In Kashmir, A Constant Negotiation Between Truth And Untruth

In the dim light of his laptop screen, a Kashmiri journalist reads his story one last time. He reads the draft again. It바카라�s a factual story. But is it safe? He deletes a line, then another. 바카라�The idea of a safe story is always shifting when it comes to the authorities. What is a perfectly legitimate story for a journalist can be deemed as an anti-national story by the government,바카라� he says. He doesn바카라�t want to be named.

For journalists in Kashmir, every story is a negotiation between truth and untruth. To report the truth is to invite risk바카라�of coercion, of surveillance, of labels. But to self-censor, to omit and dilute, is to let untruths take root and allow half-told stories fill the space where truth should be told.

Soon after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019, Qazi Shibli, editor-in-chief of The Kashmiriyat, says journalists became the last voices left in a silent valley. 바카라�There was silence in Kashmir; no activists or politicians were allowed to speak out.바카라�

As a result, Shibli says, a void was created. 바카라�And journalists were forced to unwillingly fill that void. So, people starting expecting a lot from us, and in a place where every truth has a counter-truth and objectivity is constantly questioned, living up to that expectation has become harder than ever.바카라�

After the new media policy was implemented in Kashmir in 2020, which, among other things, authorises government officers to decide what constitutes 바카라�fake news바카라�, Shibli says journalists often have no choice but to self-censor.

바카라�There is always a story tomorrow to live for,바카라� he says. 바카라�Sometimes the choice isn바카라�t just about our own safety; it is about protecting the people/sources we base our reports on. We can바카라�t put them at risk just for the sake of clicks and a byline. That바카라�s our responsibility as journalists.바카라�

Shibli has been jailed twice since 2019. In July of that year, he was arrested under the Public Safety Act (PSA) for tweeting about additional paramilitary deployment in Kashmir. A year later, he was detained again for 바카라�security reasons바카라�.

바카라�This is the price we pay for reporting the truth, for resisting lies,바카라� he says. 바카라�The cases may get dismissed eventually, but the process itself becomes a punishment.바카라�

During the communication blackout in the 2019 lockdown, journalists in Kashmir were very active in covering the unprecedented changes taking place in the region. But by 2020, the space for independent journalism started to shrink. Masrat Zahra, a photojournalist, and Gowhar Geelani, a well-known writer, were among the first to face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Since then, many journalists have been routinely summoned for questioning and their work scrutinised.

One of the biggest safety nets that was there before 2019바카라�the Kashmir Press Club바카라�is also gone, as it was taken down in 2022. Now, journalists don't have an independent body that can speak about their issues or come to their rescue if some journalists are booked by the authorities. It was also an important meeting point that brought independent journalists together and gave them a space to ideate.

바카라�In 2022, when there was a huge crackdown on journalists and dissidents, many reporters stepped back,바카라� says Gafira Qadir, an independent journalist. 바카라�As many stories went unreported, it created a gap between people and us. At the same time, people also grew tired바카라�tired of sharing their pain to the world and seeing nothing change,바카라� says Qadir.

바카라�A number of journalists now struggle to build trust with the people,바카라� says Qadir who바카라�s been a journalist for over five years now. As stories are caught between truth and untruth, platforms for Kashmiri journalists are also shrinking, she says. 바카라�We no longer have platforms in Kashmir that help us to sharpen our skills or become better journalists.바카라�

바카라�Editors from outside Kashmir, who once welcomed our story pitches, have little or no interest in our stories now. The world is full of sad stories, and ours no longer seem to matter,바카라� says Qadir. And when they do, the expectations have changed. Some editors now want 바카라�positive바카라� stories from Kashmir. 바카라�I바카라�ve had editors specifically ask me to find such stories. But if you do, your own people start questioning your integrity,바카라� she says.

Qadir adds that the flood of social media journalism has further blurred the line between 바카라�truth and untruth바카라�. 바카라�With mics and cameras in the hands of anyone who call themselves journalists, it has somehow raised many questions on the ethics, credibility and authenticity of all journalists.바카라�

They say a journalist should never become the story. But in Kashmir, journalism itself is often the first story. Fahad Shah, a journalist and founder of the now-banned The Kashmir Walla, had spent over a decade building the magazine into one of the last independent news outlets in the region. It was one of the few news platforms publishing critical news and investigations on human rights abuses. In February 2022, Shah became the news. He was arrested under the UAPA for allegedly 바카라�glorifying terrorism바카라�, through a 바카라�seditious바카라� article. In the following months after his arrest, he secured bail from various courts, but each time he was again arrested in a different case. He was booked in four different cases바카라�three of them under the UAPA and one under the PSA. He spent 21 months in multiple detention centres and prisons before being released on bail in November 2023.

While he was in prison, Shah learned from his family that the government had banned The Kashmir Walla. 바카라�In prison, other inmates came to me and expressed sympathy. Everyone felt I had lost something big. And within me, I kept thinking the whole time바카라�all those years from 2010, when I started The Kashmir Walla, till 2023 flashed before my eyes.바카라�

바카라�It was as if I had lost my child,바카라� he says.

In a region, where the story isn바카라�t what바카라�s told, but remains untold, the burden has pushed some to step away. A female journalist, who started her career in 2012, eventually left the profession post-2019. 바카라�It wasn바카라�t because of the pressure on our reporting바카라�though that was constant. My stories were also toned down to a level that they lost their message. It was a conscious decision to leave the field.바카라�

바카라�I was always driven by passion,바카라� she adds, 바카라�Even now, whenever something happens, I still see it through a reporter바카라�s eyes. And it hurts, not being one anymore.바카라� 바카라�It바카라�s painful that I left, but compromising my ethics would have been even worse.바카라�

Jehangir Ali, J&K correspondent for The Wire, recalls a chilling moment when the police questioned him about a story. An officer asked, 바카라�Why do you never cover stories in favour of the government?바카라� Ali was taken aback.

바카라�Just like doctors get to write prescriptions for patients, journalists are trained to decide which stories to cover and which not to. Our job is to hold the government accountable and not promote it,바카라� he says.

Being accused by the government, he believes, means he is doing his job right. But what troubles him most is how easily journalists get labelled in Kashmir.

In October 2023, Ali was called 바카라�part of the separatist ecosystem바카라� by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha after he reported on allegations by an IAS officer about alleged irregularities in a government scheme. He was not named directly, but the reference was clear. 바카라�This label almost traumatised me to the point where any random person on the street seemed like they could be coming to arrest me.바카라�

바카라�As a journalist, you never want to be labelled. These labels don바카라�t just affect you; they affect your families. You want to shield your family from the horrors that surround you,바카라� he says.

He adds that there바카라�s fear in Kashmir바카라�s media. 바카라�Many stories never get published, not just the risky ones, but even the ones that seem harmless. 바카라�You never know which story might land you in trouble,바카라� says Ali, who also writes for French daily Le Monde.

Four months ago, as Kashmir elected its first government since being categorised as a Union Territory, there was 바카라�cautious바카라� hope in the media. In his first press conference, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said he wants to see a free and open media that can report facts on the ground without any interference or pressure.

But on the ground, journalists say, nothing has changed.

The stories continue. Some are written. Some remain unwritten. But the choices behind them tell their own story바카라�of truth and untruth.