Censorship – Publications

Major English- and Urdu-language newspapers in Indian-administered Kashmir have printed blank front pages to protest against the central government’s decision to block advertisements to two dailies.

In place of regular news, the papers’ front pages, on Sunday featured a message denouncing the “unexplained denial of government advertisements to Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader”. Several journalists, led by the Kashmir Editors’ Guild (KEG), also held a demonstration in the main city of Srinagar, demanding the withdrawal of the ban.

The government action against the two newspapers came two days after a deadly suicide attack in Pulwama on February 14, which brought India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

Newspapers in India are heavily dependent on government advertisements for their survival and the ad-blockade hit both Greater Kashmir and Kashmir Reader. The first was forced to cut its 20-page edition to 12, while the second went from 16 to 12. “The decision has neither been conveyed formally nor was any reason detailed to the respective organizations, so far,” the KEG said in a statement.