The action of a petty, vindictive government

The decision of the immigration authorities to stop Pulitzer Prize-winning Kashmiri photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo from travelling out of the country was wrong, discriminatory and vindictive. It was vindictive because she had done her work which exposed the government’s wrong claims. She was prevented from boarding an aircraft at New Delhi’s IGI Airport though she had a visa, a ticket and valid travel documents. She was to travel to the US to attend the Pulitzer award function. Earlier this year, she was stopped from travelling to France to accept a grant she had received. It should be a matter of pride for the country if Indians receive international awards, especially one like the Pulitzer award for excellence in journalism. But Mattoo became persona non grata for the government because of her work and that’s why she had to face such action.

Mattoo was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her work as a photojournalist who covered the devastating second wave of the Covid pandemic in India. Her work went against the official narrative and exposed as untrue many of the claims of excellent management of the pandemic by the government. This could have been the only reason to deny her permission to travel, though she was not officially told of the reason. Article 21 gives citizens the right to travel, and this cannot be denied without a valid reason. Mattoo has the right to be told the reason why her right has been denied to her.

Journalists and many others have been victims of such unreasonable and arbitrary decisions of the government. Rana Ayyub and Aakar Patel were denied permission to leave the county on the ground that there were cases against them. Both had to approach the court to get relief. Mattoo is not the first Kashmiri journalist either to be stopped from going abroad. An official of the NGO Greenpeace India, Priya Pillai, was prevented from travelling to attend a conference abroad in 2015. Critics of the government have faced such spiteful action and it is in line with the government’s policy of harassment and persecution of those who disagree with it or expose it. The action against Mattoo shows that critics of the government and those whom it does not like are followed and their movements watched. At the Pulitzer award ceremony, the action against Mattoo was described as “petty, highly discriminatory…and emblematic of the challenges journalists face around the world.” It has also been condemned by journalists’ bodies in India and human rights groups. It is unfortunate that the government is deaf to such criticism and has become increasingly harsh and hard-fisted. It does not augur well for our democracy.