In J&K petition, Press Council acting against its mandate: Indian Express Editorial

An editorial published in the Indian Express on August 27 has argued that by supporting media restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, the Press Council of India “has actually gone against the mandate set for it well before its inception in 1966.”

On August 24, the Press Council of India (PCI) had filed a plea to intervene in a petition by Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin in the Supreme Court to remove curbs on communication imposed in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370.

The PCI had argued for the status quo citing  “national interest of integrity and sovereignty”.

The Express editorial said that given PCI’s positions during the insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s and the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s, its mandate “would place it on the side of the petitioner,”

“National interest, at all the times, is served by the truth,” the editorial added. “And especially in times when it is contested, by reporting, fairly and accurately, without fear or favour. The job of the press in a democracy is to keep the public accurately informed as the situation unfolds in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Since August 5, when Article 370 was abrogated, Kashmir has been under an iron-fisted clampdown by the Indian government– civilian movement has been restricted and internet, mobile and landline services have been snapped off. Cases of alleged civilian casualties caused by the armed forces have also surfaced from the region.

In the context of the Kashmir conflict, the Express editorial remarked that the PCI “does not need to remind the Indian press about its responsibilities in this matter”, claiming that “the mainstream press has reported from the region very responsibly, serving the interests of both security and human rights” since the advent of the insurgency in the state since 1990.