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In Locked-Down Kashmir, News Gathering a Herculean Challenge

Anjana Pasricha

   NEW DELHI - In the two weeks since India stripped Kashmir of its
   semi-autonomous status and brought the Himalayan region under its
   direct control, news reporting has become difficult and local
   newspapers have either not published or struggled to deliver slim
   editions. That is not just due to the communications blackout caused by
   disconnected landlines, mobile phones and the internet, but because it
   has been tough to access troubled areas or sources in a region being
   patrolled by thousands of security forces.

   In Srinagar, the summer capital of Kashmir that turned into a maze of
   barricades to keep a lid on protests, New Delhi-based freelance
   journalist Sonia Sarkar had to constantly navigate checkpoints during
   her three-day trip to the city last week. And while the administration
   is handing out access passes to journalists, she said security officers
   often discouraged her from reaching downtown areas known to be
   hotspots. "There is an attempt to create a perception of fear, a fear
   psychosis to prevent you going ahead."

   While Sarkar managed to get around much of the city, she was turned
   back before she could reach Soura, a densely populated neighborhood
   that some believe is turning into the focal point of resistance to New
   Delhi's decision to change Kashmir's status. The BBC and Al-Jazeera
   reported a mass protest in Soura on August 9. The government first
   denied the demonstration happened, then said about 1,000 to 1,500
   people took part.

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