TODAY, world over, we observe Press Freedom Day. Does it require any explanation how important press is to the modern world; no, it doesn’t. All goes without saying.  But is press really free, or if asked less provocatively, how free is the press in the world we live in. The story called the freedom of press is not the same everywhere. Those who rate the countries on this parameter have their own ways of determining the scale of freedom. But apart from that, there are some fundamental things associated to the theme of freedom. Without debating over it everyone has the idea of what freedom actually means. On the scale of that basic understanding of freedom where do we find Kashmir; how free is the press here?
There is unanimity of response on this question. Anyone who has to do anything with the press in Kashmir knows well that strings are attached. It is not a generalized statement that press is not free in Kashmir. There is ample detail accompanying the statement. True, Kashmir is a conflict zone and this makes things difficult for everyone; for the newspapers it is a hard choice to make while covering an incident that has a direct link to the conflict. For the government it is difficult than usual to deal with the freedom of expression. But freedom cannot be curtailed on the pretext of conflict. Yes, the elements of Responsibility and Sensitivity become more demanding in the times of conflict. But choking the voice is no answer to the situation that developed in Kashmir from last two decades.
Greater Kashmir and its sister publication Kashmir Uzma, being the two largest circulated newspapers here, have been a witness to how difficult things were made by known and unknown forces. How are those who harp on the theme of democracy going to explain the hurdles put in the way of Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Uzma; deliberately and by design. Except that we stood for truth and sided with the reality, what is the reason for inflicting such a huge loss on us. Why do they want to choke us by way of economy. And for those who observe this day here and conduct different programs, isn't this a time to express concern. After all Greater Kashmir is a public institution.

Lastupdate on : Wed, 2 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Wed, 2 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Thu, 3 May 2012 00:00:00 IST