Srinagar: Two Kashmiri Journalists Syed Shahriyar and Shahid Tantray won the Human Rights and Religious Freedom Journalism Awards (HRRFJA) award for the year 2022 despite the Indian government’s efforts to quell the voices of journalists.
Shahriyar received the award for the ‘Best Photo Story on Human Rights and Religious Freedom’. While tantray won the award for the ‘Best Video Story on Human Rights and Religious Freedom’. He has shared the award with The News Minute’s Priyanka Thirumurthy. It shows that Kashmiri journalists are internationally getting recognition, despite Modi’s government suppressing Kashmiri voices. Modi led BJP government under the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety Act (PSA) have detained various journalists on false accusation, on the pretext that they have been misguiding common masses by circulating fake news against the government and its policies. In the past, Khurram Parvez had been arrested because of his efforts to highlight violations of human rights in IIOJK by Indian occupational forces. Another Kashmiri Journalist Shujaat Bukhari was shot dead outside his office in the Press Enclave area of Srinagar on 14 June 2018 by Indian forces for writing on human rights. A number of Kashmiri journalists who have been recently arrested including Fahad Shah, the editor of news outlet Kashmir Walla, the Kashmiri journalist Aasif Sultan and Sajad Gul, a trainee reporter for The Kashmir Walla etc. This exposes that Indian government would not accept the achievements of Kashmiri journalists and would penalize them if not now but in future. The situation is still very worrying in Kashmir and journalists and Reporters are often harassed by police and paramilitaries. India’s entrenched use of brute force and coercion to forcibly silence those raising voices against its horrendous crimes and egregious human rights violations in IIOJK. India’s state-sponsored terrorism can never weaken the resolve of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination, the international community, particularly the UN, should hold India accountable over harassment of journalists and rights activists. Web Desk
