As India slipped down two spots on the World Press Freedom Index, now ranking at 142 out of 180 countries, amid the silencing of press and constant attacks on Journalists, a new media policy was framed by the administration of Jammu Kashmir working under the Modi-led government in New Delhi on May 15.
The Media Policy surprisingly or unsurprisingly cites cross-border infiltration and ‘propaganda’ and the need to stop the same, other than detailing that the information of media houses publishing ‘Anti National content’ would be shared with the security agencies. This 53-Page new Media Policy also provides the government with the decisive power to decide on what is news, and the setting up of a mechanism for checking fake news.
Though not excellent in its vocabulary, but for sure, the framers of the 53 paged Policy have clearly outlined in this policy what they want from the media houses, making them accountable to the administration, and not to their readers. The bureaucrats, security agencies will be the final deciding authority to decide which news item is fake or “anti-national.” With the society polarized into the broader classification and the description of the Anti Nationalist entering into every walk of life, most in Kashmir are apprehensive as regards to this Policy.
Regrettably, a media house, as per this policy will now be sermoned on journalistic ethics and issues of plagiarism. This media policy clearly stands in contravention with the promises by the Constitution of India, the Indian Government speaks of ‘One Nation, One rule’, and perhaps that is the reason cited to the abrogation of the special status of Jammu Kashmir on August 05 last year, however, policies like such aimed to silence press, raise serious concerns about the designs of the state.
In Kashmir, since the abrogation and before that too, Journalists have been facing multifaceted challenges as gags, cut of advertisements, thrashing and arrest of media personnel. Last year, Qazi Shibli, The editor of The Kashmiriyat was arrested in connection with a news item, which was verified and then found authentic too, however, the Indian Government aimed to maintain an air of fear regarding the abrogation and wanted the hysteria around it to stay, so Qazi Shibli was detained for a period of nine months, just for breaking into the news of abrogation, on July 26, last year.
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have time and again demanded security for Kashmiri journalists, however, the harassment of Journalists continues on a widespread scale. Recently journalists, including one Umaisar Gul, performing his professional duties of reporting, was booked for “Attempting to defy the Lockdown”. Other than highlighted cases of Gowhar Geelani, Naseer Ganie, Peerzada Ashiq and others, many small-town journalists were booked and kept in detention for weeks.
Suhail Dar, one such journalist was arrested for running a video of a Militant funeral on his Facebook page, only to be released after nearly a month.
The Kashmiriyat started in 1988, revival in 2017 has been struggling to provide truth and factual news and reports to its readers. in this pursuit of bringing the truth in an in-distorted shape, one of our editors, Qazi Shibli was arrested the last year in connection with multiple news and stories published on The Kashmiriyat.
India, in general, is witnessing heightened incidents of violence against journalists. Prominent journalist, Gauri Lankesh was murdered on a busy street. A report published on The Wire states that there have been at least 200 cases of attacks on journalist since the coming of BJP into power in 2014 till 2019, 40 Journalists have been killed, 21 of these murders have been related to their journalistic activities.
In Kashmir, the recent FIRs on prominent journalists and this media policy is a brazen attack on the freedom of speech guaranteed by the Indian constitution and a brazen attempt to demonize the journalist fraternity. With this fresh policy, the state wants to further the polarization of journalism in India into ‘Good and Bad Journalists’, likewise they have been able to divide the society into a broad categorization of ‘Nationalists and Anti nationalists’.
Qazi Shibli’s arrest on July 28, the last year and later his lodgement in Bareilly jail, 1300 Kilometres away, booking of Gowhar Geelani, summoning of Fahad Shah and several others, merely for reporting things that mostly stand in conflict with the state’s narrative, is a testimony to the shrinking space for facts, truth, and unbiased reportage. This new media policy at a time, when political voices remain missing in Jammu Kashmir, in the aftermath of the abrogation of the special status of Jammu Kashmir, is a further insult, aimed solely to control and contain and manage the Kashmiri narrative.
The press is neither the enemy of the people nor their ally, but rather its possession. That is why attacks on the press, one of the great bulwarks of liberty, seek to abridge or deprive the people of their rights.