The blackout in Kashmir has led to a very restricted flow of information and given rise to rumours and one-sided coverage of events, with Kashmiri journalists being virtually grounded and many regional newspapers going off the stands, according to those reporting from there.
Speaking at the Mumbai Press Club on Thursday, Anuradha Bhasin, editor, Kashmir Times , said, “It took us two-three days to realise what was happening. You suddenly start feeling disempowered by the way things unfold, but then you realise that you have to fight back for your democratic right.”
Nirupama Subramanian, resident editor, Indian Express , Mumbai, and renowned constitutional lawyer Aspi Chinoy were also present at the event.
“There have been attempts to gag media in the past. In 2010, 2013 and 2016, security forces carried out raids on printing presses. The protests of the 90s were worse. In 1992, militants had blown up transmission systems,” Ms. Bhasin said. She said the situation didn’t look as holy as it did in 2016 because the media was not as vibrant back then.
“Government advertisements have been pulled out. We stopped getting Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity advertisements in 2010. The Kashmiri media has been badly financed, but these are only intimidatory tactics,” Ms. Bhasin said.
Ms. Bhasin has filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court, giving details on the situation and praying for the restoration of normal working conditions for media. On being the only journalist from the State who has raised her voice in court, she said, “There is a huge sense of intimidation.There is hostility for Kashmiri journalists. Most of the other editors are Muslims.”
Ms. Subramanian, who recently returned from a tour of the State, said she did not face as much of a problem as she had thought. “We worked out of a makeshift media centre set up at a hotel, where a host of journalists came in the evening to file their stories, which gave very limited time to all. The DIG would brief us about how things were perfectly well in the Valley,” she said.
Mr. Chinoy, while evaluating the legality of the steps the government has taken, said, “Kashmir was always a complex situation. There was a terrible conundrum even before August 5, and nothing the government has done seems to have made anything better. The executive detention document of Mehbooba Mufti had no mention of the date or the law under which she was kept under house arrest.”
On the lack of reportage from the Kashmiri media, Ms. Bhasin said, “Local media is under scrutiny given the constant surveillance. Even within Kashmiri journalists, those who report for international media are less intimidated. Verification from officials has also become difficult and journalists have to use their own discretion.”
The Kashmir Times editor also said it was easier to move around now, but the people were not ready to speak. “One of my contemporaries told me that she had to pose as an Indian journalist in front of the police but when speaking to the locals, she had to say she was reporting for the international press so that they would open up,” she said. Gathering information from both, officials and locals had become difficult.
A short documentary on prevailing conditions in Kashmir, by independent journalist Kashif Khusro, highlighted the stark contrast between the government’s portrayal and the reality on ground.
