Letter to Editor: Kashmir and the Indian Media

ND Pancholi, President, PUCL (Delhi)
 People’s Union for Civil Liberties: Delhi
 F 24/72, Ground Floor, Sector-3, Rohini, Delhi 110085.

Dated: 31st March, 2011

To, The Editor

Sub:- KASHMIR AND THE INDIAN MEDIA

Sir,

I bring to your notice that an independent fact-finding team, at the initiative of The Other Media (Delhi), consisting of four human rights activists, namely Bela Bhatia, Ravi Hemadri, Sukumar Muralidharan and Vrinda Grover had visited Kashmir at the end of October 2010 in order to study the origins of the problem which had led to recent mass uprising in the valley of Kashmir and to suggest ways and means for its resolution. They met families of those killed during the preceding four months of civil unrest and assessed various shades of opinion in the valley. The team members spent about 25 days and visited several villages and towns in five of the Kashmir valley’s 10 districts.

The team prepared its report entitled ‘Four Months Kashmir Valley Will Never Forget’ and released the same in a Press Conference on 26th March, 2011 at New Delhi. All segments of the media were invited to cover the conference. But to the surprise of the team no reporter, except one, turned up and was totally ignored by the print as well as electronic media.

There is already a feeling among the people of Kashmir that Indian establishments and majority of Indian media are more interested in retaining the land of Kashmir rather than to have any concern for the miseries and sufferings of its people. Human rights groups also feel that their view points in relation to Kashmir problem are mostly ignored by the media which is more prone to give wider publicity to official line. This kind of attitude, whether conscious or unconscious, can only strengthen separatist tendencies and feeling of alienation among the people of Kashmir on the one hand, while it deprives the Indian people of the opportunity to study and discuss all shades of views in order to form a rational and discerning opinion on one of the most volatile problems prevailing in this part of the world.

N.D.Pancholi
 President, PUCL (Delhi unit).
 (M) 9811099532