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Covering Kashmir: The ripening of militancy
The early groping was a thing of the past. It was no longer a time when the media, the government and militants were discovering their relationship with each other. Funding of media by separatists had become systematic and their men found their way into the payrolls of news organisations. In the meantime, the government too toughened its stance. Rahul Kanwal reports.
Report : Rahul Kanwal
For the first few years of insurgency in Kashmir there was no such thing as journalistic independence, only journalism that aided the movement of independence. Rammohan Rao, the Principal Information Officer to the government at that time, explains the reasons for the government`s laxity, "The government always thought that it had sufficient checks and balances in its systems. It believed that an independent judiciary and a free press would ensure that the truth prevails. But in Kashmir, this was not happening. Everyday the press was full of stories of how the Army was violating human rights. It was then that the government realised that it had to fight back. So in 1992, the National Human Rights Commission was set up and the government started responding to allegations of human rights violations."
Fed up with obeying the militants diktats, some of the newspapers began to exert themselves. This was not liked by the militants and attacks on journalists shot up. Things reached such a passé that one of the popular Urdu dailies published from Srinagar, the Aftab, decided to close down on September 10, 1993, following a directive from Jamait-Ul-Mujahideen, a pro-Pakistan outfit, asking the editor of the paper to appear before it within one week. Earlier, on August 31, 1993, the house of the founding editor of the paper, Sanaullah Butt, was gutted. It is believed that the fire, which destroyed house, was the handiwork of the militant group which had summoned him. Other papers too came under militant attack, the common allegation being that they were writing “anti-movement” reports. M M Sabharwal, DG Police, J&K at that time said that, "Newspapers stopped writing editorials because they could not write what they wished to write. The biggest problem was that different groups perceived “anti-movement” in a different ways." For instance, there was a spate of incidents after one group, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, issued a statement substituting “self-rule” for “independence” as the goal of the movement in the valley.
When reports carrying the new militant lexicon were published, the chief of Mahaz-e-Islami, Inayatullah Andrabi, issued a statement condemning it in strong terms. This statement of Andrabi was published in the Srinagar Times which earned the wrath of the Jammu and Kashmir Student Liberation Front, which imposed a ban on the paper; the Srinagar Times suspended publication forthwith (August 28, 1993). After this the coordination committee of working journalists met in Srinagar and decided not to publish controversial statements issued by rival militant organizations. Following the decision, the Urdu daily Al Safa did not publish the statement sent to it by Andrabi. The result was that the office of Al Safa was attacked on August 30. The militants ransacked the press and broke the furniture, the television and telephone.
Earlier in August 1993, the militant organizations had also banned Greater Kashmir, the only English daily published from the Valley, for writing on “anti-movement” report. The paper resumed publication after 12 days. The Srinagar Times resumed publication on September 11, 1993.
Newspapers published from Jammu and elsewhere also had to suffer at the hands of the militants at one time or another. For a time the entry into the valley of the Jammu based papers, Excelsior and Kashmir Times, was banned by the Hizbul Mujahideen. Sunday, a weekly published from Calcutta, was the target of militant ire for some time and one of its corespondents was banned from entering the valley. So was George Joseph, the correspondent of the Indian Express. For a while the Wahadat-e-Islami prohibited the entry of the BBC bureau chief in India, Mark Tully, into the valley. Hizbul Mujahidden, one of the major militant outfits directed newspapers not to publish statements of Kashmir leaders like Dr. Farooq Abdulah and Ghulam Rasool Kar. The militants also directed the press that no suggestion should be made in the media that the Kashmir issue could be settled through negotiations. When newspapers sought to disregard the code, explanations were called for and bans were imposed.
An indication of the exasperation of the press in Srinagar at that time is provided by a statement issued by the Kashmir Editors Conference on November 14, 1992, which said that the members of the Conference unanimously decided not to entertain “uncalled for and purposeless” bans imposed by militant organizations on the publication of newspapers in the Kashmir Valley. The decision to defy the ban was taken at an extraordinary meeting of the Conference following the reported ban on the daily, Aftab, imposed by one of the militant organizations. The Conference decided that if a ban is imposed on any newspaper, it will be considered a ban on the publication of all newspapers associated with the Conference.
Aasha Khosa of the Indian Express says, "When newspapers started acting independently, militants were forced to become proactive. Militant outfits like the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Jamaat-e-Islami began to sponsor and float their own newspapers. The `Greater Kashmir` newspaper was sponsored by Shabir Shah whereas the `Mirror` was floated by the Jamaat. Another interesting development was that militant outfits, either by hook or by crook, began infiltrating their men into newspaper offices. These people would occupy key positions in the newspaper and very often would be the ones who`d write the editorials."
This statement that newspapers were being run and financed with money from outside is corroborated by G M Sofi, Editor of Srinagar Times. In his statement to the PCI committee, Sofi says, "There are 16 dailies published from Srinagar. Out of these six are published from offset presses. These are: Srinagar Times, Aftab, Al-Safa, Wadi Ki Awaz, Greater Kashmir and Nadai-e-Mushriq. The first two are established newspapers with steady circulation and credibility. The rest, I think, are products of the present day situation. This is peculiar to Kashmir. Elsewhere in terrorism prone areas newspapers close down, but here the number of newspapers has gone up. What`s more is that they are published from modern offset presses. This needs a lot of investment. Surely, they must get some help from the militants and "other" sources."
Even the DG Police J&K M M Sabharwal agreed that militancy had brought prosperity to the media in the valley. "Militants are a big source of income for the press. They pay Rs 2000 per page of ads and Rs 1000 for half page." With the government machinery being weakened due to the insurgency, the lure of money from advertisements too could have driven newspapers into publishing pro-militant stories.
