The story of the death of the free press in Kashmir has been extensively reported on by Newslaundry. One major tool of control? Government advertising. But for the first time, we now have a clearer sense of the money being spent.

An analysis of two RTI replies by Jammu and Kashmir’s Department of Information and Public Relations suggests that the Jammu and Kashmir administration under Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha spent at least Rs 70 crore on print ads between April 2022 and October 2024. The top five recipients – three English and two Urdu dailies – got 26 percent of this amount.

One of these RTI applications was filed by Mohammad Iqbal Wani, owner and editor-in-chief of Srinagar-based daily Iqbal E Kashmir, and provided details of government ads to 147 newspapers between April 2023 to October 2024. The other, filed by Srinagar resident Bilal Ahmad Mir, detailed ads to 140 newspapers between April 2022 to March 2023.

Since these RTI replies only mentioned ad space in centimetres, Newslaundry calculated the estimated revenue by multiplying the total ad space with the lowest per-cm rates set by the DIPR. The lowest rate was Rs 75 per cm (black-and-white, inner pages). Top rates go up to Rs 135 per cm for front-page colour ads. 

The top five ad recipients were English dailies Rising Kashmir (Rs 7.73 crore), Urdu paper Aftab Daily (Rs 3.7 crore), Kashmir Images (Rs 2.26 crore), Srinagar News (Rs 2.5 crore) and Kashmir Monitor (Rs 2.1 crore).

Some saw sharp drops in ads, such as Greater Kashmir, whose ad revenue fell 65 percent in the period between April 2023 to October 2024 compared to 2022, and Brighter Kashmir’s ad space fell from 1.2 lakh cm to just 34,000 cm.

To get a sense of how these newspapers covered the government, Newslaundry reviewed front pages published around key political events in Kashmir — including the G20 tourism meeting in Srinagar, the anniversary of Article 370’s abrogation, Supreme Court milestones in the Article 370 case, and the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. We also skimmed through other front pages from months without major events to get a sense of routine coverage. 

This makes a total of 18 days of coverage that we chose to analyse.

Here’s what we found.

Rising Kashmir 

LG Sinha made it to 12 front pages, with five of them featuring his statements as the lead headlines.

On May 22, 2023, when the G20 tourism meeting was held in Srinagar, the lead story, which covered almost half of the front page of the newspaper, was the LG saying, “G20 meeting is a historic opportunity to 13 million citizens of J&K UT”. The newspaper reported that the LG extended a warm welcome to G20 delegates and thanked the Prime Minister for giving J&K the historic opportunity and honour of hosting the G20 conference. 

The other four instances were also of him praising the central government. On June 1, 2023, the newspaper reported the LG’s statement that the centre puts J&K ahead of all UTs in providing housing for all. On August 5, 2023, marking the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, he said that Kashmir’s streets are finally safe as the era of violence ends. On November 1, 2023, he said that the ecosystem of separatism had been successfully dismantled in J&K.  

In one instance, on March 1, 2024, the newspaper reported that The Indian Express ranked LG Sinha 23rd in its list of top 100 powerful Indians for the second consecutive year, stating that this marks a significant climb of five ranks from the previous year.  

Even the LG chairing a meeting to discuss hassle-free pilgrimage of Amarnath Shrine Board, inspecting facilities for Amarnath yatris, and lauding control room operation for a successful yatra made it to the front page. 

After the LG, it was PM Modi who dominated coverage, appearing on at least seven front pages praising his government for ending terrorism in Kashmir. The newspaper reported how security was being heightened ahead of his visit to J&K on September 19, 2024. On May 1, 2024, his election rally in Maharashtra for the assembly elections, in which he praised his government for smashing terrorism in Kashmir, also made it to the front pages.  

On January 1, 2024, the newspaper reported the PM’s statement that India is brimming with self-confidence and should maintain momentum in 2024. 

On days when there was no statement by the PM, the newspaper covered his colleagues – such as Home Minister Amit Shah and President Droupadi Murmu – praising the central government.

For instance, on February 1, the newspaper carried a statement by Shah that the Modi government would end terrorism and reconstruct J&K as their second lead story. The President’s statement that Kashmir is ushering in an era of peace and development was the lead story. 

Kashmir Images 

Of 18 front pages, 16 featured reports covering the LG.  

He was the lead story on five occasions – each time highlighting his statements and portraying him as an effective administrator.

