Media muzzled in Kashmir in the wake of Burhan Wani’s killing
According to a recent report Reporters Without Borders, India ranked 133rd on ‘press freedom index’
PHOTO: AFP
A week after the government in Jammu and Kashmir failed to curtail widespread anti-government protests that led to killing of over 45 people, including 43 civilians and two policemen, the state police on midnight of July 16 raided the printing press of leading English and Urdu newspapers in Kashmir, detained their employees and seized their printed copies.
According to Greater Kashmir, the leading English newspaper of the valley, over 20 policemen raided its press in Srinagar’s outskirts, ‘arrested’ three of its employees and seized over 50’000 copies of its sister Urdu publication, Kashmir Uzma. Another leading English daily, Kashmir Reader, also narrated a similar story, saying police detained eight persons and seized its printed copies.
India ramps up information blackout in Kashmir
Editors of the leading newspapers held an emergency meeting later that day (July 16) and decided not to publish newspapers for at least three days, stating a government spokesperson had ‘officially confirmed’ the gag on media. However, after staying quiet for two days, Amitabh Mattoo, advisor to chief minister Mehboob Mufti, said no ban was imposed on media. The chief minister reiterated this later.
Newspapers, however, were not published even today, July 20, as editors seek a written assurance from the government
Media gag is not new to Kashmir
“This is not happening for the first time,” says Yusuf Jameel, one of the pioneers of audacious journalism in Indian Kashmir. “We've gone through even worse in the past 26 years,” says Jameel when asked for a comment on frequent attacks on journalists in the disputed region.
Jameel has survived at least six fatal attacks and escaped an abduction attempt when armed insurgency was at its peak in late ’90s. He has worked for world-leaders in news media, including BBC and New York Times. Jameel, who continues to be an inspiration for hundreds of young journalists, including me, adds, “The mayhem will still be reported to the world as it was during all those years.”
Truth suffers the most in a conflict zone and Kashmir is no exception. The government imposed a curfew in most parts of Kashmir and snapped mobile internet service across the region. Moreover, mobile telephony services were also snapped across Kashmir on July 14, which were earlier suspended only in four districts of South Kashmir.
The primary role of news media is to gather information and disseminate it without concoction. Although the later part is in the hands of working journalists, the former is often made difficult in places like Kashmir – where ruling governments want to weaken the public outcry against them, mostly in cases of human right violations, and, at the same time, civilians want media to give their thoughts a good space.
The ruling government has gagged media several times, especially those based in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar, either by not allowing journalists to move around freely or by physically attacking them at work.
The present turmoil is no different. But now, there is open oppression of media – as is evident by Saturday’s (July 16) raid on newspaper offices.
Mounting attack on media persons
On July 12, I rode around Srinagar’s deserted commercial hub Lal Chowk to capture public shutdown and deployment of security forces. I found a police team spraying paint over pro-Burhan slogans, which appeared on walls and shop shutters a day before. As soon as I captured the act on camera, policemen carrying assault rifles called me, checked my press identity card and ruthlessly directed me to delete the images I had captured. I looked around and found no civilian or colleague from the media fraternity. Without giving a second thought, I deleted them.
I understand this is just a routine in Kashmir, having faced a similar frisking incident earlier as well. Perhaps, no one in the industry narrates such incidents as they have more gruesome ones to tell. For instance, Jameel says he was attacked “umpteen” times. “That includes the September 7, 1995 parcel bomb explosion in which we lost Mushtaq Ali (photojournalist) and Habibullah Naqash (photojournalist) and I were badly injured,” he said.
On July 9, a day after militant commander Burhan’s killing, at least a 100,000 civilians defied the curfew and reached his hometown Tral in south Kashmir where they participated in his funeral prayers.
Freelance journalist Qadri Inzamam was returning from Tral along with two of his journalist friends after covering the daylong proceedings in the town. Inzamam shares they were abused and “treated like criminals” at every security checkpoint on the way. He claims troopers of paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) checked their cameras. On finding the images of Burhan’s grave, Inzamam says, “They abused us and asked me to go to an alley nearby where a group of CRPF men was beating boys for they had photos of Burhan’s grave on their mobile phones.”
Analysis: Kashmiris’ voice muzzled – both offline and online
“Somehow I managed to save myself. When we were let go, we had driven a few metres only that CRPF started pelting stones at us and tried to hit us with batons,” says Inzamam.
