FOR NEARLY TWO years, I have been editing the series in this magazine about the unsteady state of the American newspaper industry. A thread running through the series--it turns up again in William Prochnau's remarkable examination of Times Mirror, which begins on page 58--is the heavy obligation newspapers have to the citizenry in a democratic society, the life's blood of which, after all, is...
In a letter to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, WAN has expressed its serious concern at an attack on the home of newspaper editor Jeelani Qadri. According to reports, early on the morning of 23 November 1999, Kashmiri militants threw a grenade at the Srinigar home of Qadri, editor of the daily newspaper "Afaaq". Qadri and his family, who were asleep inside at the time, escaped unharmed...
In a 15 October 1999 letter to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, RSF expressed its indignation over the murder of N. A. Lalrohlu, editor of the local vernacular newspaper "Shan". RSF asked that "a serious and thorough investigation is conducted to identify and punish the authors of the murder, which seems to be a serious warning to independent journalists in the state of Manipur." RSF also drew...
CPJ is deeply concerned by the latest efforts to suppress discussion of the social and environmental costs of Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar dam construction, part of a controversial irrigation and hydroelectric project along the Narmada River. India's Supreme Court has scheduled a hearing for 29 July 1999, to decide whether to initiate contempt of court proceedings against the writer Arundhati Roy for...
According to PPF, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL), India's sole gateway to the Internet, has blocked the web site of Pakistan's leading English language daily newspaper, "Dawn". According to "The Times of India", Internet users in India have been unable to connect to the "Dawn" website for more than a week. A VSNL official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told "The Times of India" that the...
IFJ General Secretary Aidan White met Indian Minister of Information and Communication Pramod Mahajan on 9 June 1999. White raised the IFJ's concerns, similar to those raised by other organisations, about the ban on Pakistan television by the Indian authorities. The IFJ notes that on the issue of the ban on Pakistan's broadcasts, the Indian authorities have offered more information on the reasons...
In New Delhi on 2 June 1999, the Indian minister for information and broadcasting, Pramod Mahajan, banned the transmission of Pakistan Television (PTV) by cable operators. According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Mahajan said cable operators throughout the country would be prohibited from telecasting PTV programmes because of the "vilification campaign against India, especially in connection with...
CPJ is deeply disturbed by the murder of Anil Rattan, a free-lance journalist and former correspondent for the Hong Kong-based magazine "AsiaWeek". Rattan's killing marks the third murder of a journalist in the Indian capital in less than two months. Police say that Rattan's body was discovered in the bathroom of his Delhi apartment on 20 March 1999 "in a highly decomposed condition," and estimate...
CPJ is deeply disturbed by reports that Naresh Kumar Kalita, news editor of the Assamese-language newspaper "Agradoot," is now being detained under the National Security Act (NSA), which allows for preventive detention without trial. **Updates IFEX alerts of 25 February and 11 February 1999; for background on the Ajit Bhuyan case see IFEX alerts of 3 March 1998 and 23 October 1997** The Kamrup...
CPJ is deeply concerned over the prolonged detention of Naresh Kumar Kalita, news editor of the Assamese language newspaper "Agradoot." On 25 February 1999, Guwahati's High Court rejected Kalita's bail petition for the second time in two weeks. Police arrested the journalist at his home in Guwahati in the early morning hours of 10 February. They searched the premises for about three hours before...
