‘Media curbs point to India’s weakness’

The Indian government’s revocation of travel permits to and curbs on foreign correspondents who wanted to cover the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, evidently to placate inflamed Chinese sentiments, are “unprecedented”, a sign of weakness and are vastly counterproductive, overseas journalists said.

DNA spoke to correspondents whose applications for travel permits were turned down or revoked at the last minute. “It’s a symbolic slap to foreign correspondents by the Indian government,” says Steven L Herman, South Asia bureau chief, Voice of America, whose application to travel was never approved. “Perhaps the government was sending a conciliatory signal to China that it had done its best to keep the visit low-key.” However, he adds, “if that was the intention, it probably backfired, because these media limitations have drawn more attention to the visit.”

Indian nationals working for domestic and foreign media were allowed to travel, but Herman says, “It’s obvious that the Indian government made a concerted effort to prevent foreign correspondents from covering the Dalai Lama’s visit.”

Other foreign correspondents based in New Delhi say there is “no precedent” for such media curbs in India in areas other than in combat zones. In fact, even after the Mumbai terror attacks last November, the Indian government fast-tracked over 200 visa applications from journalists even though they were entering a “combat zone”, they point out.

Some applications had been submitted two months earlier.

More worrying, say ‘India watchers’, is an increasing inclination on the part of the Indian government to “punish” foreign correspondents.