KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Senior journalist Shekhar Gupta Thursday criticised the coverage of Kashmir in the mainland Indian media, saying the media has never been truthful with the place as truth was considered against national interests.
“The biggest problem in Kashmir is the way the place has been covered in the main land Indian media. It is that Kashmir has been seen and covered as a Kashmir problem. It has not been covered as Kashmir region or Kashmir state,” he said. “Because the problem has always been very closely linked to the national security and military security, it has got inexplicably woven in that perspective.”
Shekhar who in past edited The Indian Express said, “Kashmir gets a lot of space in national media because through Kashmir comes a threat to India.”
Shekhar was at a function to release ‘Aina Numa’, a collection of writings by former journalist-turned-unionist late Shamim Ahmad Shamim. He said the “Indian media covered Kashmir purely as a security story”.
“The journalists were parachuted from outside. Mostly they were not Kashmiris and were not well versed with the language or ethos. The media covered Kashmir purely as a security story. The underlying theme always was whether the danger is increasing in Kashmir or decreasing,” the senior journalist said.
