syed Shujaat Bukhari

Delhi Must Treat Kashmir as Political Problem: Shujaat Bukhari

Modi’s emphasis on development alone goes against the past and present reality of Jammu and Kashmir, and for the future too it does not hold any promise unless the political nature of the conflict is accepted.

Note: This column was originally published by the Rising Kashmir on May 25, 2018 and first appeared on The Wire on June 15, 2018 and is being republished on June 14, 2019, Shujaat Bukhari’s first death anniversary.

In the last 12 years, 1000 journalists have died in different parts of the world, killed while doing their job, of collecting and disseminating information to their readers and viewers. More often than not – in 9 cases out of 10 – the perpetrators have not been brought to justice.

In India, we have seen how journalists are increasingly being targeted – the last year alone saw 12 journalists being killed. We in India are proud of the constitutional guarantees of freedom of speech – yet, the country now ranks 136th among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index, behind even its neighbours.

To focus on this critical issue, the United Nations has declared November 2 as International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists. This is an effort to “make the perpetrators understand that their crimes will not remain unpunished, that 1000 journalists will rise when one will fall…”

Publications around the world are participating in this initiative, called #TruthNeverDies. The Wire is committed to this cause and fully endorses the spirit behind this effort by UNESCO to focus attention on this troubling state of affairs. We also hope the various authorities will ensure that not only journalists can do their job in a safe and secure environment, but also that anyone causing harm is brought swiftly to justice.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s day-long visit to Jammu and Kashmir on May 20 was little different from his past forays to the state, though he again missed the point by not addressing the issue politically. Still, he departed from his own stated position that only reflected a hard line and concurred with what the state machinery had been doing on the ground to deal with the highly charged situation. From the army to the Jammu and Kashmir Police, there has been no looking back as far as the bullet-to-bullet and bullet-to-stone policy is concerned.

Somehow, New Delhi changed tack ahead of Ramzan and announced a conditional ceasefire that would put to halt operations against the militants while “retaliatory” actions would continue. The impression that Modi wanted to play politics by not publicly endorsing the “ceasefire” announced by home minister Rajnath Singh was also dispelled since he owned it and even mentioned that the government earlier had given amnesty to thousands of stone throwing youth.

Modi’s and Rajnath’s policy vis-a-vis Kashmir has been at a crossroads since the 2016 uprising, post-Burhan Wani’s killing. Rajnath chose to remain silent after his efforts for a political outreach were sabotaged by a section in the power corridors of Delhi which enjoyed the patronage of Modi himself. So it was given to understand that the “ceasefire” call would be left to Rajnath, as defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman had rejected the call from chief minister Mehbooba Mufti only three days before it was announced. However, Modi not only put to rest that speculation but also appealed to the youth to return to the “mainstream”, a term he hurriedly explained meant to their homes and mothers.

A woman takes a selfie with Union home minister Rajnath Singh during the Iftaar party hosted by Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, at SKICC in Srinagar, on Thursday, June 07, 2018. Credit: PTI/S. Irfan

This was in contrast to his known approach towards Kashmir and its volatile situation. A year ago, he had offered a stark choice to Kashmiris. “I want to tell the youth of Kashmir that they have two ways ahead … On one hand, you have tourism and on other hand you have terrorism,” he declared at a function to inaugurate a tunnel along the Srinagar-Jammu highway on April 3, 2017.

But this time he offered them development and asked them to come back to their homes. Has Modi softened his stand to this extent? This needs to be seen in the backdrop of many developments that are taking place regionally and internationally. At the same time, Modi did not come out of the mindset Delhi has been plagued with – that is to look at Jammu and Kashmir through the prism of development, security and strategic needs. He again invoked former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s line to follow “Kashmiriyat”, may be for the ninth time since 2014, though he omitted “jamhooriyat” (democracy) and “insaniyat” (humanity) this time. Modi has failed to walk the talk on this account.

He said the only solution to Kashmir’s problem is “development, development and development”. He is wrong, given the history of the conflict and the resistance the people have shown since 1990 and before, besides the development that has taken place. If development alone were the answer, then Modi himself announced a mega package of Rs 80,000 crore on November 7, 2015. Though it is a matter of debate how much had come as its major portion was for central projects envisaged during Rajiv Gandhi’s time; still these sops have not diluted the political content of the resistance on the ground.

Also read:

Shujaat Bukhari, Editor of ‘Rising Kashmir’, Shot Dead in Srinagar
The Numbers Prove Kashmir Is No Safe Haven for Journalists
How Long Will the ‘New’ India-Pakistan Ceasefire Last?