On the same day, Junaid Nabi Bazaz, who works for one of the leading dailies, Kashmir Reader, also faced experienced large amounts of paramilitary violence. “CRPF men did not allow me and other colleagues to cover protests at Rainawari (in downtown Srinagar),” he says. “We were told to leave otherwise we would [be beaten with sticks].”
The next day, Bazaz was returning to Srinagar after an assignment when “angry” paramilitary troopers stopped him at Batamaloo in Srinagar and removed the key of his two-wheeler by force. “They shouted at us while two of them persuaded them not to hit,” shares Bazaz. “It was when we repeatedly showed our identity, we were let go.”
Bilal Bashir Bhat, who owns a news website, says paramilitary troopers recently chased him in the Saraf Kadal locality in downtown Srinagar. “I was almost dead as I felt unconscious when they chased me,” he says. “More importantly, there is no respect for press or media identity cards.”
There are numerous such stories from recent and far past – including police attacks on photojournalist Showkat Shafi of Al-Jazeera, photojournalist Javed Dar of Xinhua News and television journalists Shabnam Fayaz and Aadil Umar Shah.
One of the deadliest periods for press freedom in Kashmir in recent past was between 2008 and 2010, with each year witnessing months-long turmoil leading to hundreds of civilian killings. The government imposed strict curfew across Kashmir for days and journalists were not allowed to reach their offices – even if they possessed curfew passes.
Narrating an incident, Izhar Nazir Ali, a seasoned journalist, says “drunk troopers” in Khanyar area of downtown Srinagar stopped his office cab during the 2008 agitation. “They loaded their guns and threatened to shoot all of us,” he shares. “After hurling choicest abuses, they let us go after 30 minutes of detention.”
Ali is presently a special correspondent for Srinagar-based news magazine Kashmir Narrator. “India has been exposed and shamed by Kashmiris by circulating images and videos of young boys and kids maimed by government forces,” he says. “And to escape further embarrassment in India and abroad, journalists are being intimidated and harassed by uniformed men,” he adds.
Special treatment reserved for some
According to a recent report by prominent international media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, India ranked 133rd on ‘press freedom index’ in a list of 180 countries, with Indian Kashmir being one of the toughest places for journalists to work in.
Media has seen difficult times whenever there are widespread protest demonstrations and civilian clashes with security forces over alleged human rights violations, and anything against the integrity of Kashmir and its special status in the Indian constitution. Some of such recent civil uprisings (as some people call it) were triggered by the Amarnath Land Row in 2008, Shopian double rape and murder case in 2009, Machil fake encounter case in 2010, hanging of Parliament attack convict Muhammad Afzal Guru in 2013, beef ban in 2015, alleged molestation in Handwara earlier this year, and now Burhan Wani’s killing.
For instance, in February 2013, after Guru’s execution, newspapers had to suspend publication for four consecutive days as Omar Abdullah-led government imposed a strict curfew and did not issue any curfew passes to media persons.
Journalists working for Kashmir-based media often accuse security forces for dealing with journalists working for Indian media differently. Upon being asked whether this was true Jameel says, “That goes without saying.” Ali agrees, saying journalists of Indian media were not harassed, with the “primary reason” being they “always come to the rescue of the state.”
Yawar Kabli, who has worked for Getty Images for nine years, says Indian media looks only for soft stories from Kashmir. “They don’t want to see pellet victims, teenagers loosing eyesight and teenagers lying in a pool of blood,” he explains. “We are publishing these kinds of things and they are publishing the opposing material.”
A television journalist, who reports for a top Indian news channel, says he and his team has not faced any harassment during the present turmoil thus far, adding there was “just usual frisking and checking.” He did not wish to comment for this story though.
Harassment comes not only from government forces
Journalists are mostly sandwiched between various stakeholders, particularly when reporting with impartiality. Any of the parties, whose image is harmed by a news report, becomes a clear enemy of the reporter and his or her organisation. For instance, the attacks on Jameel were carried out by various agencies, including the state police, army, militants and renegades, he mentions. “But they were mainly police and paramilitary troops who would resort to beatings, abuse and harassment while covering events and incidents.”
Civilians too attack journalists not because they do not want the truth to be reported but because they are usually outraged with Indian media for allegedly not portraying the truth as it is. According to Ali, “They (Indian media) put all their energy to change the discourse from azadi (freedom) to ban on pellet guns, probes, and other pointless issues.” He further adds, “(They) mould public opinion in such a way the Indian masses give clean chit to the forces and shift the blame on Kashmiris.”
