Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has accused a section of mainstream TV channels
Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has accused a section of mainstream TV channels of spewing venom against the Kashmiri Muslims by falsely portraying them as collaborators of terrorists in the backdrop of the Pahalgam carnage.
Mr. Abdullah said that Muslim worshippers who had gathered at Srinagar’s historic Grand Mosque to offer congregational Friday prayers stood in memory of the victims and observed a moment of silence to honour their lives and their families which was a reply to the news channels that, he alleged, are “spewing venom” against Kashmiris.
“The TV channels which spew venom against the Kashmiri to boost TRP will not show it. These channels run by showing hate. Their anchors are cowards who do not side with the truth. Showing what happened at historic Jama Masjid won’t help their channels, so they will not show it,” he said.
There is anger in vast sections of the Kashmiri population over the national mainstream media’s coverage of the April 22 terror attack at Baisaran, a hilltop green meadow about 5-km from Kashmir Valley’s premier tourist resort Pahalgam, in which 26 tourists and a local horse-handler were killed and several other people injured.
The anger stems from accusations of biased and sensationalist reporting that deepens communal divides and misrepresents the region and its majority community. Some visiting TV reporters and anchors were confronted by irate crowds at Srinagar’s city centre Lal Chowk during a shutdown against the Pahalgam carnage earlier this week. They accused the TV channels of framing the attack in ways that defame Kashmiri Muslims and fuel religious polarization.
In the surcharged atmosphere, one woman reporter could be heard asking them, “You should be ashamed…why are you reluctant to chant Pakistan murdabad.” The protesters argued that if the attackers, as per the statements of some survivors, targeted victims based on their Hindu religious identity or after checking for circumcision or when some of them failed to recite Kalima Shahadat (the declaration of Islamic belief statement that ‘There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger) why should the burden of their outrageous and barbarous act be placed on the heads of the people of Kashmir.
Various political parties including National Conference and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Kashmir chief Muslim cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and civil society groups have raised concerns about certain segments of the national media particularly TV channels and social media accounts amplifying anti-Muslim rhetoric following the Pahalgam carnage which, they say, has endangered the lives of the Kashmiri Muslims studying or working across mainland India.
“Regrettably, a large section of mainstream media, with its communal rhetoric of hate directed against Kashmiris, has made Kashmiris across India vulnerable, forcing hundreds to leave cities and towns, especially the students, causing great distress to their families and to all of us,” the Mirwaiz said in his post-sermon customary speech from the Jama Masjid pulpit on Friday.
Former chief minister and PDP president Mehbooba Mufti wrote on ‘X’ on Saturday, “The Pahalgam tragedy united all Kashmiris in condemning this heinous act & standing in solidarity with the nation. Unfortunately, instead of fostering unity, TV debates are spreading venom and communalizing the issue.”
A visiting TV channel reporter who wished not to be named said that she was booed at by “visibly annoyed” individuals at several places in the Valley. Another reporter said that he feels threatened while working in the Valley and, therefore, might request the police to provide him security. He insisted, “our coverage reflects genuine concerns rather than blanket vilification”.
Meanwhile, the Chief Minister while speaking to reports during a visit to the highway town of Ramban on Saturday said that those communalising the situation should remember the sacrifice of Kashmiri horse-hander Adil Hussain Shah, and also the widespread condemnation of the gory incident and the grief expressed by the people of Kashmir over the loss of innocent lives in it.
He said that he can understand the fear among the tourists as nobody while holidaying wants to experience a situation like the victims of Pahalgam incident did. “But I want to tell the people leaving Kashmir that their return would help the enemies succeed in their mission as terrorists wanted tourists to return after this attack," he added.
