Behind The Barbed Wire: How A Shutdown In Communication Affects the Media

NSoJ Bureau

“When life is at stake, credibility takes a backseat,” said Bangalore-based journalist and co-editor of the Free Speech Collective, Laxmi Murthy, while talking to students at the National School of Journalism on 26 September 2019.

She was presenting a report about the communication blockade in Jammu and Kashmir, titled, 'News behind the barbed wire'. Written by Ms Murthy and Geeta Seshu, members of the Network of Women in Media, India, the report focuses on the impact the blockade has had on media persons and media outlets in the state. It describes the events that took place between 30 August and 3 September of this year.

The blockade had been in place since the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on August 5 2019. According to her, control over the local media was not limited to governmental pressures; in the early days of the blockade, journalists from publications across the country were flown in to report about the situation. Local journalists, however, were ‘not encouraged’ to provide first- hand experiences of the tensions that followed. A Kashmiri journalist, said, as quoted by the report, “what we witness, we cannot write. We have to keep our information vague.”

Further, journalists who serve as correspondents to national papers claimed that the work they sent in was heavily regulated, with the original report being altered almost entirely. “AFP, Reuters and Al-Jazeera are now considered sources for credible news about Kashmir,” said Ms Murthy.

The days following the blockade witnessed a large number of detentions, especially those of journalists. According to her sources, the number of alleged detainees ranged from 4,000-40,000 individuals.

Despite the setting up of a media centre, many journalists were unable to file stories due to long queues for the computers that were provided, routine regulation, and a slow Internet connection. Although landline connections were provided in certain areas in the duration that the team remained in the state, communication in the press enclave continued to be deferred. One source referred to the situation as a ‘zero news zone.’

Sustaining media outlets, especially those run independently became a challenge as well, due to the dearth of state funding and the inability to procure advertisements during this period of time.

At the time of writing, the clampdown in Jammu and Kashmir had persisted for well over 60 days. 71 days later, cellular services were partially restored in the Kashmir Valley on 14 October.