NEW DELHI, 24 Oct: The Indian Journalists Union (IJU) has deplored the cancellation of a media award to Kashmiri journalist Safina Nabi last week by Pune-based Maharashtra Institute of Technology-World Peace University (MIT-WPU), on grounds that some of her “published opinions and views… have the potential to be viewed as contentious and not in alignment with the foreign policy of the Indian government.”
“Denying Nabi the award is yet another reminder of how journalists in Kashmir are being denied
due recognition for their work, in most difficult circumstances, and, in this case, the reason cited by the university itself suggests political pressure, though it chooses to deny it,” the IJU said in a statement on Tuesday.
It’s been reported that Nabi’s award-winning story, ‘The Half Widows of Kashmir’, was published on the website Scroll, aided by the Pulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting, and focussed on the valley’s plight of ‘half widows’ who continue to be denied property rights decades after the disappearance of their husbands. It was unanimously chosen from dozens of entries in ‘Journalism that promoted empathy, understanding and inclusivity in society’ category, by a 7-member jury, four from the university and three eminent journalists.
Nabi was duly informed about the award by the university’s media & communication director. However, while awaiting travel arrangements for the award ceremony, on 18 October, she was informed that the award was rescinded as “there was a lot of political pressure,” the IJU said.
IJU President Geetartha Pathak and Secretary-General Sabina Inderjit said that the denial of the award to Nabi “is indeed unfortunate, as her story would have promoted the much-needed empathy for the ‘half widows’ in Kashmir. Worse, the denial reveals the persecution the journalists in Kashmir are increasingly being subjected to for telling the truth.”
Stating that the university’s action “is unacceptable in any democratic society,” the IJU urged its members to read and share her story at https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/how-kashmirs-half-widows-are-denied-their-basic-property-rights.
