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| Who ‘manufactures’ stone pelters? | | Govt or separatists | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 21 : Stone pelting dominated both the sessions of the Legislative Assembly. A series of contradictory statements were issued by the government. The Law minister accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of patronizing and sponsoring stone pelters. The police saw a nexus between politicians and kerosene dealers. Somebody blamed the separatists. There were others who blamed the Inter Services intelligence (ISI) for the mess the Valley found itself in last year.
An in-depth analysis of the situation, however, narrates a different story. If Omar led government has fought stone pelting; it, according to Kashmir watchers, has the distinction of creating stone palters. The Jammu Kashmir Police believes that unemployment was one of the reasons behind stone pelting. The police also organized on the spot recruitment drives for stone pelters. But, the government has been doing the reverse. Instead of bringing `misguided' youth back to the mainstream fold, the government is creating a situation where youth find themselves pushed to the wall.
During the last year's agitation, the government banned local news channels in Kashmir. A few newspapers were also banned in the state. While the newspapers managed to get rid of the ban, the television channels were closed down for good. The District Magistrate, while giving reasons for the ban said the channels had been instigating violence.
Without contesting the accusations of the District Magistrate, the government can be accused of failure to provide alternative employment to all those who lost their jobs because of the ban.
Several representations have been presented till date urging the government to reconsider the ban. However, the authorities have not heeded the representations. The attitude of the government, a senior journalist said, has left the disgruntled youth with no option but to pursue the path of violence. "If these youth become stone pelters or resort to guns, who will be responsible", he questioned.
"It seems the government does not want to hear what people want to convey. It is only interested in listening to what it wants to listen", he said.
Criticizing the ban on television channels, a teacher at Kashmir University's Department of Mass Communication and Journalism said the local channels had been instrumental in improving the content of the news both in electronic and print media. "Banning the channels is not a healthy trend. It has created unemployment and the dejected youth may opt for violent means", he said.
Quick News Service (QNS) used to circulate news flashes through SMS. Scores of youth were involved in the activity. However, during last year's agitation, the government banned SMS. This hit the QNS adversely. It had tio shut down. All its employees lost their jobs.
A newspaper owned by the son of a PDP leader is on the verge of closure. The newspaper had created a niche for itself by highlighting the irregularities in various government departments. The government responded by stopping its advertisements. The newspaper has not received any advertisement from the Department of information for the past 300 days. It had to lay off its staff and if the ban continues, the newspaper will have to close down. What will happen to the employees?
Surprisingly the government has been boasting of upholding the freedom of press. Similar statements have been issued by the National Conference General Secretary, Sheikh Nazir and senior leader and law Minister, Ali Muhammad Sagar. |
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