On July 10, op-ed editor of leading daily Rising Kashmir, Daanish Bin Nabi, was on an assignment at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) government hospital in Srinagar where most of the fatally injured civilians were being treated. Soon after he entered one of the hospital’s emergency wards along with a photojournalist, he says, over 30 people surrounded them and started to “threaten” them, accusing them of being agents of the crime branch police.
“Upon proving our credentials we were let go, but as soon as we reached the casualty ward another group of youth stopped us and started beating us,” says Nabi. “They said Burhan Wani is a martyr and you people of Zee News and NewsX (both Indian news channels) label him a terrorist.” He adds, “They did not stop even after our repeated pleas.”
Atlanta Photojournalism award winner Mukhtar Khan, who has been working for Associated Press in Srinagar for 15 years, had a similar complaint. He says a civilian mob attacked some of his colleagues at SMHS hospital while they were covering injured people in the hospital. “Some people don’t understand because Indian media were doing faulty stories,” he explains. “That’s why people are angry with media.”
Kabli also says he and other photojournalists were roughed up by civilians at the hospital when they tried to capture victims of pellet and firearm injuries. The civilians and Hurriyat leaders first accompanied us to the ward but “After they saw our cameras they attacked and thrashed us,” he says
Video-journalist of a foreign news channel, who wished to remain anonymous, says, “We go to report the reality, but by the time people realise it’s the national or international media, they have already beaten us,” he shares. “National media has its own agenda, but we become its victims.”
Trying times
This reminds me of an article written by journalist Shahana Butt, who reports for Iran-based English-language channel Press TV, from Kashmir. She wrote the article titled ‘The day I repented being a journalist’ soon after the flood fury of September 2014. Butt narrated how she was abused and her cameraperson was beaten by a few young adults who were angry over the “false” reports by Indian media.
Similar stories are often narrated by photojournalists who cover funerals of slain militants, which are mostly attended by over thousands of people. Although people want the world to notice their large participation in such funerals, but at the same time they don’t want photojournalists to capture images of armed militants who sometimes attend the funerals.
A few days back Kashmir’s senior separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a statement to media, asked people not to create hindrances for local media persons. He said local media was reporting in a good way but Indian media was not.
Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa is a Kashmir-based journalist and founder/editor of news website jandknow.com
According to Greater Kashmir, the leading English newspaper of the valley, over 20 policemen raided its press in Srinagar’s outskirts, ‘arrested’ three of its employees and seized over 50’000 copies of its sister Urdu publication, Kashmir Uzma. Another leading English daily, Kashmir Reader, also narrated a similar story, saying police detained eight persons and seized its printed copies.
India ramps up information blackout in Kashmir
Editors of the leading newspapers held an emergency meeting later that day (July 16) and decided not to publish newspapers for at least three days, stating a government spokesperson had ‘officially confirmed’ the gag on media. However, after staying quiet for two days, Amitabh Mattoo, advisor to chief minister Mehboob Mufti, said no ban was imposed on media. The chief minister reiterated this later.
Newspapers, however, were not published even today, July 20, as editors seek a written assurance from the government
Media gag is not new to Kashmir
“This is not happening for the first time,” says Yusuf Jameel, one of the pioneers of audacious journalism in Indian Kashmir. “We've gone through even worse in the past 26 years,” says Jameel when asked for a comment on frequent attacks on journalists in the disputed region.
Jameel has survived at least six fatal attacks and escaped an abduction attempt when armed insurgency was at its peak in late ’90s. He has worked for world-leaders in news media, including BBC and New York Times. Jameel, who continues to be an inspiration for hundreds of young journalists, including me, adds, “The mayhem will still be reported to the world as it was during all those years.”
Truth suffers the most in a conflict zone and Kashmir is no exception. The government imposed a curfew in most parts of Kashmir and snapped mobile internet service across the region. Moreover, mobile telephony services were also snapped across Kashmir on July 14, which were earlier suspended only in four districts of South Kashmir.
The primary role of news media is to gather information and disseminate it without concoction. Although the later part is in the hands of working journalists, the former is often made difficult in places like Kashmir – where ruling governments want to weaken the public outcry against them, mostly in cases of human right violations, and, at the same time, civilians want media to give their thoughts a good space.
