How TV media's vilification is alienating pro-India voices in Kashmir: Waheed Para speaks out

3 months ago 39

People’s Democratic Party leader Waheed ur Rehman Para, who has been the party’s youth face, was booked under the stringent UAPA in 2020 and spent two years in incarceration. Now, he is fighting the assembly poll from Pulwama. In this interview with Manisha Pande, Para talks about his entry into politics, dissent, democracy, Kashmir’s youth, and militancy. He talks about the Delhi media’s portrayal of mainstream Kashmiri politician – “We paid the price for supporting India.” He emphasises voicing dissent through democracy. On the UAPA charges and jail term, he says he was initially shocked but eventually realised that it is the story of every Kashmiri. Speaking about the union government’s counter-terrorism agenda Para says, “When encounters happen here it is run at national level to show we are dealing with Kashmiri Muslims”. He adds that “there is a stereotype attached to Pulwama”. Speaking about the “Hindutva constituency” of the BJP that believes in Hindu-Muslim segregation, Para remarks that “Kashmir became a casualty”. Para also talks about the PDP-BJP alliance and how that is hurting his party’s chances in this election. He recalls working with the BJP as an alliance partner and organising events for then Home Minister Rajnath Singh. “They finally accused me of organising protests against my own government.” Watch. 00:00-2:45 - intro 2:46-7:50 - militancy in Kashmir 7:51-8:26 - Choosing democracy 8:27-13:29 - Kashmiris are being used 13:30-15:56 - working with Rajnath Singh, being called anti-national 15:57-17:35 - mainstream media's vilification 17:36-19:59 - BJP-PDP alliance 20:00-22:40 - Abrogation of 370 22:41-24:40 - Kashmiris feel humiliated 24:41-28:40 - youth issues 28:41-31:35 - Mehbooba vs BJP 31:36-34:23 - Can't win people through jails 34:24-36:11 - TV media works of Pakistan 36-12- supporting BJP Subscribe to Newslaundry: https://www.newslaundry.com/subscription?ref=social Power our coverage of the Israel-Gaza war: https://www.newslaundry.com/nl-sena/gaza-one-year-later-dispatches-from-ground-zero Download the all-new Newslaundry app: https://www.newslaundry.com/download-app Join us on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va61PEo0QeacOqU9vr2k Follow and engage with us on social media: Facebook: https://facebook.com/newslaundry Twitter: https://twitter.com/newslaundry Instagram: https://instagram.com/newslaundry

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