Since India revoked the special status in 2019, the press freedom has deteriorated significantly, and journalists in IIOJK are continuously facing intimidation and fear. The Indian government has introduced the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and Public Safety Act (PSA) and is using these acts to silence the critical journalists. India at present stands 150 out of 180 in international press freedom ranking. In a podcast discussion, Anuradha Bhasin, executive editor of ‘The Kashmir Times’, says nothing is ‘normal’ in Jammu and Kashmir. Things are ‘normal’ on the surface in Kashmir, but there is fear among residents, says Anuradha Bhasin, Executive Editor of The Kashmir Times. In her book, Dismantling a State, the Untold Story of Article 370, Bhasin has written how people in Jammu and Kashmir were stunned at the decision. Journalists couldn’t write their stories because the government made it difficult for journalists to operate.

There was no internet and no landlines for a while — “just a few computers for over 100 journalists, and they had to file stories under surveillance.” While commenting on the revelations made by former Governor Satya Pal Malik to The Wire, she says there was speculation about an intelligence failure leading to the Pulwama attack, but that Malik had brought out an insider’s view. As for the charges of corruption against the Prime Minister, Bhasin said, “Modi government had said corruption was done by a few big families, but clearly it hasn’t stopped.”