The ruling government has gagged media several times, especially those based in Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital Srinagar, either by not allowing journalists to move around freely or by physically attacking them at work.
The present turmoil is no different. But now, there is open oppression of media – as is evident by Saturday’s (July 16) raid on newspaper offices.
Mounting attack on media persons
On July 12, I rode around Srinagar’s deserted commercial hub Lal Chowk to capture public shutdown and deployment of security forces. I found a police team spraying paint over pro-Burhan slogans, which appeared on walls and shop shutters a day before. As soon as I captured the act on camera, policemen carrying assault rifles called me, checked my press identity card and ruthlessly directed me to delete the images I had captured. I looked around and found no civilian or colleague from the media fraternity. Without giving a second thought, I deleted them.
I understand this is just a routine in Kashmir, having faced a similar frisking incident earlier as well. Perhaps, no one in the industry narrates such incidents as they have more gruesome ones to tell. For instance, Jameel says he was attacked “umpteen” times. “That includes the September 7, 1995 parcel bomb explosion in which we lost Mushtaq Ali (photojournalist) and Habibullah Naqash (photojournalist) and I were badly injured,” he said.
On July 9, a day after militant commander Burhan’s killing, at least a 100,000 civilians defied the curfew and reached his hometown Tral in south Kashmir where they participated in his funeral prayers.
Freelance journalist Qadri Inzamam was returning from Tral along with two of his journalist friends after covering the daylong proceedings in the town. Inzamam shares they were abused and “treated like criminals” at every security checkpoint on the way. He claims troopers of paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) checked their cameras. On finding the images of Burhan’s grave, Inzamam says, “They abused us and asked me to go to an alley nearby where a group of CRPF men was beating boys for they had photos of Burhan’s grave on their mobile phones.”
Analysis: Kashmiris’ voice muzzled – both offline and online
“Somehow I managed to save myself. When we were let go, we had driven a few metres only that CRPF started pelting stones at us and tried to hit us with batons,” says Inzamam.
On the same day, Junaid Nabi Bazaz, who works for one of the leading dailies, Kashmir Reader, also faced experienced large amounts of paramilitary violence. “CRPF men did not allow me and other colleagues to cover protests at Rainawari (in downtown Srinagar),” he says. “We were told to leave otherwise we would [be beaten with sticks].”
The next day, Bazaz was returning to Srinagar after an assignment when “angry” paramilitary troopers stopped him at Batamaloo in Srinagar and removed the key of his two-wheeler by force. “They shouted at us while two of them persuaded them not to hit,” shares Bazaz. “It was when we repeatedly showed our identity, we were let go.”
Bilal Bashir Bhat, who owns a news website, says paramilitary troopers recently chased him in the Saraf Kadal locality in downtown Srinagar. “I was almost dead as I felt unconscious when they chased me,” he says. “More importantly, there is no respect for press or media identity cards.”
There are numerous such stories from recent and far past – including police attacks on photojournalist Showkat Shafi of Al-Jazeera, photojournalist Javed Dar of Xinhua News and television journalists Shabnam Fayaz and Aadil Umar Shah.
One of the deadliest periods for press freedom in Kashmir in recent past was between 2008 and 2010, with each year witnessing months-long turmoil leading to hundreds of civilian killings. The government imposed strict curfew across Kashmir for days and journalists were not allowed to reach their offices – even if they possessed curfew passes.
Narrating an incident, Izhar Nazir Ali, a seasoned journalist, says “drunk troopers” in Khanyar area of downtown Srinagar stopped his office cab during the 2008 agitation. “They loaded their guns and threatened to shoot all of us,” he shares. “After hurling choicest abuses, they let us go after 30 minutes of detention.”
Ali is presently a special correspondent for Srinagar-based news magazine Kashmir Narrator. “India has been exposed and shamed by Kashmiris by circulating images and videos of young boys and kids maimed by government forces,” he says. “And to escape further embarrassment in India and abroad, journalists are being intimidated and harassed by uniformed men,” he adds.
Special treatment reserved for some
According to a recent report by prominent international media watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, India ranked 133rd on ‘press freedom index’ in a list of 180 countries, with Indian Kashmir being one of the toughest places for journalists to work in.
