Final newspaper drafts were approved by LG office post article 370 abrogation, Journalists were harassed and silenced: MP Rahullah Mehdi

Srinagar, Jan 31, KNT: National Conference member parliament from Srinagar, Aga Ruhullah Mehdi, has alleged that journalists in Kashmir have faced intimidation, arrests, and coercion since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, in an effort to suppress the truth and control the narrative.

Speaking at a workshop for aspiring journalists at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi, Mehdi said that media professionals in Kashmir were booked under stringent laws such as the Public Safety Act (PSA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), while Look Out Circulars (LOCs) were issued against several journalists, preventing them from traveling abroad. He also asserted that many journalists had been unofficially summoned and interrogated, leaving no public record of their ordeals.

Mehdi accused the LG administration of forcing local newspapers to become propaganda tools, alleging that prior to 2019, these publications questioned authority and reported on separatist issues, but post-abrogation, they were either intimidated or bribed into submission. “Their reporting was censored, and the final drafts were approved by the Lieutenant Governor’s office,” he alleged.

He urged aspiring journalists to analyze the content of Kashmiri newspapers before and after August 2019 to understand the shift in editorial stance.

The NC leader further alleged that an editor was installed to oversee and approve news content, limiting coverage of local issues such as detentions and unrest. “You may read about the Kumbh Mela in Kashmiri newspapers, but you won’t find reports on who is currently imprisoned in Kashmir,” he remarked.

He also accused the press of failing to report on the local dissent against the abrogation of Article 370.

Mehdi claimed that journalists who persisted in reporting on the ground realities were arrested, their homes raided, and their passports revoked. He cited instances where the National Investigation Agency (NIA) targeted journalists by confiscating their family members’ phones and creating a climate of fear, forcing many reporters to relocate to Delhi or Mumbai.

Rahullah Mehdi said that the government deliberately controlled information to shape public opinion and spread misinformation about Article 370. He argued that the narrative portraying the abrogation as a turning point for Kashmir’s development was misleading, asserting that no major investment had flowed into J&K since 2019.

He also noted that projects such as highways, tunnels, and rail networks had been initiated before the revocation of Article 370, but were now being rebranded as new developments.

On tourism, Mehdi dismissed claims of unprecedented growth, recalling that Kashmir had previously witnessed much higher tourist footfalls when foreign travelers and film crews frequented the region. He criticized sections of the media for failing to highlight this historical perspective.

The NC MP also condemned what he described as the erosion of media freedom, arguing that a compromised press had enabled the rise of fundamentalism and authoritarianism in India. “A controlled media fosters propaganda, dehumanizes minorities, especially Muslims, and facilitates the spread of fascist ideologies,” he asserted.

On the issue of militancy, Mehdi refuted the BJP government’s claims that Article 370 was linked to militancy. “Militants never recognized J&K’s accession to India or the Indian Constitution—why would they care about Article 370? If the government truly believes militancy was caused by Article 370, they should interview an arrested militant and ask if that’s why he took up arms,” he challenged.

For Mehdi, Article 370 remains a “principled counter-narrative” to militancy and is central to the faith of those in J&K who believe in India’s Constitution. He argued that the post-2019 approach had only spread militancy to previously unaffected parts of Jammu, and accused the government of pushing an ideological agenda aligned with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

“The peaceful and thriving image of Kashmir was deliberately distorted to enforce a vision that the RSS wanted,” Mehdi concluded. [KNT]