Though technological advancement is expected to boost the standards of professionalism in journalism everywhere in the world and same holds good for Kashmir but WhatsApp meant for splashing messages to friends, relatives, and officials in short time free of cost has become a tool of journalism even for the non professionals in Kashmir. Don’t be surprised most of the WhatsApp groups are being run in the name of titles which can be used for registration as titles for newspapers with the Registrar General Newspapers, Government of India. Ironically most of the WhatsApp groups run in Kashmir are run under the names which are neither registered as tiltles for newspapers nor as news agencies with the directorate of information & public relations. These WhatsApp groups run under unregistered tiltles are even splashing news bulletins similar to the current affairs program of Radio Kashmir “Sheher Been”. Though government had taken serious not of rumour mongering practices of several WhatsApp groups during sumer unrest last year and all the WhatApp group admins were asked to registered their WhatsApp group with the offices of the deputy commissioners of the concerned districts but government failed to implement the order later. The main cause of the government’s failure in implementing the decision on registration of WhatsApp news groups is that most of the ministers, legislators and top civil and police officials get unwanted publicity for the field activities on most of the unregistered WhatsApp news groups. Ironically some top bureaucrats heading key departments, deputy commissioners and top police officials heading police ranges are getting their voice statements recorder on most of these unregistered WhatsAPP groups.
Since law enforcement authorities are often embarrassed by the rumour mongering of most of the unregistered WhatsApp news groups, better for the law enforcement authorities to implement its orders on registration of WhatsApp news groups than banning internet services at time when deaths in encounters and street protests go viral on these WhatsApp groups.
If at all the field activities of top civil and police officials are to be highlighted in print and electronic media, the government has the best tools available with itself, i.e, Information and Public Relations Department which sends daily press notes of all the field activities to all the registered newspapers and news agencies and the state run TV and Radio station telecasting and broadcasting daily news bulletins on government activities. Since law enforcement authorities are often embarrassed by the rumour mongering of most of the unregistered WhatsApp news groups, better for the law enforcement authorities to implement its orders on registration of WhatsApp news groups than banning internet services at time when deaths in encounters and street protests go viral on these WhatsApp groups. More better for the government it would be if the registration of WhatsApp news groups is restricted to those running registered newspapers and news agencies in all the three regions of the state- Kashmir, Jammu & Ladhak.
