There have been eight deaths, 27 cases of attacks, 15 cases of threats and five arrests of journalists and people belonging to the creative community during the year, said a report by The Hoot released on Thursday.
According to the report "Free Speech in India, 2015", there were 21 cases of censorship on films, four cases of censorship on broadcast media, three cases of censorship on print media, two cases of censorship on music and 13 cases of censorship on cyber media.
The report said there were 81 cases of defamation, 26 cases of sedition and eight cases of surveillance against journalists and people belonging to the creative community.
"2015 was a hugely eventful year for free speech in India. There were legal, political and technological developments that set the tone for these issues to be debated all year round. And journalists were at their most vulnerable, with deaths, attacks, threats and defamation cases against them at an all-time high," it said.
