Haseeb Drabu’s article “What is GK telling, and not telling us”? published in this paper on April 26, 2020 is eye-catching, and equally an indictment of the quality of vernacular media in our part of the world. Dr Drabu X-rayed the news item viz, “Ramzan greetings’ and its treatment and placement by the news desk of the paper. The national leaders ‘ greetings on the front page and Muffassil (local ) leaders’ greetings on the fifth page. Surely in a Muslim majority state in times of heightened identity anxiety this couldn’t have got unnoticed. We don’t want to intrude into the policy of the news desk but this in our living memory never happened to be policy of the paper. It cannot be that earlier the ‘Ramzan greetings’ were in the state list but after removal of article 370 these have automatically got transferred to the union list. The larger issue that Dr Drabu has raised is some sort of flattening of the news curve of local media particularly GK, Post August 5, 2019. This surely is not understandable for people and parties. A former foreign educated home minister of India would finish reading all local newspapers from Kashmir during the breakfast. In USA, they ask: where were you when John Kennedy was assassinated? In India, they ask: where were you when Emergency was imposed in 1975? In Kashmir they may ask, if not today certainly tomorrow: where were you when extreme alienation in Kashmir snowballed into hate for India. Be that as it may, an analysis of randomly chosen editorials of GK in the year 2017 on three themes – human rights, governance and dialogue – suggests that its reportage remained fairly balanced.
Human Rights: On the vital issue of public spaces and the importance of protecting civil liberties in a democratic system twelve editorial commentaries were found highlighting significance for a participatory democracy. The use of disproportionate state power, utility of conducting probes into alleged human rights violations, the agony of parents of disappeared persons, reckless use of harsh laws and many other humanitarian issues were editorially examined and powers that be awakened to their constitutional obligations. The respect for human rights and widening of civilian spaces so as to arrest what eminent jurist Opendra Baxi calls “governmental lawlessness” duly emphasized. The paper commented on justice ML Koul committee probing into killings in 2010 and suggested that the report shouldn’t be sent to archives for gathering dust. The authorities are under a legal and moral obligation to make the probe findings public. The paper commented that “opposition PDP had forcefully opposed the use of pellet guns and promised to check their use once in power. But now in power it is time for the party to fulfill one of its most widely remembered promises by banning the use of pellets”. The reckless use of public safety act by the state according to GK has undermined the criminal justice system. The police use the law to keep their political opponents behind the bars indefinitely. The PSA has no provision for the maintenance of the family of the detainee. The detainee usually happens to be the sole bread earner of the family. Through some of its editorials GK commented on sad state of affairs as far as democratic spaces are concerned. It invoked several rulings of the supreme court regarding respecting freedom of speech and expression which have no geographical limitations. The fact of the matter is that many deeply divided post-war societies turned to democracy as a way to exit intractable conflicts and India state has its own experiences. Saint Kabir Das echoed it in a different context: Keep your critics close to you/ build them a cottage in your backyard”.
People-Centric Governance: Likewise the editorial treatment of human centric governance in GK also remained fairly pro-active. From need for safe drinking water for the populace to equally other pressing matters viz, power projects, need for critical care ambulances, woes of power development corporation, huge deployment of troops in civilian areas, saving agricultural land for posterity, future of tourism industry, ease of doing business, ban on polythene and many other issues were aggressively treated in its different editorials. The paper tried to expose the link between timber smugglers and people connected to different power centres and suggested how a cooperative framework between people living near forest areas and officers of the relevant departments can go a long way in safeguarding the green wealth of the state. In one such editorial the need for saving 5000 aromatic/medicinal plants was emphasized and government and its different agencies were asked to tap this vital resource.
Institution of Dialogue: After scanning the editorials on dialogue process and its significance in a democratic set-up we found near about thirty editorials written from time to time in 2017. The reportage largely went straight at molding the public opinion in favor of building bridges of understanding in and across the Jammu and Kashmir state. On May 30, 2017 GK editorially commented: “heed the saner voices – there is need for creating an atmosphere for enabling the peace to strike the roots. Like a rudderless boat, the state has been at the mercy of the gusty winds sweeping across the state for the second consecutive year. Nothing can be said with certainty as to what direction it is going to take; if it is going to hit a ridge or get sucked into a whirlpool. It seems both the state and central governments have either run out of ideas or continue to be caught in a web of confusions. Instead of untangling itself out of these confusions and drawing coherent policy that could be a way forward towards creating a conducive atmosphere for addressing the major issue confronting the state it has been confounding it. Every one, dwarf or tall in the power echelons of the capital guided by the 9pm nationalism orchestrated from some television channels has also been contributing his mite of noise, thus adding to the complexity of the problem. Moreover, through their controversial statements they have been hurting the sensibilities of the overwhelming majority in the state…..”
The news and views in post-truth times have attained new dimensions. We live in times of post-factual politics which has given rise to a political culture in which debate is framed largely by appeals to emotions and factual rebuttals are ignored. Some time back senior leader of the BJP LK Advani said:’ he feared an emergency cannot be ruled out in India in future” . One is reminded of legendary proprietor of Indian Express, Ramnath Goenka who risked his personal life and future of his paper by defying censors when Indira Gandhi asked the “media to bend and it crawled”. Freedom to George Orwell is the right to tell the people what they don’t want to hear. In the larger sub-continent the role and significance of vernacular media needs to be recognized for more than one reason. In the absence of worthy and institutionalized think-tanks an independent vernacular media can be helpful in acting as instruments of early warning system.
Prof Gull Mohammad Wani is Head Department of Political Science, University of Kashmir