TABLE- II
A comparative quantitative analysis of the official sources of news reports on
Kashmir
(1 December 1991-29 February 1992)
|
Official Sources |
December |
January |
February |
Total |
Grand Total |
||||||||
|
|
TTOI |
IE |
TH |
TTOI |
IE |
TH |
TTOI |
IE |
TH |
TTOI |
IE |
TH |
|
|
Indian |
12 |
7 |
14 |
24 |
15 |
16 |
32 |
17 |
43 |
68 |
39 |
73 |
180 |
|
Pakistani |
1 |
- |
1 |
1 |
- |
1 |
3 |
6 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
18 |
|
Kashmiri |
1 |
- |
2 |
1 |
1 |
- |
3 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
7 |
15 |
|
Others |
3 |
- |
1 |
3 |
1 |
- |
3 |
4 |
2 |
9 |
5 |
3 |
17 |
|
Total |
17 |
7 |
18 |
29 |
17 |
17 |
41 |
29 |
55 |
87 |
53 |
90 |
230 |
*TTOI - The Times of India (Bombay); IE-Indian Express (Kochi); TH - The
Hindu (Coimbatore)
It is indeed thought provoking that reports on the actual situation in Kashmir
quoting such sources as the ordinary people of the Valley, the militants or
Pakistani officials are extremely scarce, while there is no dearth of
quotations from Indian Government sources on Kashmir. Even more interesting is
the fact that, although very often headlines are in effect statements by
Government officials, many of them do not bear quotation marks or any other
signs to depict them as such, thereby misleading the reader into believing them
to be actual facts. In today¿s busy world, news reports are often only skimmed
through, and it is the headlines and front-page block items which are retained
in the subconscious mind. The dominance of a particular image therefore, leaves
a correspondingly strong impression in the minds of the readers.
Deaths and ¿encounters¿
Most of the news reports/straight news on Kashmir relate to deaths and
¿encounters¿ in the Valley, largely quoting official sources. The focus of
attention is primarily on either the deaths/capture of militants, or the
deaths/ attacks on security forces by the militants. Incidents of the violation
of the human rights of ordinary citizens by either the militants or the
security forces are completely neglected. Even in those reports where some
mention is made of civilians in this context, they are only passing references
in reports focusing on ¿ultras¿, or ¿militants¿ or ¿security forces¿. Only the
discerning reader can glean some understanding of the actual situation by a
careful reading between the lines. This trend can