Perceptions of Kashmir

The Kashmir problem has become a monster and nobody knows how to handle it in a balanced manner. It is yet to be understood in its totality and is instead analysed in bits and pieces everywhere, especially in the media. Erudite and informed panellists and so-called Kashmir experts have set a malicious trend, linking the issue of human rights abuse to a chain of irrelevant and extreme factors, including Wahhabism and Salafism, unemployment, religion, foreign funds, and the involvement of a foreign hand. Nobody bothers to understand the actual rage and alienation on the ground.

The media bias and selective coverage is such that even Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti expressed her anguish over it. The national media, mostly based outside the state, have adopted a partisan nationalism highlighting selective incidents that suit TRP requirements. These channels provoke the invited speakers from Kashmir only to ridicule and falsify their arguments to satisfy the so-called collective consciousness. It is not that people do not want to know the truth about Kashmir, however, media gatekeeping has ensured that only violent and sensational incidents are shown to the masses, who have now developed a villainous perception of Kashmiris. Most mainstream media are consistently asking the wrong questions and getting people to believe the wrong answers repeatedly. The fact remains that every new incident is taken and analysed in isolation and everyone gets to hear Pakistan, proxy war, Jihad, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), for completely different questions or incidents. This media bullying has led to another disastrous trend, that of reduced participation of sane voices from Kashmir on national television debates or other platforms.