Ground Zero Jammu: Terror and TV reporting

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When the phone rings at 2 am, you know its not good news. Rather, for journalists it is always big news. On Wednesday night, this was a false alarm. A gun shot was heard somewhere in the dark, accidentally fired by a village defence committee member on the outskirts of Jammu. The alarm settled, it was still an edgy night. A day before infiltration had taken place on the Kanachak International border and an attack was being apprehended. At times, terror too has a pattern. Four-and-half hours later, it had struck. Militants had traveled in an auto rickshaw and four people had already been shot. Sketchy reports came in that men in khaki uniform had entered a residential area. An Army jawan positioned outside the house where the gunbattle took place As per the laws of television journalism, the rush had....

The land of discontent

10

For travellers on the road, a drive through the Jawahar Tunnel on the National Highway IA could well describe the divide between Jammu and Kashmir- at least geographically. The political,and the emotional differences run much deeper. The moment the 3kms dark tunnel enters into light, the breeze is cooler. The treacherous mountain road ends and drive down to the Valley of greens and yellows begins. But this time, tunnels and landscapes donot express the divide, instead a frenzy of voices on both sides do. Jammu and Kashmir pulled apart to the edge, with 800 kanals in between them. But as the agitations over Amaranth Land cross 40 day mark, the land row is left far behind. The fight now is for much more. For marchers on the streets of Jammu, the agitation is now about an identity. Their best chance to break free from the shadow of the....