IN July 2016, during the protests that followed Burhan Wani’s death, there was a shutdown of the mainstream press in Kashmir. In the early hours of the morning the police seized copies of all the newspapers in a well coordinated operation. They even took away the printing plates so that no new newspapers could be printed. But news and videos surrounding the killing and the protests at Burhan’s funeral circulated on news portals online. Regular updates by activists were widely shared on social media. The incident proved that alternate media now had a strong presence in Kashmir and was better informed about events on the ground.

Alternate media (publications online, social media and blogs) had emerged in Kashmir a decade ago. Initially these were in the form of protest pieces or blogs by activists. Younger journalists then started using the internet to put out reportage that questioned the official narrative. Over the years, this has changed the discourse within Kashmir on several issues including kidnappings, disappearances of young men, extra-judicial killings and human rights violations.

When the first disappearances were reported in early 1990, they were dismissed as young men going across the border. They had been crossing into Pakistan since the early ’80s but most would return. The police refused to take such cases seriously and discouraged filing of FIRs, pointing out that these men would also return. Zahiruddin’s research that culminated in the book Did They Vanish in Thin Air? included most of the cases – civilians kidnapped and killed by security forces as well as men who crossed the border and became terrorists. Three decades later, civil society groups put the number at 68,000 deaths and 8,000 disappearances.¹

 

However, the Indian government has disputed these figures. Initially, the state had restricted reporting on victims. Since the police failed to investigate such cases, there has been no closure for the families involved. With new cases of disappearances or human rights violations, a certain cynicism set in based on previous experience. When the Kashmiri press reported on disappearances they were not allowed to investigate or speculate on who was responsible for the killing or disappearance.

Sanjay Kak, veteran filmmaker whose film ‘Jashn-e-Azadi’ looked at the Kashmir ‘intifada’ of 2008, has been following media reportage over the last three decades. He says, ‘One of the important techniques of the established newspapers in Kashmir in the 1990s and even today was to keep facts and analysis in separate silos. You could report the facts – up to a point, of course – but not interpret them. On the other hand, the op-ed pages could rave and rant, but without recourse to fact! So long as you report the dots, and don’t connect them, all was well with the world.’

Kashmiris did not trust the press reporting from India. They thought the reporters from outside the state, posted in the valley, pushed the agenda of the Centre. In an interview with Greater Kashmir in 2009, Aijaz Ahmed had pointed out that, ‘They (media) have the viewpoint of the Indian upper class, the Indian liberal state and the Indian national security state. This is the framework within which they report anything.’²

Wajahat Habibullah,³ who had served in Kashmir for many years, has argued that reportage by the Indian media, especially the TV channels, has created a situation where the Kashmiris no longer believe that these platforms can reflect their point of view. This view has solidified with news television being reduced to shouting matches, leaving no room for analysis or in-depth reportage. The mainstream press in the valley is caught in the middle. Khurshid Wani, senior journalist based in Srinagar, says, ‘There is pressure from all sides. The Hurriyat, the militants, government agencies, all exert their own pressures. They all want favourable reporting.’⁴

 

The emergence of alternate media platforms has helped journalists to create an independent narrative. These platforms do not follow the norms of mainstream media. This allows journalists to go beyond the daily news cycle. Reporting on alternate media has an immediate impact since journalists can put out reports or videos online, contradicting the official version of events as they unfold. Muhammad Faysal, a young journalist, says, ‘I think independent journalism keeps the society and the state in check. They are also a pressure group for traditional media to do a story in the right perspective.’

The ‘intifada’ of 2008 created a new generation of leaders. Abdul Gani Athar, a retired teacher and historian from Kupwara, says that the older separatist leadership did not overawe the emerging leaders.⁵ Many of them were born after 1990 and had a different approach to engaging with the Indian state.

The younger leaders are conversant with the Web and social media. They can record protests, encounters and funerals of militants on their mobile phones and share it online or through social groups like WhatsApp.

Journalists who were part of the same generation changed their approach as well. They began using a combination of online publications, blogs and social media to put out their reports. One such publication, Free Press Kashmir (freepresskashmir. com), has primarily an online presence. Free Press Kashmir (FPK) reports news using short videos and online reportage. It is clearly focused on questioning versions put out by the government and the mainstream media.

