Media is under siege since the separatist agitation started in Kashmir valley. The government has tightened noose on the media by seizing copies of newspapers.
Media is under siege since the separatist agitation started in Kashmir valley. The government has tightened noose on the media by seizing copies of newspapers and disrupting the supply chain of dailies.
For the first time in over a decade, major vernacular newspapers failed to hit the stands in Kashmir in the past three days. Thanks to the curfew imposed by the government, mediapersons could not reach their offices.
Crackdown on media started with the seizure of the copies of Eta’laat August this month by the government. The newspaper had printed some pictures, which the government felt could trigger tension in the valley. The issue created a flutter in Kashmir with journalists condemning the government action.
Mediapersons were also sandwiched between the agitators and the government this month. Some journalists were thrashed by the mob enforcing bandh on the call of separatists, while many faced the wrath of the security forces. A local journalist was killed in a firing and several others had to be admitted to the hospital for grievous wounds.
Despite all odds, the mediapersons kept the flame of journalism aglow in Kashmir. It was a newsy month for the vernacular Urdu newspapers in Kashmir. From communal tension in Jammu to separatist agitation to street violence, the newspapers were busy debating issues that concerned the people.
Srinagar Times summed up the Jammu situation in its daily cartoon by showing deadly claws of communalism trying to trample the hen and her chicks, symbolising secularism.
The newspaper in an editorial this month commented that the people in Jammu are peace-loving, but some people are trying to exploit their sentiments to further their interests.
“People in Jammu will foil the design of the communal elements. They will rebuff these elements who are forcing agitation on the gullible people. These elements will have to face the defeat at the hands of the peace-loving people,” the newspaper said.
The firing on the people marching on the Srinagar-Muzaffarbad road and the killing of senior separatist leaders were the main stories on the front pages of the dailies. “Muzaffarabad-bound rally fired at, Sheikh Aziz and several others shot dead” screamed the banner headline of the Daily Aftab on August 12.
h_ishfaq@dnaindia.net
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