouTube link posted by defence analyst Pravin Sawhney, offering insights into “Operation Sindoor,” was blocked, raising further concerns over selective censorship of critical content.

The Mumbai Press Club expresses serious concern over these arbitrary restrictions and the withholding of social media accounts belonging to several independent journalists and media organisations, including Maktoob Media, BBC Urdu, and several Kashmir-based reporters. These actions reflect a disturbing pattern of muzzling independent journalism under the pretext of legality and constitute a direct threat to press freedom in India.

We urge the Government of India to lift these opaque restrictions and introduce transparency and accountability in all actions impacting the media. Journalists must be empowered to perform their duties without fear, censorship, or coercion. Suppressing media voices not only weakens the democratic spirit enshrined in our Constitution but also infringes upon the public’s right to be informed.

At the same time, the Mumbai Press Club reiterates that all journalists and media houses must exercise responsibility and sensitivity in their reporting—especially on critical national security issues like the India–Pakistan conflict. Press freedom and national interest are not mutually exclusive and must coexist through ethical, fearless journalism.

19/04/2025

Former Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray visited the Mumbai Press Club on Friday. He interacted with the Club’s office bearers and committee members during his visit. He was accompanied by Shiv Sena (UBT) Members of Parliament Sanjay Raut and Arvind Sawant.
Uddhav Thackeray Sanjay RautArvind Sawant

21/03/2025

WCD minister of Maharashtra Government Aditi Tatkare Visited the "42 thousand words" Photo Exhibition at Mumbai Press Club

15/03/2025

You Can’t Wipe Out History: Justice Srikrishna

MUMBAI: History cannot be erased, observed Justice B.N. Srikrishna (retd), former judge of the Supreme Court, while inaugurating a photo exhibition on the 1992-93 communal riots in Mumbai, that occurred after the demolition of the Babri Masjid; and the devastating March 12, 1993, serial bomb blasts that shook India’s financial capital.

"The sense of ‘us’ and ‘them’ must be eliminated," Justice Srikrishna said at the Mumbai Press Club after inaugurating ‘Forty-Four Thousand Words: A Photo Exhibition Showcasing the Haunting Memories of the 1992 Riots and 1993 Bomb Blasts’.

Union minister of state for social justice Shri Ramdas Athawale and Rajya Sabha members Dr Bhalchandra Mungekar and Shri Husain Dalwai visited the exhibition and interacted with the photojournalists.
The month-long exhibition features 44 photographs captured by 14 Mumbai-based photojournalists.

“You cannot wipe out history… Exhibitions like these serve as a lesson on what must not be repeated and what needs to change,” said Justice Srikrishna, who led the Maharashtra government-appointed commission investigating the two tragic events.

A former Supreme Court judge, Justice Srikrishna also served as Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court and a judge of the Bombay High Court. He expressed gratitude to the media for its role in uncovering the truth.

Shri Athawale said that the photographs are very telling and is a sort of historical record. “It should remind us that we need to be compassionate and accommodative.”

The exhibition showcases powerful images taken by some of Mumbai’s finest photojournalists, including Ashesh Shah, Datta Khedekar, Gajanan Dudhulkar, Jayprakash Kelkar, Mukesh Parpiani, Neeraj Priyadarshi, Prakash Parsekar, Raju Kakade, Santosh Nimbalkar, Shailendra Yashwant, Sherwin Crasto, Shrinivas Akella, and Sudharak Olwe.

13/03/2025

‘FORTY-FOUR THOUSAND WORDS:’ a powerful and unique photo exhibition showcasing the haunting memories of the 1992 riots and 1993 bomb blasts

The exhibition features 44 carefully curated photographs, taken by some of the city’s finest photojournalists and will be inaugurated by Justice B N Srikrishna on Saturday, March 15, at 6 pm. The exhibition will remain open for public viewing until April 30 at the Mumbai Press Club.

07/03/2025

Senior Journalist Mr.Abhimanyu Sh*tole Passes Away

Senior journalist Abhimanyu Sh*tole, former executive committee member of The Mumbai Press Club and a veteran journalist at Navbharat Times, passed away on Friday at Hinduja Hospital, Mahim. He had been undergoing treatment for cancer for the past several days and breathed his last during treatment. He is survived by his wife and two sons.

Sh*tole began his journalism career with Dopahar Ka Saamna, where he worked across various beats for over 15 years. He later joined TV9 Marathi and had been associated with the Times Group’s Navbharat Times for several years. As the Political Editor of NBT’s Mumbai edition, he played a key role in shaping political coverage.

Beyond journalism, he made significant contributions to Hindi literature and culture. He was elected twice as a committee member of The Mumbai Press Club. His demise is a great loss to both Marathi and Hindi journalism.

04/01/2025

"गुफ्तगू छह दशकों की बानगी
भारतीय प्रेस परिषद के जीवन गौरव सम्मान से विभूषित
विश्वनाथ सचदेव के साथ पत्रकारिता को परत-दर-परत सुनने, समझने, महसूस करने का अवसर

03/01/2025

The Mumbai Press Club is pleased to announce the inaugural edition of ‘The Big Debate,’ a platform dedicated to discussing pressing issues impacting our society. In light of the recent General and State Assembly elections, the integrity of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) has become a topic of significant debate, especially following the announcement of results.

To delve deeper into this critical issue, we have organized a discussion featuring two esteemed speakers:
• Mr. Madhav Deshpande
• Mr. Tirthraj Samant

Session will be moderated by Nachiket Kulkarni, Senior Assistant Editor of Economic and Political Weekly.

Both speakers possess strong technical backgrounds and will present informed perspectives on whether EVMs can be tampered with or not.

Event Details:
• Date: Friday, January 3, 2025
• Time: 6:00 PM
• Venue: Mumbai Press Club, Glass House, Mahapalika Marg, Azad Maidan, Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400001

17/11/2024

Rahul Gandhi's high-handed attitude toward working journalists is deeply troubling and warrants serious concern.


At an election rally in Amaravati, Maharashtra, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, made sweeping remarks about working journalists, accusing them of being beholden to the ruling regime and labelling them as "slaves of their owners." While cloaked in concern for the plight of journalists, his comments carried a tone of condescension that warrants closer scrutiny.

Has Mr Gandhi ever reflected on the root causes of the challenges faced by working journalists in India and the state of journalism as a whole? The precarious conditions of journalists today stem largely from rampant contractualisation, driven in part by the neoliberal policies introduced by the Congress-led government in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Until then, journalists had fought for and secured significant rights, including unionization and better working conditions. Contractualisation, however, allowed monopoly media houses to sack journalists at will, weakening unions and leaving journalists vulnerable.

If Mr. Gandhi truly wishes to address the plight of journalists, perhaps he should redirect his critique toward the media owners and the structural issues within the industry. The ever-present threat of dismissal, combined with an oversupply of unemployed and underemployed journalists, makes it unrealistic to expect working journalists to rebel against the system at great personal risk.

While we acknowledge the immense challenges posed by the current government’s authoritarian tendencies toward the media, it is equally concerning to witness Mr Gandhi’s repeated targeting of journalists. His rhetoric raises legitimate concerns about how his party might approach the press if it were to return to power. If Prime Minister Narendra Modi is rightly criticised for avoiding open press conferences, Mr Gandhi’s recurrent mockery and derision of journalists also deserve rebuke.

The Mumbai Press Club has consistently stood against the violation of journalists’ rights, whether by ruling parties, media owners, or other forces. We, therefore, view the high-handed approach of the Leader of the Opposition toward working journalists as a matter of serious concern. Constructive dialogue and accountability, not dismissive remarks, are what the media—and democracy—deserve.