The Press Council of India concludes its report on the media in Jammu and Kashmir by remarking, " It is true that the press has to guard its freedom zealously and should brook no interference from the government in a democracy. A subservient press will sound the death-knell of democracy. But in a situation as currently prevails in the Valley when militants are forcing newspapers to toe their line at gun point, where is the freedom of the press, and who is to guarantee it?"
Fed up with obeying the militants diktats, some of the newspapers began to exert themselves. This was not liked by the militants and attacks on journalists shot up. Things reached such a passé that one of the popular Urdu dailies published from Srinagar, the Aftab, decided to close down on September 10, 1993, following a directive from Jamait-Ul-Mujahideen, a pro-Pakistan outfit, asking the editor of the paper to appear before it within one week. Earlier, on August 31, 1993, the house of the founding editor of the paper, Sanaullah Butt, was gutted. It is believed that the fire, which destroyed house, was the handiwork of the militant group which had summoned him. Other papers too came under militant attack, the common allegation being that they were writing “anti-movement” reports. M M Sabharwal, DG Police, J&K at that time said that, "Newspapers stopped writing editorials because they could not write what they wished to write. The biggest problem was that different groups perceived “anti-movement” in a different ways." For instance, there was a spate of incidents after one group, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front, issued a statement substituting “self-rule” for “independence” as the goal of the movement in the valley.
When reports carrying the new militant lexicon were published, the chief of Mahaz-e-Islami, Inayatullah Andrabi, issued a statement condemning it in strong terms. This statement of Andrabi was published in the Srinagar Times which earned the wrath of the Jammu and Kashmir Student Liberation Front, which imposed a ban on the paper; the Srinagar Times suspended publication forthwith (August 28, 1993). After this the coordination committee of working journalists met in Srinagar and decided not to publish controversial statements issued by rival militant organizations. Following the decision, the Urdu daily Al Safa did not publish the statement sent to it by Andrabi. The result was that the office of Al Safa was attacked on August 30. The militants ransacked the press and broke the furniture, the television and telephone.
Earlier in August 1993, the militant organizations had also banned Greater Kashmir, the only English daily published from the Valley, for writing on “anti-movement” report. The paper resumed publication after 12 days. The Srinagar Times resumed publication on September 11, 1993.
Newspapers published from Jammu and elsewhere also had to suffer at the hands of the militants at one time or another. For a time the entry into the valley of the Jammu based papers, Excelsior and Kashmir Times, was banned by the Hizbul Mujahideen. Sunday, a weekly published from Calcutta, was the target of militant ire for some time and one of its corespondents was banned from entering the valley. So was George Joseph, the correspondent of the Indian Express. For a while the Wahadat-e-Islami prohibited the entry of the BBC bureau chief in India, Mark Tully, into the valley. Hizbul Mujahidden, one of the major militant outfits directed newspapers not to publish statements of Kashmir leaders like Dr. Farooq Abdulah and Ghulam Rasool Kar. The militants also directed the press that no suggestion should be made in the media that the Kashmir issue could be settled through negotiations. When newspapers sought to disregard the code, explanations were called for and bans were imposed.
An indication of the exasperation of the press in Srinagar at that time is provided by a statement issued by the Kashmir Editors Conference on November 14, 1992, which said that the members of the Conference unanimously decided not to entertain “uncalled for and purposeless” bans imposed by militant organizations on the publication of newspapers in the Kashmir Valley. The decision to defy the ban was taken at an extraordinary meeting of the Conference following the reported ban on the daily, Aftab, imposed by one of the militant organizations. The Conference decided that if a ban is imposed on any newspaper, it will be considered a ban on the publication of all newspapers associated with the Conference.
Aasha Khosa of the Indian Express says, "When newspapers started acting independently, militants were forced to become proactive. Militant outfits like the Hizbul Mujahideen and the Jamaat-e-Islami began to sponsor and float their own newspapers. The `Greater Kashmir` newspaper was sponsored by Shabir Shah whereas the `Mirror` was floated by the Jamaat. Another interesting development was that militant outfits, either by hook or by crook, began infiltrating their men into newspaper offices. These people would occupy key positions in the newspaper and very often would be the ones who`d write the editorials."
This statement that newspapers were being run and financed with money from outside is corroborated by G M Sofi, Editor of Srinagar Times. In his statement to the PCI committee, Sofi says, "There are 16 dailies published from Srinagar. Out of these six are published from offset presses. These are: Srinagar Times, Aftab, Al-Safa, Wadi Ki Awaz, Greater Kashmir and Nadai-e-Mushriq. The first two are established newspapers with steady circulation and credibility. The rest, I think, are products of the present day situation. This is peculiar to Kashmir. Elsewhere in terrorism prone areas newspapers close down, but here the number of newspapers has gone up. What`s more is that they are published from modern offset presses. This needs a lot of investment. Surely, they must get some help from the militants and "other" sources."
Even the DG Police J&K M M Sabharwal agreed that militancy had brought prosperity to the media in the valley. "Militants are a big source of income for the press. They pay Rs 2000 per page of ads and Rs 1000 for half page." With the government machinery being weakened due to the insurgency, the lure of money from advertisements too could have driven newspapers into publishing pro-militant stories.
The Press Council of India concludes its report on the media in Jammu and Kashmir by remarking, " It is true that the press has to guard its freedom zealously and should brook no interference from the government in a democracy. A subservient press will sound the death-knell of democracy. But in a situation as currently prevails in the Valley when militants are forcing newspapers to toe their line at gun point, where is the freedom of the press, and who is to guarantee it?"