Qazi Zaid who started FPK points out that while they have a weekly magazine, a large part of their reporting is online. Using his training as a video journalist, Zaid encourages stories done through audio-visuals, podcasts, on-camera interviews and panel discussions. Zaid says, ‘Alternate media in my opinion is writing for local audience mostly, but few have now started writing for a global audience, including FPK.’ Younger journalists want to reach out to a larger audience outside India that is showing interest in what is happening in the valley.

 

Apart from reporting and analysis on day-to-day news, FPK also reports about human rights violations or atrocities that took place much earlier. In the month of April 2018, when daily reportage from the valley focused on justice for the Kathua rape victim and the challenges the family faced, FPK reminded its readers of an incident that took place two decades ago. Nisar Dharma wrote, ‘In April 1993, Srinagar’s trade heartland Lal Chowk went up in flames after the BSF troopers ran amok. After the inferno, the incensed troopers marched to the nearby famed Abi Guzar bund to fire at the commoners with impunity.’⁶

 

Journalists realize that with so many events taking place every day, public memory is short. Civil society groups such as the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) and Jammu Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS) have carried out a sustained campaign against atrocities and disappearances for three decades. Younger readers may not be aware of these incidents, while the older may have forgotten them. Reporting about earlier incidents helps readers put present events in context.

Another article in FPK in the month of April fleshed out the argument that the Indian state has had a bias against Kashmiris and this is reflected in several incidents from Kunan Poshpora to Kathua. The article reminds the reader that these incidents are not isolated and are part of state policy.

Younger journalists also question the idea of ‘Kashmiriyat’. This is an oft-repeated word used to describe the shared culture and communal harmony that Kashmir was known for. It is used to link Kashmir’s secular tradition with that of the rest of the subcontinent. Very often, whenever Kashmiri Muslims begin demanding a say in political matters or there is an increase in protests, Kashmiriyat is dredged out as a reminder of a time when the society used to live in harmony.

However, Arsilan Aziz argues that ‘Kashmiriyat is a word used by the Indian academia and media to perpetuate the psychological subjugation.’ The writer claims that the term is an invention by the Indian state to sustain the oppressive relationship that existed between ‘the Pandit upper class landowner and the Muslim lower class manual labourer’ and questions why communal harmony or mutual coexistence needs a special term in the valley.⁷ This is not a new argument and has been pointed out by political commentators earlier. However, young journalists recognize that there is a need to highlight such issues to counter the sustained propaganda that many Indians continue to believe in.

 

Online video journalism is emerging as a platform to record stories affecting people beyond the larger towns in the valley. Video Volunteers (VV) is a Goa based group that was set up to give voice to communities not reported in the mainstream media. VV is different from online newspapers in the sense that it does not report on day-to-day events or news. VVs focus is on issues that affect people at the grassroots. This includes a wide range of topics including human rights and access to development funds. They also look at wider issues related to killings or disappearances and help conduct sustained campaigns.

Sajad Rasool from Budgam was dissatisfied with his work in the mainstream media. However, his experience with the JK RTI movement, a civil society group, offered many lessons. He was part of a sustained campaign to discontinue use of the Tosa Maidan firing range. This range adjoined civilian areas and army practice resulted in inconvenience and suffering for the local population. The campaign was successful in ending the 50-year-old lease agreement between the Jammu and Kashmir government and the Ministry of Defence. This experience made Sajad realize that he should take a different approach to journalism. He liked VVs focus and joined them to help create the Kashmir chapter.

Media within the valley is focused on urban areas. Most places beyond large towns are under-reported because none of the correspondents are based in these areas. VV encourages the concept of community correspondents who belong to the place they report on. Once their training is over, they continue to report from in and around their community.

 

New, cheaper technology has helped. Smaller cameras and mobile phones have made it possible to report from remote areas. Sajad says, ‘Indeed, cheap technology has revolutionized the way things are being reported. It has become easy for most people to record any violation and put it online. Look at the case of the "human shield" (April 2017). It came into the limelight only after there was visual evidence showing this inhuman act.’ Faysal too believes that technology has made a difference. ‘Every other Kashmiri acts as an amplifier with posting a story or becoming a part of the conversation. Even if the stories aren’t in the papers the next day, they already have made an impact and are part of the public discourse.’

