Dr. S.W.N. Bahaar
Felicitations and commendations to Kashmir Horizon for completing twelve years of unsullied and incorruptible journalism in a conflict zone! Upholding all the six Cannons of Journalism (Responsibility, Freedom of press, independence, Truth and accuracy, Impartiality and Fair play) and not succumbing to pressure tactics for more than a decade and surviving the era of hostile media perception is an achievement that speaks for itself. The present day `a la mode reportage which is marred by chequebook and yellow journalism, conscientious reporting from a war zone is no less than walking on a double edged sword. With the burgeoning of print and electronic media platforms, staying relevant and standard is quite a dare. The fourth estate has remained an integral part of our socio-cultural environment since times immemorial. It plays a primary role in shaping our opinions and perceptions. The professional journalism dates back to 1605 when the world’s first printed weekly named “Relation aller Furnemmen und gedenckwurdigen Historien’’ (Account of all distinguished and co memorable stories) was published by a German publisher Johann Carolus. In India, “The Bengal Gazette’’ also known as “Calcutta General Advertiser’’ was the first newspaper to be published in 1780 by James Augustus under the British Raj. Since then there has been no looking back. Thousands of dailies and weeklies are published in different parts of world today. According to Newspaper Association of America, nationally over 56 million newspapers are sold daily which goes to 60 million on Sundays alone. Despite the fast replicating online news portals and 24×7 television news channels and motor mouth news anchors, the newspapers have always maintained their relevance and importance in contemporary times. The early morning newspapers have always been an unmissable ingredient of breakfast table spread in almost all world cultures. From politics to economics, culture to religion, science to society, literature to infotainment, newspapers have played an intrinsic role in shaping up our ideas and knowledge augmentation. Nonetheless, journalism in a combat zone is a totally different tale. Journalists are at an increased risk of trauma owing to their ground zero reportage. They have to bear the brunt of all those who are party to the conflict. In the current socio-political set up, free speech and unbiased journalism comes at a price. Intolerance is gaining a foothold and structural pluralism is being pushed to the edge. Every year hundreds of reporters are harassed, bullied and even abducted from conflict and non conflict zones. Fearless voices are being muzzled and journalists who voice their non-partisan articulations are subjugated. In such testing times impartial and unprejudiced depiction of ground realities invites the wrath of unscrupulous political and criminal agencies on prowl. When churnalism becomes the new normal, junk news and propaganda press have their field day. Journalists act as watchdogs and whistleblowers. They are the guardians of civil liberties. They have the responsibility of safeguarding the interests of common man who has no access to the power corridors and whose existence is toned down to a mere vote bank. Free unbiased press is the backbone of a democracy. A constructive criticism can strengthen the foundations of an efficient and sincere administrative set up. They can trigger debates and movements which have the potential to change the course of nations and communities. Frontline reporters put their lives at stake so that the actual depiction of facts on ground zero may reach the readers and viewers. According to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) at least 95 journalists were killed in the year 2018 during the course of their work. 49 journalists were killed, 57 were held hostage and 389 were put behind the bars in the year 2019 according to an annual by Reporters without Borders. The Paris based non profit group found that the number of journalists killed in 2019 was the lowest since 2003, representing a “historically low’’ figure compared with an average of 80 journalists killed per year over the past two decades (courtesy: CNN).
A multi-cultural and multi-lingual country like India can thrive only in its diversity and heterogeneity of ideas and opinions. Lap dog journalism may offer some temporary perks and dividends but watchdog journalism creates history.
Till date the highest number of media deaths (155) was reported in the year 2006. The brutal killing of Daniel Pearl, an American journalist for The Wall Street Journal in February, 2002 in Pakistan exposed the vulnerabilities of investigative journalism. It laid bare the extent of threat faced by journalists while working in perilous and treacherous environments in absence of proper security cover. Another beastly assassination that agitated the basic tenets of free and fair journalism was the barbaric killing of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. It was pure savagery the way a dissident and critic of a powerful autocracy was silenced forever. In the contemporary world speaking truth is akin to committing suicide. The relentless hounding of American whistleblower Edward Joseph Snowden who leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013 while working as a Central Intelligence Agency employee highlights the perils of speaking the truth for the benefit of general public. The incarceration of Julian Paul Assange, an Australian editor, activist and the founder of WikiLeaks may serve just another example of how dissent can be quelled and voices muffled in the name of national security. His persecution started when in 2010 he published a series of leaks provided by a U. S. Army intelligence analyst. India being not far ahead is currently topping the charts of intolerance and disapproval. Disagreement and difference of opinion are currently off the menu. Screechy nationalism and hollow sycophancy are the favourite flavours of a newfangled India. In the recent years the killing of writers and activists like Gauri Lankesh, M M Kalburgi, Govind Pansare, Narendra Dabholkar have raised some vital questions and triggered debates on the safety of journalists and activists who have been the vocal critics of right wing politics. In the last three decades of insurgency, the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has lost numerous journalists to fearless reportage from the epicentre which include Lassa Kaul (1990), Ghulam Mohammad Lone (1994), Mushtaq Ali (1995), Ghulam Rasool Sheikh (1996), Saidan Shafi (1997) Altaf Ahmed Faktoo (1997), Pradeep Bhatia (2000), Parvez Mohammed Sultan (2003), Asiya Jeelani (2004), Ashok Sodhi (2008), Javed Ahmed Mir (2008) and Shujaat Bukhari (2018) among many others (Source: the Quint). Nevertheless, the recent 2020 Pulitzer Prize won by Jammu and Kashmir photojournalists Dar Yasin, Channi Anand and Mukhtar Khan for feature photography of the region during the recent tumultuous times gives a ray of hope to the battered community of journalists as well as the rational readers. It is being seen as a watershed moment in the history of Kashmir journalism. Winning the most prestigious award in American journalism depicts that not all is lost. A free and fair press is a pre requisite for a strong and equitable democracy. A multi-cultural and multi-lingual country like India can thrive only in its diversity and heterogeneity of ideas and opinions. Lap dog journalism may offer some temporary perks and dividends but watchdog journalism creates history.
(The author is an Assistant Professor at J&K Higher Education Department. Views are her own, [email protected])
