How not to promote media freedom

The new media policy announced by the Jammu & Kashmir government will not promote freedom and independence of the media in the Union Territory but will curb its functioning in many ways. The policy has attracted widespread criticism and has been seen as an attempt by the government to extend and further tighten its control over media and communications, including the internet. The internet and other digital forums have still not been fully restored in the Valley after the scrapping of Article 370 in August last year. The administration has said that the new policy attempts to “thwart misinformation, fake news and tries to develop a mechanism that will raise alarm against any attempt to use the media to vitiate public peace, sovereignty and integrity of the country”. It will allow the Directorate of Information to "examine the content of the media for any fake news, plagiarism and unethical and anti-national activities” and any individual or group indulging in such activities “shall be de-empanelled besides being proceeded against under the law’’.

Government officials will be sitting in judgment over news and other content and will themselves decide whether such content is "fake’’ or "anti-national’’. A mechanism will be set up to monitor news and to decide the conditions for empanelling or disempanelling of journalists and media organisations. The policy says this is to build “a genuinely positive image of the government based on performance”, to “build public trust” and “increase public understanding about the government’s roles and responsibilities”. The short point is that those who support the government and its policies will be allowed to function freely but those who criticise them will have to suffer consequences. Importantly, the decisions will be taken by officials who will follow no guidelines other than the political plans and interests of the government.

It is not by regulating and controlling the media that a government can build public trust in it. A government cannot create a positive image of itself by allowing only positive and favourable news about it to appear in the media. It is actually counter-productive. A democratic system calls for free and fair expression of views in the media and this is ensured by the basic rights granted to all citizens by the Constitution. It is unfortunate that these freedoms are denied to the citizens of Kashmir though it is close to one year since a measure was taken to make the people of Kashmir equal to other citizens of the country.