Kashmir: Media absence ensures peace in valley

Media gagged in Kashmir!!! This was a question enough to puzzle me during my stay in the Kashmir valley. The valley has been without local newspapers for last three days and surprisingly things are returning fast back to normal.

So have the rules of the game changed. I had heard pen is mightier then the sword but here I was seeing silence of pen is mightier then what could not be achieved in the valley for past one week -- Peace at last. I tried to find reasons during my various meetings with officials, journalists, locals as to why the newspapers are not allowed to publish and surprisingly no one was bothered. The end user -- locals -- were happy that the newspapers did not come as otherwise it contained news about the separatist calendars for protest, warning people, threatening people and somewhere in the second or third page you could find some news in a two by two column about the activities of government.

Has the government been non functional? The answer seems to no as if it was that non functional, then I guess the state would not have surpassed the tourism figures of not only 1990s and 2000s but also of 1986-87 when Kashmir had no trouble. This government meant business and working quietly which was not acceptable to the vested interests of  this state. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, whose administrative capabilities are uncontested, would not have showered praises on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on his developmental work if he did not find so

So media, which is considered as a fourth pillar of the democracy, in Kashmir seems to be full of agenda barring a few exception especially local journalists representing some prominent Jammu daily newspapers. As I say that i do not believe in histories and therefore, I will stick to it. A case was registered against a private Television Channel for inciting mob in a district in South Kashmir. The TV news had broadcast that one person had died in firing and mob came out on streets hurling stones, an incident in which one DySP was injured. The TV channel decided to air an apology only after a case was registered against its correspondents and the channel itself. The government only wanted truth that no one had died.

Another "respected" journalist of a prominent daily had reported that Hazratbal Mosque had been sealed and no prayers were offered. God, the television -- especially the private one's -- are airing footage of prayers being held but this gentleman decided to turn his blind eye to that and faithfully report what was fed to him by his masters -- I guess PDP in this case.

So today after the government decided to crack its whip on "fictitious reporting", the journalists gathered and decided to lodge its protest against the high-handedness of government. I tried to inquire about the reason for protest from a very senior editor of prominent daily and was surprised to hear his answer that he was standing because others asked him to and he is not aware of the reason.

Its time to take a ride in a boat in Dal lake and the shikarawala surprised me more about his view on media saying "Saheb, yeh Kashmir ki gutter hai, bandh rahe to better hai {This (media) is the stinking drain of Kashmir, the more it remains close, the better it is for Kashmir}.