Kashmir’s largest circulated Urdu Daily ‘Kashmir Uzma’ omitted from official publications list (original) (raw)

Srinagar : In Indian Illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, Directorate of Information and Public Relations has omitted Kashmir Uzma, Kashmir’s largest circulated Urdu daily, from its official list of Kashmir-based publications, triggering surprise and resentment.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the list was furnished by DIPR on June 10 in response to an RTI query filed by activist M Shuja seeking details of advertisement space allocated to various publications.

The reply lists 148 publications, many of them little known and unread, but excludes Kashmir Uzma. Kashmir Uzma, launched as a weekly in 2002, soon emerged as a prime name in professional Urdu journalism in Kashmir.

It later transitioned into a daily and established itself as the top-notch Urdu newspaper in the Valley. The omission has raised eyebrows given the newspaper’s circulation and popularity across Kashmir. In the same RTI reply, DIPR revealed that advertisement share for Greater Kashmir, the sister concern of Kashmir Uzma, is 198 times less than that of a little circulated newspaper.

Media circles termed the exclusion of Kashmir Uzma from the official list as arbitrary, questioning the criteria adopted by DIPR for recognition and advertisement allocation.

Media observers maintained that the exclusion reflects a pattern of discrimination against publications that do not toe the occupation regime’s line on the Kashmir issue. Kashmir Uzma and Greater Kashmir have consistently highlighted ground realities in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir, and their marginalisation in official advertisements and lists is being seen as punitive action aimed at silencing independent voices.