The correspondents use simple handycams, tablet computers and mobile phones to record stories that they edit themselves. VV hopes to empower the community so that people have control over their own narratives. What makes VVs approach different is that the correspondents do not just report, they also put forward the community’s demands to the administration and follow up on them.

Mir Azhar who works with VV does not see himself as a correspondent. ‘I think of myself as an activist, because whatever stories we get, we have to solve them. Like in the mainstream media, [a journalist’s] work is to simply highlight. But an activist’s work starts after that. After reporting a story, it gets uploaded on the internet and people become aware. Then we have to connect with the authorities to work out the issues raised. Resolving the issues raised is our job.’⁸

 

When investigating disappearances or human rights violation, the reporting has to be sustained over many years. Killings and disappearances may have reduced compared to the ’90s but APDP has pointed out that armed forces still carry out extrajudicial killings. They are emboldened by the fact that no action was taken by the administration even in cases like Macchil (2010) where several armed personnel were found guilty.

On 30 April 2010, in the Macchil sector in Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir, the Indian Army claimed to have foiled an infiltration bid by terrorists from across the Line of Control by killing three armed militants. However, it was later established that the encounter had been staged and the three alleged militants were in fact civilians. While an army court found five army personnel guilty, the Armed Forces Tribunal suspended the life imprisonment awarded to the soldiers. In most fake encounter cases where there is suspicion or proof of collusion by the army or police, no action is taken against them.

VV often gets information of disappearances or human rights violations and sends reporters to investigate. In Zurhama village in Kupwara district, Mir Azhar came across a story of two disappearances in the same family that happened 20 years apart. The first one, of the father, was in the early ’90s. The second, of the younger son, took place in 2014. While in each case the bodies were found several days later, the police undertook no investigation. Mir Azhar returned several times to the village to provide an update on developments.

 

Journalists reporting on killings or human rights violations face several challenges. Many of the cases are in remote areas that are dangerous to travel to. A story like this requires several visits since the family and community may take time to open up given the sense of fear they live with. The journalist finds little support from the administration which discourages investigation into such cases.

Sajad observes that while reporting a story, ‘There is a constant fear. Correspondents of VV and I have been questioned by the armed forces several times.’ VVs model of follow-up stories about action taken by the authorities is what makes it stand apart. The stories draw attention to cases that have not been solved. And sometimes it leads to concrete resolution of local problems.

For VV, a major challenge is internet services. New media does not require printing presses or television studios, but is dependent on internet service providers who are often controlled by the state in Kashmir. Internet shutdowns in the valley are the highest in the country with services being blocked whenever there is a large protest. In 2017 itself, there were 29 instances of shutdown. Stories are delayed and often uploaded after many days.⁹

Irfan Mehraj who runs Wande (wande.com), an online magazine, feels that inspite of the challenges, alternate media has advantages especially when it comes to human rights abuses or disappearances. Irfan observes that, ‘Mainstream media (local newspapers in Kashmir) is doing well to report these stories but it is not proportionally equal to what is happening on the ground. Therefore, alternate media fills the need for carrying stories which the mainstream media will not pick after a while.’ He feels that reporting may not have impacted the response of the state administration towards issues but it has kept the discussion alive in the public mind.

 

The relationship between mainstream and alternate media is also evolving. Earlier, independent journalists reporting online were not taken seriously. This changed during the 2010 protests. Sanjay Kak argues that, ‘The ability of the alternate media… to correct the unashamed biases of the "big" media, was first demonstrated around 2010, when individuals and networks began keeping a hawk-like eye on the news.’ Now mainstream media often picks up stories from what is trending online. Faysal points out, ‘Alternate media has become a part of the culture, due to its autonomy and ability to take on issues with independence. [Once] alternate news media puts out a story that’s widely read… then the mainstream media has to report on it.’

With the growth of internet services in Kashmir, there has been a boom in online content. However, the online platform is at a nascent stage and organizations often suffer from a resource crunch. There is little scope of private investment in online platforms and they mostly die out. Media platforms like the Kashmir Dispatch, The Authint Mail and The Kashmir Walla that did well initially could not sustain themselves.

 

Additionally, journalists and photographers working for alternate media do not have the clout enjoyed by the mainstream press. Many work as freelancers and have difficulty getting press accreditation. Since they cover events that often go unreported or contradict the official narrative, the state sees them as a threat.

