In a situation in which an objective and internationally accepted definition of terrorism or freedom struggle can never be agreed upon (after all, they say, ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter’), the question of who is a terrorist or who a freedom fighter, depends entirely on the subjective outlook of the definer. For many, it may just seem more a debate of terminology than perception.

Yet, we need to understand that there is no terrorism, only terrorist actions. These actions could be indulged in by all sides in a conflict. Terrorists and freedom fighters exist in both sides of a conflict. A lot of emphasis is required in identifying who is calling whom a terrorist and who is calling who a freedom fighter. And then to lead into a discussion about what should be used to make a distinction between a freedom fighter and a terrorist. And finally, that it is the event in question and the details available to describe who has acted a terrorist. The reporter’s dilemma, as such, should be solved by deeply understanding and then describing a particular action/event and how its reportage feeds a popular discourse. And then leave it to the reader as to who has committed a terror act.
In Kashmir, the comparison is astounding. Early this year in February, a teenager Zahid Farooq from Srinagar was killed by a trooper who, as per him, was forced by his Commandant to shoot the teenager without any provocation. The concerned security forces initially denied any role in the killing. However, the massive protests across the valley forced J &K government to take up the issue with the Union Home Minister (Daily Indian Express, 7 April, 2010). Another example is of the fake encounter in Machil area of Kupwara in which three youths were killed. Three persons, including a special police officer and a Territorial Army man arrested by the police, admitted to their involvement in the killing of the youths, who turned out to be civilians, and not militants as claimed by the Army.

As per news reports, the arrested persons also told the interrogators that a Major of 4 Rajput was involved in the encounter and paid them Rs. 50,000 each for getting civilians who could be shown as militants. The Army and the police were also probing how officers of 4 Rajput got the Pakistani currency they produced to support their claim of an encounter with ‘militants’ on the LoC (Daily Hindu, 31 May-2010).

In such a situation, it is not difficult to reach a conclusion as to who has been committing voluminously more acts of terrorism. The killer here is a terrorist in whosoever may attempt a definition of ‘who a terrorist is’. Of course, there will be events where a character who, in general local perception may fall in the category of a freedom fighter, but would have committed an act of terror.      
It is also important to talk about how TV news channels deal with developments in this context. Most news is contextualized inside the newsrooms and the ground reports-- fewer as they have become in this medium-- are just fitted in an already somewhat official discourse about a particular event. The coverage of Maoist related news could be a fantastic example. Corporate owned media feeds a discourse that is invariably designed to protect/help the ownership relationship with the governments.

It is equally significant to speak about who uses a particular term in the first place. It is almost always the officialdom. And media for various reasons ranging from ownership structure to being captive to “nationalistic” discourses, then adopts the terminology. Robert Fisk, The Independent newspaper’s Middle East correspondent, in his address to the fifth Al Jazeera annual forum on May 23, 2010 said, “More and more today, we journalists have become prisoners of the language of power”. 

In this backdrop, for reporters, the issue is not whether to get ‘involved’ in conflicts or not. In a media-savvy world, reporters are always already involved. So, it’s about the ethics of involvement. Are reporters expanding or shrinking the space —the query is very critical.

(The author teaches at Media Education Research Centre, MERC, University of Kashmir)

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