Media blamed for painting negative image of Kashmir

NAGPUR: “Media is largely responsible for painting a negative picture of Jammu and Kashmir by spreading wrong and incomplete information as it believes that only adverse news is news,” said Abha Khanna, director of the media department of J&K Study Centre, on Thursday.
Participating in a discussion on ‘Jammu and Kashmir: Myth and reality’, organized by Nagpur Union of Working Journalists, Tilak Patrakar Bhavan, Tilak Patrakar Bhavan Trust, Press Club, and Jammu and Kashmir Study Centre, Khanna claimed, “Those responsible for giving news on Kashmir blindly believe in their correspondents and present it without corroborating facts which dents the image of the people there.”

Khanna, who has 18 years of experience in journalism, claimed, “Kashmir has no special status. The word ‘special’ was conveniently added to Article 371. It has words like ‘temporary and transitional provisions’ as well. The ‘special’ does not constitute anything.”

“Also, dispute with Pakistan has no base. Pakistan twists the word to its benefit and never officially calls it as theirs. It inserts the word ‘dispute’ in arguments while referring to Kashmir on various fora. There cannot be a dispute when Kashmir is clearly a part of India, and Pakistan has no specification about the state in its Constitution,” Khanna said.

Ajay Bharti, an MLA from Jammu and Kashmir, endorsed Khanna’s views on the myths about Kashmir. There are many grave problems in Kashmir such as lack of employment and teaching staff, rise in marriageable age of women to 35, and dog menace. But these facts are conveniently ignored and the media also does not highlight them, Bharti said.

Most of the problems would be solved if corrective measures are taken by the authorities, Bharti said.