Sample this: On June 1, 2023, the newspaper reported on LG Sinha’s live public grievances hearing with his self-congratulatory statement as the headline – “Administration made responsive, efficient to the needs of meeting people”. 

Instead of detailing the grievances raised by locals, the newspaper simply reported that “responding to the complaints of illegal mining” in multiple parts of Kashmir, the LG had directed the deputy commissioners to “ensure there is no illegal mining.”

On October 1, 2023, the headline was another statement by LG saying “accessible and quality public services for every citizen is our priority.” 

On November 1, 2023, to mark the foundation day of J&K (October 31), the lead story was LG’s statement: “1.3 crore people have got new wings to their dreams as the ecosystem of separatism has been dismantled.” 

Marking the fourth anniversary of the abrogation of Article 370, on August 5, 2023, the newspaper reported that the goals of the LG’s administration are to ensure safety, security, and happiness. 

On some days, the newspaper put out more than one story on LG on its front page. 

For instance on May 22, 2023, when the G20 tourism meeting was held in Kashmir, the front page had three stories – LG has welcomed G20 delegates; LG said that G20 historic opportunity to showcase J&K’s cultural, heritage, tourism; and his statement that road infrastructure projects bring prosperity and well-being to the citizens in far flung areas.

No prizes for guessing the second most prominent person covered by the newspaper. Photos of PM Modi smiling, next to stories indicating good governance in India, appeared on at least four of the 18 front pages.  

For instance, on New Year's Eve of 2024, like Rising Kashmir, Kashmir Images also chose PM Modi saying “India brimming with self-confidence, imbued with the spirit of self-reliance” as their lead story. 

On October 1, 2023, it featured Union Minister Jitendra Singh’s statement that the PM has steered India ahead of the world’s best developed economies. 

On some days, the PM’s congratulatory messages made headlines. On July 1, 2024, the lead story was the PM congratulating the Election Commission and everyone associated with the 2024 election. 

However, in comparison to Rising Kashmir, Kashmir Images seems to have given more space to the opposition political parties. 

For example, on September 18, 2024, when legislative assembly elections kicked off, the newspaper covered statements by Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah promising to restore the statehood of J&K. 

On October 9, a day after the J&K assembly elections result was announced in which the NC delivered a spectacular victory, the newspaper gave more prominence to PM Modi’s compliments for the NC.

Kashmir Monitor

The outlet’s epaper was not available for three months, so only 16 front pages could be reviewed for the timeline. 

All these front pages gave almost equal importance to statements by PM Modi, Amit Shah and the LG on how the government has been working towards ending terrorism, injustice, discrimination in Kashmir, or towards a ‘Viksit Bharat’. 

Sample this: on July 12, 2023, the lead story was Home Minister Amit Shah addressing a conference on crime and security in the union territory. Six months later, on new year’s eve, another such meeting of Shah made the headline: “Chair a high-level meeting on J&K, and zero terror plan is their agenda”.

Similar statements by PM Modi and LG Sinha made news. 

The newspaper also hailed the abrogation of Article 370. On December 12, 2023, the day after the Supreme Court’s judgement came out, it ran the headline “INTEGRATED FULL AND FINAL”.

On the day Lok Sabha elections kicked off, it ran a story that NDTV’s poll of polls shows that PM Modi is “set to win a third term”.

Newslaundry reached out to DIPR, editors of Rising Kashmir, Kashmir Images, and Kashmir Monitor for a response. The report will be updated as and when they respond. 

‘Carrot-stick strategy’

In 2021, several editors and owners of news outlets in the valley complained to the fact-finding committee (FCC) of the Press Council of India (PCI) that the government was “misusing the power to sanction and withdraw advertising” as a “carrot-stick strategy to discourage critical news coverage”. 

In 2021, the Information Department accepted the fact-finding committee’s finding that 17 of the 166 publications in the Kashmir region and 26 in the Jammu region had their advertisement suspended on various grounds, and no reason was ascribed. 

The FFC was formed following a complaint by former chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, citing harassment of journalists in the valley. 

Manish Gupta, editor of Jammu-based newspaper Early Times, had told the FCC that the advertisements to his newspaper were stopped for three days for having put out news that the J&K Shrine Board and its website had become non-functional.

Recently, in March, speaking in the legislative assembly, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that his government will rule out “pick and choose” policy in the distribution of advertisements to the newspapers. “A newspaper that merely publishes press notes and my photographs on the front page is not a newspaper, it is a mouthpiece,” he had said.

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