Valley's Voice

A lot of things are being alleged by 'sources' regarding a raid on a newspaper called Kashmir Times, and its editor, Anuradha Bhasin.

- Aakar Patel

Some background is in order so readers can place things in perspective. On 2 June 2020, the Modi government announced 'New Media Policy 2020', a policy specific to Kashmir. Note that the pretence behind the government's actions in Kashmir was the ostensible integration of the state and the abolition of laws that distinguished it from the rest of India.

Yet, here was another Kashmir-only policy. Over 50 pages long, it gave the government unbridled powers to determine what was 'fake', 'unethical' or 'anti-national' news. On the basis of this, it could take legal and other punitive action against journalists and media organisations. Media watchdogs abroad noted the use of ambiguous and undefined terms such as 'fake', 'unethical', 'anti-national' and 'anti-social', which opened the doors for misuse because they offered the bureaucrat judging the news no guiding standards or principles. It was entirely at the discretion of the government. The press in Jammu remained silent on the matter, while the media in Kashmir voiced their strong opposition to the policy. Bhasin was one of those brave voices.

On 10 January 2020, hearing a case related to the restoration of internet in Kashmir, the Supreme Court determined that access to the internet was a fundamental right of Indians. This was the way several papers reported the story even the following day: 'Access to internet is a fundamental right, says Supreme Court' and 'SC recognises internet users' right, also formalises their accountability'.