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| Kashmir strike witnessed Pak flags, Jinnah posters | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Aug 12
DELHI ONCE again had to cut a sorry figure for its policy of appeasement towards Kashmir Valley, whose leaders shared the tables with the all party team, but on Monday (August 11) the same sons of the soil held aloft Pakistan flags and big portrait of the founder of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Is it freedom of speech or weakness of central policies?
The Centre has adopted a Nelson’s eye approach of ’hugs and pats’ towards Kashmir, while Jammu bashing has become a habit with those at the helm in Delhi.
The much hyped stance over the march to Muzaffarabad has been highlighted by certain quarters of the national media also, who never allowed the nationalist forces to open their mouths, while giving cent per cent coverage to separatists, leading the people to believe that they are watching news channels run by and in an enemy country.
If recalled, Jammu and Kashmir government on August 2 had dared to seal two Jammu based local channel operators on the plea that telecast were provocative and biased.
After a day long TV blackout on August 2, chief secretary, SS Kapur, on August 3, issued a statement saying that the two channel operators were twice called by the administration and asked not to transmit the content that flared up passions and violence. He advocated that that they were advised to stick to the programme code as given in the Cable Network (Regulation) Act, 1995 and were also issued notices under the law.
While state government shut down two local channels in Jammu, the union government has utterly failed to put a curb on the national channels, which are giving wide coverage to separatists and people with pro-Pakistan agendas.
The anti-Amaranth land issue protestors were seen and heard on TV screens shouting slogans in favour of Islam, freedom, Pakistan and against land transfer, Amarnath shrine board and India. Interestingly, reports said that anti Indian slogan were raised during the protests.
Be it Mirwaiz Umer Farooq or Syed Ali Shah Geelani, or Omar Abdullah, president of National Conference (NC) or Sajjad Lone of Peoples Party or Mehbooba Mufti, president of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), all stressed, "We are not against any religion and we had been cooperating in the Hindu yatra for centuries." But at the same they reiterate, "we would not allow the land being given to a Hindu shrine" and even called for" dividing the state on religious lines."
The coverage of the Amarnath agitation as well as the ’Muzaffarabad Chalo’ rally has clearly proved that Indian media went on to air news reports, which were patently biased and not based on ground realities. The government of India also failed to take any action against this anti-national propaganda by the news channels.
Whether allowing this is broadmindedness of the union government or simply a weakness to handle the situation, posterity will decide.
But one thing is for sure that the government has decided to focus all its energies on demonising the Jammu agitation and branding it as communal.
Another tactic adopted by the government is to attack the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and hold it responsible for the agitation, forgetting that protests in Jammu are not political.
Last but not the least, if BJP has come out to support the people of Jammu, then what is wrong in that? If Congress, PDP, NC, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Communist Party of India (CPI) can support the predominant Muslim Valley, why is BJP communal when it supports the Hindus of Jammu? |
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