Published 10:23 IST, September 11th 2019
US media showing one-sided perspective on Kashmir: Indian envoy
Some sections of the American media is focused on one-sided narratives of the Kashmir issue, said India's ambassador to United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla
Some sections of the American media, especially the liberal media, is focused on a perspective on Kashmir that is being "pushed forward" by those who are "inimical" to India's interest, the country's ambassador to the United States has said.
Shringla on US media's biased coverage
Harsh Vardhan Shringla said New Delhi's move to abrogate Jammu and Kashmir's special status last month and bifurcate it into Union territories was done for the benefit of the people. In an interview to PTI, the top Indian diplomat called Article 370, which gave special status to the state, an "anachronistic provision" that was "stifling the economy and encouraging the inflow of Pakistani terrorism".
"Unfortunately, some of the media in the United States, particularly the liberal media have, for reasons of their own, chosen not to provide this perspective, which is very important," Shringla said. "Instead they have focused on a perspective that has been pushed forward by those who are inimical to our interest."
Shringla said he and the Indian Embassy here had started a massive outreach to the members of the Congress, senators and the think-tank community about the factual positions on India. According to the Indian ambassador, the recent changes in Kashmir will bring change for the better and in the interests of the residents of Jammu and Kashmir. It will help them get rights that have been "denied" to them for many decades. "That is the point of view that we are trying to bring across," said Shringla, who had posted a lengthy video on YouTube last week to reflect on the "real reasons" for changes in the status of Jammu and Kashmir.
"As we go along, this perspective with the restoration of services, more than 90 per cent of Jammu and Kashmir being free of any restrictions without any violence, without any shot being fired are important signals to the international community that a lot is being done in a manner that is in the best interest of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.
Kashmiri Pandits protest against US media
A group of Kashmiri Pandits protested in front of The Washington Post office on September 7, for the biased coverage of the situation in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370. The protests were organised by the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora. The protesters alleged that the prominent US daily had been giving prejudiced coverage after the Indian government withdrew J&K's special status and divided the state into two union territories. "Your coverage has not addressed the dejure lawlessness that existed in the state of J&K due to Article 370 accompanied by Article 35A which supposedly granted special status to the State," the Global Kashmiri Pandit Diaspora said in a memorandum submitted to the Washington Post.
The US daily newspaper has defended its coverage in Kashmir as 'fair, accurate and comprehensive'. The Kashmiri Pandits, who had gathered in Washington DC from various parts of the United States, raised slogans in support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for taking the 'bold and historic step'. "Nowhere in the Washington Post media narratives is their mention that in this lawless State the most heinous genocide was committed against the aboriginal people, the Kashmiri Pandits, resulting in their virtual exile"
Updated 11:29 IST, September 11th 2019