Veteran photojournalist Meraj-ud-din, who has been reporting for over three decades, has lost count of how many times he has been threatened or beaten up. ‘I have forgotten how many times. It was very frequent in my early days… The police or paramilitary forces would catch hold of us and beat us badly.’¹⁰

On 4 September 2017, the local police arrested Kamran Yousuf, 23, a journalist based in Pulwama. He was taken to New Delhi by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on suspicion of instigating stone pelting at security personnel. Kamran had been contributing to various national and international publications including the largest circulated English daily in the state, Greater Kashmir.

The charge sheet stated that Yousuf was not a ‘real journalist’ because he had not covered ‘any developmental activity of the government’. Six months later, he was released on bail when the court concluded that the NIA did not have enough evidence to keep him behind bars.

Oftentimes reporting can be plain dangerous. In summer, when the protest reaches a high point, there is a demand for photographs and videos from news organizations all over the world. Each day, independent photo-journalists go into the thick of action and report from the ground often without concern for their own safety. In 2016, Xuhaib Maqbool, a photojournalist, was hit by pellets from a gun fired by a policeman at close range. Xuhaib was taking photos of the protests. He ended up losing vision in his left eye. Two years on, he has not been able to return to work. He suffers fevers and pain from the many pellets that lie embedded in his body.

 

With such dangers, low pay and an uncertain future, why do independent journalists carry on? Irfan Mehraj feels that the reason younger journalists continue to report is that they strongly feel that they have to put across the Kashmiri point of view to a global audience. ‘We have to understand that these young people have grown up in the most militarized environment and have witnessed violence up close. They are burning with a desire to tell the stories of their people and of their place…’

But for Qazi Zaid it is the focus on reporting stories that are not influenced by the powers that be. ‘The role that independent journalists see for themselves in Kashmir is to document things as they happen and report factually, in and outside the corporate media.’

With debates on the state’s future getting taken over by extremists on both sides, there is a need for a multiplicity of voices to ensure plurality. We need to move beyond the traditionally dominant groups that control the political discourse. In this context, the role of alternate media is crucial. The several voices and opinions emerging from these platforms will help create a vibrant discussion about the region’s future.

 

* This article is based on interviews – direct and through email – and conversations with Irfan Mehraj, Qazi Zaid, Muhammad Faysal, Sanjay Kak and Sajad Rasool.

** Sudhesh Unniraman has recently directed a television series on Jammu and Kashmir for the Times Network.

Footnotes:

1. Tim Sullivan, Associated Press, December 2009.

2. Aijaz Ahmed, interview in Greater Kashmir, 23 October 2009.

3. Sania Syed, interview with Wajahat Habibullah, ‘The Story of Jammu and Kashmir’, Times Now, 2018.

4. Kabir Agarwal, ‘How Free is the Media in the Kashmir Valley?’ The Wire. Accessed 7 May 2018. https://thewire.in/media/how-free-is-the-media-in-the-kashmir-valley

5. Sudhesh Unniraman, interview with Abdul Ghani Athar, ‘The Story of Jammu and Kashmir’, Times Now, 2018.

6. Nisar Dharma, ‘10 April 1993: the Day a Boat Sank with the Dead’, Free Press Kashmir. Accessed 7 May 2018. https://freepresskashmir.com/2018/04/10/april-10-1993-day-boat-sank-with-the-dead/

7. Arsilan Aziz, ‘Deconstructing "Kashmiriyat": "A Myth Woven Around History",’ Free Press Kashmir. Accessed 7 May 2018. https://freepresskashmir.com/2018/01/30/deconstructing-kashmiriyat-a-myth-woven-around-history/

8. Sudhesh Unniraman, interview with Mir Azar, ‘The Story of Jammu and Kashmir’, Times Now, 2018.

9. Uber Naqushbandi, ‘Internet Shut in Kashmir 29 Times in 2017, Highest in India’, Greater Kashmir. Accessed 7 May 2018. http://www.greaterkashmir.com/news/kashmir/internet-shut-in-kashmir-29-times-in-2017-highest-in-india/270901.html

10. Sudhesh Unniraman, interview with Rasool Sajad, ‘The Story of Jammu and Kashmir’, Times Now, 2018.