One is reminded of the destruction that had taken place during the peak of militancy from 1990 to 1996. When Farooq Abdullah came to power in 1996 he took up the Herculean task of rebuilding thousands of schools, hospitals, bridges and other infrastructure. He also gave jobs to roughly 1.5 lakh people. But he could not change the politics of the conflict and even lost the election in 2002.

Others, too, followed the development mantra but failed. If Modi’s Rs 80, 000 crore package and the many jobs that were created after 2015 was the real answer to the groundswell for “azadi”, then Kashmir would not have witnessed the 2016 uprising that was marked with anti-India sentiment. Notwithstanding the fact that thousands of youth line the recruitment centres of the same army that they chase in towns and villages with stones, the storyline of the Kashmiri being at far distance from Delhi is not blurred. Modi talking about development alone goes against the past and present of Jammu and Kashmir, and for the future too it does not hold any promise unless the political nature of the conflict is accepted.

The incident of May 21 in a village in Shopian where the army had organised an iftar for the people is a grim reminder of the fact that Kashmiris don’t see it as their “own army”. They resisted the iftar and protested, which led to the army opening fire and injuring many. This battle for winning hearts and minds has already failed.

The Centre’s interlocutor, Dinesh Sharma, who was also mentioned by Modi in his speech, has not made any difference for want of his mandate and role. Meeting people to address the issues of breakdown of electric transformers and roads was not something he was supposed to do. Since he lacked the mandate to talk about political issues, his relevance has already been hit, pushing him to oblivion.

Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti welcomes Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Srinagar. Credit: PTI

At the same time, certain developments need to be connected to the “not so harsh” tone Modi had while he was in Kashmir.

First, that Delhi has been facing a tough time in defending civilian deaths during encounters, and “Operation All Out” has turned out to be counter-productive in many ways though a large number of militants have been killed. Hence the ceasefire – to give a break and bring the situation to a level wherefrom it could be taken to a different level.

Another development that can be linked to the changed tenor was the peace overtures with Pakistan. They first came with conciliatory messages from both the army chiefs and the latest was defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman indicating on May 21 that “any comment on wanting peace will definitely be taken seriously” when told about the Pakistan army’s recent indication of supporting a peaceful resolution. The re-opening of Track-II after the Neemrana Dialogue resumed last month and other measures through the back channel suggest that Delhi is willing to do “business” despite heightened tension along the international border that claimed many lives in the past one week.

Since Modi is facing pressure on the domestic front on many counts ahead of the 2019 elections, he is preparing the ground to see that the SAARC summit takes place. Instead of rhetoric, he might prefer “peace” to be sold to the electorate. Relations with Nepal and Maldives are also indicating towards this thread. In order to get Pakistan on board for a successful SAARC summit, it is imperative to cool down tempers in and on Kashmir. In this backdrop, the next few months will be interesting to watch.

After Bukhari’s Killing, Families of J&K Reporters Ask If the Job Is Worth Dying For

“Pens in Kashmir are suffering due to guns.”

Srinagar: At 7:20 pm on June 14, when Kashmir was preparing to break the penultimate fast during the holy month of Ramzan, I was home with my family. An unusual call – given people don’t call at Iftaar (evening meals during Ramzan) unless it’s an emergency – by a journalist friend left me shocked. My friend had called with the news of Syed Shujaat Bukhari’s assassination in Srinagar’s Press Enclave, some 50 km from Bandipora, my home district.

The news left me gasping for breath. My family could sense the tension triggered in me by the audacious attack on a senior journalist. They consoled me and insisted that I should rest after Iftaar. However, the very next day, while I was still in shock, my family members unanimously said: ‘Change your profession’. This left me perplexed.

At a time when the thought of a senior journalist being brutally murdered in broad daylight almost leaves you feeling claustrophobic, it feels like your parents’ words of caution are warranted. But then all you have to live with is your passion for telling untold stories.

“You aren’t in a safe profession. When a senior journalist is killed in this way, how can you guarantee your own safety?” my mother asked.

These questions were very unusual to me. I was devastated and broken.

I rang up my colleague Aakash Hassan, a freelance journalist based in Srinagar, to lessen the burden.

“Baya aaze che gari sahi halath kharab, Pape che dappan journalism trav (Brother, my family is worried, my father is insisting that I leave journalism),” I told him.

The manner of Bukhari’s killing is unnerving. The 52-year-old was murdered a few metres from the entrance of his office. The gunfire downstairs even alerted his staffers, who were busy readying the next issue of Rising Kashmir.

The place where the attack occurred, Press Enclave, is home to a majority of Kashmir media houses – a second home for any journalist working in the Valley.

Hassan’s reply added to my perplexed mood, “I had to convince my parents for a long time before joining the field. Now, Shujaat sahab’s brutal killing has me worried about my future. Even my parents are now raising questions about my choice. They are anxious.”

Bukhari’s journalism career spanned nearly three decades. He started with the Kashmir Times and moved to The Hindu, where he worked for 12 years. He was a regular commentator and appeared on TV shows.

The issues Kashmiri journalists face go far beyond worrying families. Kashmiri scribes have been walking a tightrope to objectively report the raging conflict, of which they are also victims. However, they have never left the ground. It is impossible to think of Kashmir’s modern history without its media and journalists.

This despite the fact that every word in Kashmir media is under scrutiny.There are allegations of phone tapping, meetings with pro-India groups or resistance leadership being closely monitored from both sides, and bank accounts and transactions being regularly checked.

Launched in 2008 as part of Kashmir Media Group (KMG), Rising Kashmir employs around 60 people, including journalists. As KMG is grappling with the crisis Bukhari’s killing has brought to the popular media house, I met one of its scribes. “My parents are worried about my safety now, which is their utmost concern,” said Daanish Bin Nabi, the op-ed editor of the popular newspaper. “The problem here is with the administration; there are around four CID personnel guarding the colony and a police station is a stone’s throw away, then how did this incident happen?” Bin Nabi asked. “Is their job only to keep a watch on journalists and report it to their higher-ups?”

For Shams Irfan, a reputed storyteller and associate editor of weekly English magazine Kashmir Life, journalism in Kashmir “is always full of risks”.

“But what happened with Shujaat sahab is beyond anyone’s imagination; it is shocking for all of us. We all know that this profession carries a certain amount of risk but no one expected that a senior journalist would be brutally killed.”

Irfan said that the current situation in Kashmir is reminiscent of that of the 1990s. “I was few metres away when I heard the gun shots. I ran towards Press Enclave thinking that it was the safest place to be, but I didn’t know that it would turn into a bloodied place.”

Two of Bukhari’s security guards, officers of the J&K police, were also killed in the attack.

When Rabia Bashir, who works with Rising Kashmir, decided to choose journalism as her profession, her parents were quite reluctant. “They (my parents) don’t listen to me anymore and are continuously taunting me for choosing this profession,” she said, adding that it was her choice. “They are more worried about me after Shujaat sir’s murder. My mom is a patient of hypertension which has added to the worries of the family… if I get late going home, I get calls that she is not feeling well.”

“This incident has given my family a reason to stop me from coming to Press Enclave, as it is unsafe now. Pens in Kashmir are suffering due to guns,” she added.

Since 1990, 19 journalists have been killed in Jammu and Kashmir, including Bukhari. Mushtaq Ali, an Agence France-Presse and Asian News International photographer was killed by a parcel bomb in 1995. Press colony, where Bukhari was murdered, is named ‘Mushtaq Ali Enclave’.

The Rising Kashmir op-ed editor wants the government to come clean on its policies regarding the media in Kashmir. “Otherwise, it will always remain difficult to work in a situation like this,” he said.

Moazum Mohammad, president of the Kashmir Journalist Association (KJA), said that journalists in Kashmir are facing pressure from all sides. “But it hasn’t prevented us from speaking the truth,” he maintained.

“Journalism is challenging but it becomes frustrating when such attacks occur. In Kashmir, journalists are facing pressure from all sides including the state,” said Moazum, who is the bureau chief of the Kashmir Reader.

However, he has a piece of advice for his juniors. “The incident has left everyone worried. But it is a conflict zone. The best tribute would be to work with determination in a clearer and louder way.”

Journalist Yusuf Jameel of BBC fame is of the view that Bukhari’s killing highlights the underlying risk of their profession, but it shouldn’t dishearten a journalist. “I was attacked six times,” he said. “But that couldn’t force me to change professions. Of course there is concern from the family, but I would suggest to my young colleagues that they have to live with it and these are professional hazards.”

Auqib Javeed is a Srinagar-based journalist and tweets @AuqibBinJavaad.

J&K Newspapers Publish Blank Editorials to Protest Killing of Shujaat Bukhari

The blank editorials followed a silent protest march by journalists in Srinagar yesterday against the attack.

New Delhi: In protest against the recent assassination of Kashmir journalist Shujaat Bukhari, who was gunned down outside his office in Srinagar’s Press Colony in broad daylight on June 14, newspapers in the state today left the space for editorials blank.

According to a Scroll.in report, the blank editorials followed a silent protest march by journalists in Srinagar yesterday against the killing. They journalists marched from Press Enclave, where the editor of Rising Kashmir was killed, to Lal Chowk before circling back.

Blank editorial in Rising Kashmir

Blank editorial in Urdu daily Tameel Irshad

Blank editorial in Greater Kashmir.

In Delhi as well, hundreds of journalists gathered at a solidarity event in Press Club of India yesterday, with many coming forward to share stories about their association with Bukhari, and speak about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the threats facing media in India.

Bukhari, the editor-in-chief of the Srinagar-based newspaper, was shot by unidentified assailants outside his office. His two personal security officers were also killed in the attack. The Jammu and Kashmir police on June 15 arrested a suspect in connection with the killing. The suspect was identified as Zubair Qadri, who according to officials was seen in a video stealing the pistol of the PSO who was shot dead along with Bukhari.

The police also released CCTV footage of three suspects who were seen escaping on a motorcycle from the scene of the crime.

(With PTI inputs)

South Asian Journalists Commit to Take Forward Work of Slain Editor Shujaat Bukhari

At a commemorative event, journalists discussed how to carry forward Bukhari’s advocacy for peace in Kashmir.

New Delhi: Hundreds of journalists gathered in New Delhi on Monday, June 18 to show solidarity following the recent assassination of Shujaat Bukhari, editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir.

Bukhari was shot dead on Thursday by unidentified assassins. The police have released images of three men on a bike, whose faces are covered. At the time of the attack, the journalist was with Jammu and Kashmir police constables who were assigned to him as personal security officers. Two of the officers were also killed in the incident.

Eleven journalists’ organisations from South Asia released a joint statement at the commemoration. “Everyone in this country has this sovereign right to freedom of speech and expression. The increasing intolerance to such freedoms has the potential of undermining the character and nature of democracy itself,” said the statement.

They have asked for an investigation into the assassination itself, and also into online harassment which preceded the killing: “We demand that the government of Jammu and Kashmir bring the perpetrators of this dastardly crime to book at the earliest. We demand that the government institute a separate inquiry into those who had launched a malicious campaign against Shujaat. The cyber cell of the union home ministry should look into all those IP addresses and their sources from where the malicious campaigns were conducted.”

The statement has been issued by the Press Club of India, Indian Women’s Press Corps, Press Association, Editors’ Guild, SAFMA and South Asian Women in Media, IJU, FCC, NUJ, Working News Camerapersons Association and All India Urdu Editors Conference.

The solidarity event in Delhi was attended by hundreds of journalists. Journalists Vinod Sharma, Jyoti Malhotra, Nidhi Razdan, Urmilesh, Sheela Bhatt, Amit Baruah, Nilofar Suhrawardy, Anil Narendar, Anand Sahay and Siddharth Varadarajan spoke about their association with Bukhari, the situation in Jammu and Kashmir as well as the uneasy atmosphere for the press in India. Abdullah, a reporter from Rising Kashmir, as well as Bashir Asad, a long-time associate of Bukhari, also spoke at the event.

Speakers took the floor to recall Bukhari’s work over the decades in order to advocate for the prospect of peace between Delhi, Srinagar and Islamabad.

“Shujaat, we miss you,” said Sheela Bhatt, member of the Editors Guild of India. “If you met Shujaat, you would understand the whole of Kashmir,” said one speaker. Others called him a peace activist.

“He never stopped a good story,” said Abdullah, Bukhari’s colleague from Rising Kashmir.

“If people in the mainland care about us, they should support us in our cause for peace. People dropped out of peace talks because they have to appear on a TV news channel. I don’t care about politics. I care about Kashmiri society,” said Bashir Asad, Bukhari’s friend from Kashmir.

Others spoke about the work he did apart from journalism to raise the prospect of peace in the region. “Shujaat had friends everywhere, in Delhi, Srinagar, Islamabad. The tragedy of Shujaat and the situation in Kashmir are inextricably linked,” said Amit Baruah, resident editor at The Hindu in Delhi. “Personally, what I admired about Shujaat is his work in Track 2. Not just between Delhi and Islamabad but also between Delhi and Srinagar. And his work to bring together Pandits and Muslims. I want to thank him for that,” said Nidhi Razdan, executive editor at NDTV.

Many spoke about ways to carry forward Bukhari’s work. One speaker explained Bukhari’s attempts for years to form a South Asian press club. He said that he would be organising a conference on this in Nepal later this year to discuss how to take Bukhari’s plan forward.

Many journalists recalled the assassination of veteran journalist Gauri Lankesh in Bangalore last September. She was also shot inside her residential compound at close range by assassins who came on a bike. Times of India reported last week that the accused in her case confessed to the police: “I was told in May 2017 I had to kill someone to save my religion. I agreed. I didn’t know who the victim was. Now I feel that I should have not killed the woman.”

Journalists encouraged each other to continue to report the truth fearlessly. “Shujaat defended the shrinking space of reason. It is my genuine concern that there may not be people to fill the gap he left. Today journalists are under pressure from the government, who tells us what is or is not journalism. Here we can brush it aside, even laugh, but not in Kashmir,” said Varadarajan, founding editor of The Wire.

“The ultimate tribute to all those journalists who have died and suffered is to report diligently and speak truth to power. We may not have the wherewithal to find out why they were killed. But we need to do our jobs as a tribute to them,” said Baruah.

Backstory: What Shujaat Bukhari’s Killing Tells You About Journalism on the Razor’s Edge

A fortnightly column from The Wire’s public editor.

When the editor-in-chief of Rising Kashmir, Shujaat Bukhari, used the words “razor’s edge” for a piece he wrote for BBC News, describing what it was like to be a journalist in a Kashmir caught up in the blood and mired jackboots of the post-Burhan Wani phase (‘My Kashmir newspaper has been shut down, and I’m not surprised’, July 18; quoted in The Wire piece, ‘With the Killing of Shujaat Bukhari, a Fearless Voice in Kashmir Media Silenced’), he was not taking those words lightly, or using them for rhetorical flourish.

As a Kashmiri editor situated in what was “effectively the world’s most heavily militarized zone” and who yet wanted to be guided by journalistic principles, he literally had to walk the razor’s edge every minute he reached for the keyboard. As he put it in that piece, Kashmiri journalists “have been targeted by security forces and militants alike…If a local journalist reports an atrocity by the security forces, he risks being dubbed ‘anti-national’. Highlighting any wrongdoing by the militants or separatists could easily mean that he is ‘anti-tehreek’ (anti-movement) or a ‘collaborator’.” Both sides of the razor’s edge cut exceedingly well, and three decades of journalism had taught Bukhari this lesson well enough: censorship, crackdowns and bans of the Indian state, on the one hand; threats and abduction and physical attacks from faceless militants, on the other.

The Wire did an important number crunching exercise on the death toll in Kashmir (‘The Numbers Prove Kashmir Is a Highly Unsafe Place for Journalists’, June 15) and came up with evidence of why it remains one of the most dangerous places to be a journalist in the world, comparable to Palestine where in April this year photojournalist Yaser Murtaja was shot in the stomach and killed while covering the anti-Israel protests on the Gaza Strip. In Kashmir, an astonishingly large number of media persons have died since 1990 – 19 including Bukhari. What is also striking is that these murders have been perpetrated by a varied range of actors: militants, paramilitary forces, state police and the Indian armed forces.

Despite the outpouring of grief and outrage over the assassination of Bukhari among the journalist community across the country, we are yet to wrap our heads around what this loss actually means, not just for Indian journalism but for the journalism of the subcontinent. In making such an assessment, it becomes extremely important to factor in and value this remarkable ability of his to walk the razor’s edge. It was a capacity that the Wire piece, ‘Shujaat Bukhari’s Assassination is Aimed at Disrupting Any Move Towards Peace’ (June 15), took note of, “If anything, he had, over the years managed to successfully walk the fine line any professional in the Kashmir Valley – especially a media person and particularly an editor – must walk.”

Journalists hold placards during a silent protest against the killing of Shujaat Bukhari. Credit: Reuters

Walking the razor’s edge allowed Bukhari to actually interpret the growing alienation of Kashmiris to Indians in a manner that provided, to an extent, a counter-narrative to the nationalism-on-steroids offered by primetime Indian television. Bukhari saw his journalism as dialogue in itself as well as a conduit for dialogue between the people and the state. This was also why some of his sharpest journalism was reserved for critiquing the weaponised approach adopted by the Indian military in its bid to quell militancy in the Valley. Such a strategy has always failed and will continue to fail, he argued – without a political solution and dialogue, it is just the grave that beckons.

Simultaneously, Bukhari would also come up with a careful reading of Indian politics for a Kashmiri readership. An opinion piece he wrote on May 25, which was re-published in The Wire (‘Shujaat Bukhari on the Cease-Fire: Delhi Must Treat Kashmir as Political Problem’, June 15), provided evidence of this. Analysing the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his one-day visit to the Valley this May, he noted that while the prime minister had put forward the stark choice of “tourism or terrorism” to the people of Kashmir on his visit a year earlier, this time he offered development to Kashmiri youth and the advice to go back to their homes. Bukhari was intrigued enough by this shift in prime ministerial rhetoric to dissect it, and concluded that what was behind it was the 2019 elections and the pressure on Modi to sell “peace” to the electorate. The last words of this piece reveal an investment in the politics of the country, “In this backdrop, the next few months will be interesting to watch.” We are now denied his informed assessments in the run-up to the general election.

A decade-and-a-half as the state correspondent for a major newspaper like The Hindu, preceded by a period of learning journalistic ropes under Ved Bhasin, editor of The Kashmir Times – and one of the unsung greats of Indian journalism – were some of the reasons why Bhukari’s journalism defied the narrow frame. He also trained a new generation of journalists, and one of the poignant images we have of him is looking on with pride as staffers of his media house were awarded in a ceremony hosted earlier this year commemorating a decade of the newspaper he founded, Rising Kashmir. The focus The Wire brought to the assassination of Bukhari through its text and video (‘Jan Gan Man Ki Baat…Shujaat Bukari and Secularism in India’) was, therefore, valid as Shujaat Bukhari remains an exemplar of Indian journalism.

The murder of any journalist diminishes the practice and purpose of journalism in India as a whole. The map now encompasses the entire country: from south to north, east to west, from heartland to hinterland, journalists have been killed for their words and ideas, for making sense of their times. They have also been killed just for being there. Their eliminations remain one of the important indexes of social breakdown in the country.

Now for some responses from readers…

Deepak Narula writes: “I watched your video, ‘Modi lacks Moral Leadership : Yashwant Sinha’ and I found the camera on Mr Sinha was bit off focus, and the colours in the background on the furniture a little washed.” He adds that he will be happy to do volunteer work for The Wire staff, because they are bringing truth to the public domain. “It would be my sheer honor to be associated with the organisation of such prestige who do not trade truth for glory.” Thanks Deepak, that’s a lovely phrase – not trading “truth for glory”.

Karthik Rao Cavale, who is doing his doctoral studies at MIT, mailed in to remind the editorial of a note he had written some weeks ago which has gone unresponded. It pointed to what he terms as a “serious error in data analysis which has not yet been corrected in the article”. And although realises that the article in question was published many months ago, he would still like the correction to be made since many people, especially in Karnataka, continue to cite this article.

This is what he had written: While the central argument in the article, ‘Why ‘Bari Olu Modi’ Isn’t Merely a Hashtag’ is correct, it is laughable to say that Gujarat performs better than Karnataka in most social indicators. The data on GSDP and per capita income are misleading, and the conclusion that “Modi inherited a state that was richer than Karnataka and left behind a state that was poorer” is not supported by the data. Here’s why:

1. The authors have made a curious choice in presenting GSDP and NSDP per capita (i.e. per capita income) at current prices – i.e. without controlling for inflation. Also, they present no longitudinal data on NSDP per capita, so their claim of faster growth in Karnataka’s income has not been supported with any data. Ideally, this data should be presented in longitudinal form, at **constant prices** – nominal income is not a meaningful metric to gauge the quality of life.

2. The chart containing GSDP figures from 2002 to 2015-16 in fact includes data from two different series brought out by the CSO. Until 2011, the chart provides GSDP at current prices from previous series, and post-2011, it provides GSDP from the new 2011-12 series.

The problem is that the 2011 series has been calculated using a different method than the 2004-05 series, and therefore the numbers are not comparable. That is why you find a sudden jump in the Karnataka figures from 2011-12 to 2012-13. It would appear that Karnataka is a beneficiary of the new method of calculating the GSDP.

You might suggest, based on the data provided by the authors, that Karnataka’s GDP is growing faster than Gujarat’s even during the 2011-15 period. However, this is merely the result of using GSDP figures at current prices rather than constant prices. Karnataka’s apparent prosperity merely reflects the higher prices prevalent in Karnataka.

This becomes evident from the following GSDP figures, which are at constant prices, with the different base years specified:

2002-03 (1999 series)
Gujarat: 1.2 trillion Rs.
Karnataka: 1.1 trillion Rs.

2011-12 (2004-05 series)
Gujarat: 3.9 trillion
Karnataka: 2.8 trillion

2013-14 (2004-05 series)
Gujarat: 4.5 trillion
Karnataka: 3.2 trillion

2011-12 (2011 series)
Gujarat: 6.2 trillion
Karnataka: 6.1 trillion

2013-14 (2011 series)
Gujarat: 7.3 trillion
Karnataka: 7.0 trillion

2014-15 (2011 series)
Gujarat: 8.1 trillion
Karnataka: 7.5 trillion

In order to obtain a single time series at constant prices, one would have to use state-specific price indices to normalise the different GSDP series using a single base year.

I would suggest that these corrections be made to the article so that The Wire can continue to hold its reputation as an outlet where readers can expect to find an honest assessment of the truth. Contrary to what the authors suggest, Gujarat does have a fairly better record with respect to GSDP in the past two decades than Karnataka.

Venkata Subrahmanyam Voruganty is impressed with the coverage that The Wire has accorded to Sterlite issue in Thoothukudi, but says that details of the real violations of the plant and loss to ecology have not been detailed sufficiently.

Harpreet Singh expresses his appreciation that The Wire is doing its bit to tell truths and provide clarity on issues that seem fuzzy to the average person. With a general election around the corner, he believes this kind of journalism is just what the country needs. He is disappointed, however, that India’s mainstream media, including The Wire, have not dealt adequately on the topic of Sikhs in Shillong being targeted for being Sikhs, and the lack of reporting on the many difficulties and troubles that the community is going through. According to him, the prevailing situation in Shillong is extremely tense, with stones being pelted at the gurudwara and the shops and homes of Sikhs living there. The community at the moment is in great distress, even facing shortages of food and other essentials.

The Wire seems to have upset Dr Muneer, one of its readers/contributors, quite badly. He writes, “I assumed you folks have some system to acknowledge and reply back to authors making requests. You are not NYT or even a Financial Express to boast of such arrogance. I am disgusted at this apathy and withdraw my interest to write with you.”

While I can understand the sentiments expressed, and have often argued for a more prompt response from the desk to unsolicited pieces, I would also like Dr Muneer to consider the difficulties of a small publication with limited desk staff in responding on each and every piece it receives, seeing that the numbers involved are not small.

Write to publiceditor@cms.thewire.in

With the Killing of Shujaat Bukhari, a Fearless Voice in Kashmir Media Silenced

The assassination of the veteran journalist has sent shockwaves through the journalistic community.

Srinagar: Senior journalist Shujaat Bukhari, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Thursday evening, was a prominent face of Kashmiri journalism who had survived an assassination attempt in 2006.

A journalist for almost three decades, Bukhari was fired at from close range outside his office in Srinagar’s busy Lal Chowk at around 7:15 pm when he was leaving for home in his car – minutes before Iftar. His two security guards were also killed in the attack.

Tall and distinguishable, 50-year-old Bukhari was editor-in-chief of English daily Rising Kashmir which he launched in 2008. In the years to come, he started Urdu daily Buland Kashmir, Kashmiri vernacular Sangarmal and Urdu weekly Kashmir Parcham.

Bukhari began his career way back in the early 1990s, when he joined the Jammu-based English daily Kashmir Times as a reporter in its Srinagar bureau. In 1997 he got the biggest break in his journalistic career when he joined The Hindu newspaper, which is headquartered in Chennai, as its Srinagar bureau chief.

Bukhari’s association with the newspaper lasted 15 years, and during the period he reported on the Kashmir turmoil widely. His write-ups on Kashmir conflict also featured in national and foreign media houses, including fortnightly magazine Frontline and BBC.

A native of Kreeri village in Baramulla, Bukhari was abducted by unknown gunmen in 2006, but he managed to escape following which he was provided security by the government.

Shujaat Bukhari’s grave in the foreground, at the back is the Kreeri village mosque in Baramulla, Kashmir. Credit: The Wire

Survived by his wife Tahmeena and two children – a daughter and son – both minors, Bukhari had moved from Kreeri to Srinagar a few years ago. His brother, Basharat Bukhari, is a senior People’s Democratic Party leader and a minister in the state government.

A known literary and cultural activist, Bukhari served as the president of Adabi Markaz Kamraz, a literary forum that works for the promotion of Kashmiri language.

A frequent traveller across the globe, Bukhari earlier this month attended the Global Editors Network Summit in Lisbon that focused on the challenge of fake news. Last month when the Centre announced a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir for the holy month of Ramzan, Bukhari was among those who welcomed the decision, terming it as a “glimmer of hope for common people who have been suffering due to the continuous grind of violence”.

In December 2015 Bukhari survived a massive stroke when he was in Jammu. He was flown to AIIMS, New Delhi, where he remained admitted for three months before his return home.

Bukhari did his masters in journalism from Ateneo de Manila University, Manila as a fellow of the Asian Centre for Journalism, Singapore. A recipient of the World Press Institute fellowship and Asian Centre for Journalism fellowship, he was also a fellow at the East-West Centre at Hawaii.

Known for encouraging young and budding journalists in Kashmir, Bukhari, an avid social media user, would often talk about the threat to Kashmir journalism in a conflict situation. In an article for the BBC in 2016, Bukhari wrote that since the outbreak of armed rebellion in the Valley, media in the region has had to work on a razor’s edge in what is “effectively the world’s most heavily militarised zone”.

“Thirteen journalists have been killed during the conflict since 1990. Threats to life, intimidation, assault, arrest and censorship have been part of the life of a typical local journalist. Journalists have been targeted by security forces and militants alike. Publications have been denied federal government adverts -a key source of revenue for smaller newspapers,” Bukhari wrote. The Rising Kashmir was one among many newspapers which have faced censorship in the past.

In one of his last tweets, the veteran journalist rebuffed allegations that he was a ‘quasi-Islamist’ and responsible for ‘biased reportage’. “In #Kashmir we have done Journalism with pride and will continue to highlight what happens on ground,” Bukhari tweeted. In another tweet he quoted UNHRC’s first-ever report on human rights situation in Kashmir.

It is unfortunate that a credible think tank like @orfonline should allow this diatribe in absence of the person referred to. In #Kashmir we have done Journalism with pride and will continue to highlight what happens on ground. @samirsaran https://t.co/bGjajFT9yb

— Shujaat Bukhari (@bukharishujaat) June 14, 2018

His killing is third such tragic incident in Srinagar’s Press Colony. In 2003, Parvaz Mohammed Sultan, editor of a local news agency NAFA was shot dead in his office there. Prior to Sultan, in 1995, cameraman Mushtaq Ali was killed in a parcel bomb attack that was intended at former BBC correspondent Yusuf Jameel who, however, escaped with injuries.

Late in the night, J&K Police released a CCTV grab of the alleged assailants, asking people to help identify them. “It was a targeted killing. The preliminary investigation has shown that around three to four gunmen were involved, but the number could be more,” said a senior police official posted in Srinagar.

A CCTV grab of the alleged assailants involved in the killing of Bukhari.

He said the police are likely to constitute a SIT to investigate the killings, which happened on the eve of Eid, leaving Kashmir stunned and invoking all-round condemnation.

As the tragic news broke out, chief minister Mehbooba Mufti rushed to the police control room where his body had been brought after he was declared dead by doctors at SMHS hospital. Leaving from there, Mehbooba broke down while recalling her recent meeting with Bukhari.

“This is really shocking. What can I say? Only a few days ago he had come to meet me,” an emotional Mehbooba told reporters.

Former chief minister Omar Abdullah said Bukhari died in the line of duty. “Even in the last tweet he put out, he was defending himself, his colleagues & his profession. He died in the line of duty doing what he did best & loved doing – journalism,’’ Abdullah tweeted.

Even in the last tweet he put out he was defending himself, his colleagues & his profession. He died in the line of duty doing what he did best & loved doing – journalism. #ShujaatBukhari https://t.co/xEA2hg2xp1

— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) June 14, 2018

The separatist trio of Syed Ali Shah Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Muhammad Yasin Malik also condemned the killing.

“Deeply saddened and shocked by tragic news of Shujaat Bukharis killing! Such inhumanity is unpardonable and condemned in the strongest terms! Proud son of the soil his death is a huge loss. Shujaat was an erudite intellectual a fearless journalist and above all a selfless human deeply concerned for his people…,” tweeted Farooq.

Deeply saddened and shocked by the tragic news of Shujaat Bukharis killing! Such inhumanity is unpardonable and condemned in the strongest terms!Proud son of the soil his death is a huge loss.Shujaat was an erudite intellectual a fearless journalist and above all a selfless …

— Mirwaiz Umar Farooq (@MirwaizKashmir) June 14, 2018

The killing has sent shockwaves across the journalistic fraternity. In a statement, the Kashmir Editors Guild (KEG), while strongly condemning the killing, termed it “yet another shameful attack on the media in Kashmir that has been surviving with such attacks since 1989.”

“The killing is a great loss to the media fraternity in the state. Media in Kashmir has been operating in a testing situation in Kashmir for all these decades of crisis. The intermittent killings and attacks have been adding to the crisis in which the media was barely surviving,” said the KEG.

Mudasir Ahmad is a Srinagar-based reporter.