Friday, 09 May 2025
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** Kashmiris are disappearing from the streets
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A crisis is often seized as an opportunity, especially by those eager to silence dissent – and no more so than in Narendra Modi’s India. Following the deadliest civilian incident in Kashmir in decades, the government has rolled out a coordinated campaign of information control. The Ministry of External Affairs has contacted ([link removed]) global news outlets including the BBC, Reuters and the Associated Press, criticising them for using the word “militant” rather than “terrorist” in their coverage. Social media accounts of major Pakistani and Kashmiri news organisations have been blocked ([link removed]) , including 8,000 accounts on X
([link removed]) , and dozens of Pakistani YouTube channels. Meanwhile, dissenting voices are being targeted under sweeping legal charges. This week alone, the police filed cases ([link removed]) against folk singer Neha Singh Rathore and university professor Madri Kakoti, accusing them of “endangering the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India” over posts critical of the government’s response.

Such suppression is far from new for those living in Modi’s India, as we highlighted two years ago in our magazine issue ([link removed]) devoted to the country. It’s worse still for the residents of Kashmir. Since 2019, when the Indian government revoked the special autonomous status granted to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Indian constitution, censorship and surveillance have become rife. Journalists from Kashmir have frequently written ([link removed]) for us about internet blackouts, media bans and a broader clampdown on dissent. It’s been a grinding war on free expression that rarely garners global headlines.

Now, with tensions at a new high, that suppression is intensifying. A correspondent on the ground described a bleak reality to me this week. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack ([link removed]) last month, which left 25 Indians and one Nepali national dead, thousands of Kashmiris have reportedly been detained, accused of being “overground workers”, a term often used vaguely to suggest militant affiliation. Civilians face beatings for being out after dark. Perhaps most alarming is the growing call ([link removed]) from prominent Indian figures for a vengeful response against both Kashmiris and Muslims in line with Israel's ongoing war on Gaza.

The rhetoric has dire consequences. Prominent Kashmiri journalist Hilal Mir ([link removed]) was recently arrested on what sources close to him describe as a trumped-up charge. Authorities allege he was “actively engaged in posting and sharing content aimed at inciting sentiments among young minds and instigating secessionist sentiment by portraying Kashmiris as victims of systemic extermination.” In another instance the body of Imtiaz Ahmad Magray, ([link removed]) 23, was found shortly after he was detained, after he reportedly jumped into a river trying to escape. According to police he had confessed to being an overground worker. His family refute such claims
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When asked if Modi’s government is using this crisis to crack down on dissent, the response from the correspondent I’m in touch with was blunt: “Without a doubt.”

Jemimah Steinfeld

CEO, Index on Censorship


** More from Index
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From India to the USA: The week in free expression ([link removed])

A round-up of the key stories covering censorship and free expression from the past seven days ([link removed])

Uniting in Budapest to cleanse the image of Hungarian universities ([link removed])

Hungary's approach to academic freedom is being rewritten with the help of a British magazine ([link removed])

The Turkish government’s grip on journalism is tightening ([link removed])

With 90% of country’s media controlled by the state, it is becoming harder to report independently ([link removed])

Kneecap scandal: When music becomes a battleground ([link removed])

Recent gig cancellations reveal how fragile free expression has become in the shadow of war ([link removed])

World Press Freedom Day: Remembering Victoria Roshchyna ([link removed])

We remind ourselves of the sacrifices of journalists around the world ([link removed])

Greek democracy is being dismantled ([link removed])

Greece has been rocked by accusations of government corruption ([link removed])

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** What is a SLAPP? Identifying the tools, tactics and trends
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Join Index on 27 May for an online webinar to launch our “Am I facing a SLAPP?” tool.

With speakers:

Amy Jacobsen, Legal Counsel at Greenpeace

Tracy, SLAPP Target

Mark Stephens, Partner, Howard Kennedy and Trustee, Index on Censorship (Chair)
REGISTER ([link removed])


** From India to the USA: The week in free expression ([link removed])
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**
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** >> USA: ([link removed]) Voice of America to use newsfeed from right-wing network ([link removed])
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** >> INDIA: ([link removed]) Muslim social media accounts and Pakistani content banned ([link removed])
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** >> VENEZUELA: ([link removed]) Five opposition politicians rescued from Argentinian embassy ([link removed])
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** >> RUSSIA: ([link removed]) Escape of kidnapped journalist orchestrated by RSF ([link removed])
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** >> GHANA: ([link removed]) President suspends chief justice without due process ([link removed])
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** Flashback
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"Al Jazeera journalists face problems everywhere, because they tell the truth" ([link removed])

by Sami Alhaj and Katie Dancey-Downs ([link removed])

Index on Censorship, volume 51, issue 3 ([link removed])

“Alhaj wants answers and justice for his friend, but he also wants protection for other journalists at risk. Journalists who are using their voices to tell the world important truths, and who risk their lives with every report. He knows the threat of silencing all too well.”

This week, a documentary team claimed ([link removed]) to have uncovered the identity of the solider who killed journalist Shireen Abu Akleh in 2022 – allegedly Alon Scagio, who was himself killed in combat in Jenin in June 2024. This week, we look back at an interview with journalist and former Guantanamo Bay prisoner Sami Alhaj who campaigned for justice for Abu Akleh. Read the story here. ([link removed])


** Support our work
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The world is becoming more authoritarian and our work calling for the safety of journalists in Kashmir, press freedom in India and Pakistan and promoting freedom of expression in countries such as Turkey, Hungary and Greece has never been more important.

By supporting Index on Censorship today, you can help us in our work with censored artists, jailed musicians, journalists under threat and dissidents facing torture or worse.

Please donate today ([link removed])

Photos by: (Kashmir) ZUMA Press Inc/Alamy Live News ; (Shireen Abu Akleh) Nahid Sultan/CC BY-SA 4.0

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