Media has seen difficult times whenever there are widespread protest demonstrations and civilian clashes with security forces over alleged human rights violations, and anything against the integrity of Kashmir and its special status in the Indian constitution. Some of such recent civil uprisings (as some people call it) were triggered by the Amarnath Land Row in 2008, Shopian double rape and murder case in 2009, Machil fake encounter case in 2010, hanging of Parliament attack convict Muhammad Afzal Guru in 2013, beef ban in 2015, alleged molestation in Handwara earlier this year, and now Burhan Wani’s killing.
For instance, in February 2013, after Guru’s execution, newspapers had to suspend publication for four consecutive days as Omar Abdullah-led government imposed a strict curfew and did not issue any curfew passes to media persons.
Journalists working for Kashmir-based media often accuse security forces for dealing with journalists working for Indian media differently. Upon being asked whether this was true Jameel says, “That goes without saying.” Ali agrees, saying journalists of Indian media were not harassed, with the “primary reason” being they “always come to the rescue of the state.”
Yawar Kabli, who has worked for Getty Images for nine years, says Indian media looks only for soft stories from Kashmir. “They don’t want to see pellet victims, teenagers loosing eyesight and teenagers lying in a pool of blood,” he explains. “We are publishing these kinds of things and they are publishing the opposing material.”
A television journalist, who reports for a top Indian news channel, says he and his team has not faced any harassment during the present turmoil thus far, adding there was “just usual frisking and checking.” He did not wish to comment for this story though.
Harassment comes not only from government forces
Journalists are mostly sandwiched between various stakeholders, particularly when reporting with impartiality. Any of the parties, whose image is harmed by a news report, becomes a clear enemy of the reporter and his or her organisation. For instance, the attacks on Jameel were carried out by various agencies, including the state police, army, militants and renegades, he mentions. “But they were mainly police and paramilitary troops who would resort to beatings, abuse and harassment while covering events and incidents.”
Civilians too attack journalists not because they do not want the truth to be reported but because they are usually outraged with Indian media for allegedly not portraying the truth as it is. According to Ali, “They (Indian media) put all their energy to change the discourse from azadi (freedom) to ban on pellet guns, probes, and other pointless issues.” He further adds, “(They) mould public opinion in such a way the Indian masses give clean chit to the forces and shift the blame on Kashmiris.”
On July 10, op-ed editor of leading daily Rising Kashmir, Daanish Bin Nabi, was on an assignment at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) government hospital in Srinagar where most of the fatally injured civilians were being treated. Soon after he entered one of the hospital’s emergency wards along with a photojournalist, he says, over 30 people surrounded them and started to “threaten” them, accusing them of being agents of the crime branch police.
“Upon proving our credentials we were let go, but as soon as we reached the casualty ward another group of youth stopped us and started beating us,” says Nabi. “They said Burhan Wani is a martyr and you people of Zee News and NewsX (both Indian news channels) label him a terrorist.” He adds, “They did not stop even after our repeated pleas.”
Atlanta Photojournalism award winner Mukhtar Khan, who has been working for Associated Press in Srinagar for 15 years, had a similar complaint. He says a civilian mob attacked some of his colleagues at SMHS hospital while they were covering injured people in the hospital. “Some people don’t understand because Indian media were doing faulty stories,” he explains. “That’s why people are angry with media.”
Kabli also says he and other photojournalists were roughed up by civilians at the hospital when they tried to capture victims of pellet and firearm injuries. The civilians and Hurriyat leaders first accompanied us to the ward but “After they saw our cameras they attacked and thrashed us,” he says
Video-journalist of a foreign news channel, who wished to remain anonymous, says, “We go to report the reality, but by the time people realise it’s the national or international media, they have already beaten us,” he shares. “National media has its own agenda, but we become its victims.”
Trying times
This reminds me of an article written by journalist Shahana Butt, who reports for Iran-based English-language channel Press TV, from Kashmir. She wrote the article titled ‘The day I repented being a journalist’ soon after the flood fury of September 2014. Butt narrated how she was abused and her cameraperson was beaten by a few young adults who were angry over the “false” reports by Indian media.
Similar stories are often narrated by photojournalists who cover funerals of slain militants, which are mostly attended by over thousands of people. Although people want the world to notice their large participation in such funerals, but at the same time they don’t want photojournalists to capture images of armed militants who sometimes attend the funerals.
A few days back Kashmir’s senior separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a statement to media, asked people not to create hindrances for local media persons. He said local media was reporting in a good way but Indian media was not.
Vijdan Mohammad Kawoosa is a Kashmir-based journalist and founder/editor of news website jandknow.com