Image Courtesy:countercurrents.org
In light of the coronavirus, a virtual protest was organized on Monday, April 27 to stand up against the harassment of journalists in India-occupied Kashmir. The rally, held by Radical Desi, was remotely held in North Delta in Canada due to Covid-19 and was attended by various South Asian journalists and community activists from all over the globe. Radical Desi is an online publication that covers alternative politics in partnership with Indians Abroad for Pluralist India (IAPI).
Radical Desi reported that the protesters condemned the act of journalists in Kashmir being slapped with various criminal charges in a bid to suppress press freedom and voice of dissent under a right-wing Hindu nationalist government.
The rally began with a poem dedicated to the late Gauri Lankesh by Amrit Diwana. Gauri Lankesh was a journalist who was extremely vocal against religious extremism and was murdered by Hindu fanatics in 2017.
Among the protesters was the Punjabi Press Club of British Columbia (PPCBC), Navjot Kaur Dhillon. She is the first female president of the club which has been consistently raising the issue of Kashmiri journalists since last summer.
Recently, at least three Kashmiri journalists, including female photographer Masrat Zahra, were recently charged under draconian laws after being accused of spreading “anti-national” propaganda. Gowhar Geelani, another prominent journalist and a published author was among the three.
Amid the lockdown, Gowhar Geelani was booked for by the Jammu and Kashmir Cyber Police for “glorifying terrorism in the Kashmir Valley”. According to a press release by the police, he was booked for “unlawful activities” including “glorifying terrorism in Kashmir Valley, causing disaffection against the country and causing fear or alarm in the minds of public that may lead to commission of offences against public tranquility and the security of State,” cited various media reports.
Photojournalist Masrat Zahra was booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for allegedly glorifying “anti-national activities” on social media. The press statement by the police read, “Cyber Police Station received information through reliable sources that one Facebook user namely Masrat Zahra is uploading anti-national posts … Facebook user is also believed to be uploading photographs which can provoke the public to disturb law and order. The user is also uploading posts that tantamount to glorify anti-national activities and dent image of law enforcing agencies besides causing disaffection against the country,” The Print reported.
The protesters said that they felt that the targeting of journalists was part of a smear campaign by the Indian state to terrorize and demonize minorities and any right thinking scholar who questioned its power.
Navjor Kaur Dhillon pointed out that the Indian authorities were going after Kashmiri Muslim journalists and doing nothing against right wing media commentators who are openly spewing venom against minorities.
Others who were part of the protest were the Editor of Chardikala Newspaper, Gurpreet Singh Sahota, and Punjabi Tribune editor Dr. Gurvinder Singh Dhaliwal. Both are associated with the PPCBC.
Two social justice activists from India, Buta Singh and Satwant Singh, joined the rally online and threw light on the overall situation that exists in India under an “intolerant regime”.
IAPI President Parshotam Dosanjh, and other members of the group Sandip Modgil and Gurpreet Singh also spoke on the occasion.
Kashmir has been under lockdown since August 5 last year after the abrogation of Article 370. Special rights given to the state were scrapped and military has been heavily deployed in the name of national security to contain an ongoing struggle for the right to self-determination in the region. Not only have political activists been indefinitely detained, but journalists in Kashmir are finding it difficult to work freely and fearlessly.
Related: