Washington, April 05 : US-based scholars and activists have said that Kashmiri right defenders and journalists are being targeted for the bringing to light rights violations, a crackdown on ordinary freedoms of Kashmiris, and the fact that all is not hunky-dory in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Rohit Chopra, an associate professor at Santa Clara University in the US, in a media interview mentioned the arrest of Kashmiri journalist Irfan Meraj said his arrest is "another indication of the erosion of rights and democracy in India" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
"Like all regimes that seek to consolidate power at the expense of rights, the Modi regime wishes to control the flow of information and censor stories of state repression and rights violations. Meraj's deep understanding of Kashmiri society and his record of work challenges the official narratives about Kashmir trotted out by the government," Chopra said.
With elections set for next year in India, "Modi is keen to project an image as a hypernationalist strong leader and immobilize any sources of criticism," he added.
Daniel Bastard, head of the organization's Asia-Pacific desk called Meraj "an experienced, responsible and careful reporter who has no place being in prison."
"Special laws intended to combat terrorism should not be used to suppress the activities of journalists," he said.
Angana Chatterji, a University of California at Berkeley scholar who has long worked on Kashmir human rights issues, said, Meraj's arrest "for his principled articulations is grievous".
"The strategy of the Indian government to brand certain Kashmiri journalists and human rights defenders as agents of 'terror' is an assault on freedom of speech and seeks to effectively silence reportage on the egregious political violence and human rights abuses in Indian-administered Kashmir," Chatterji told a US news agency.
Several global media rights groups, including Reporters Without Borders, have condemned the arrest of Mehraj and sought his immediate release.
Daniel Bastard, head of the organization's Asia-Pacific desk called Mehraj "an experienced, responsible and careful reporter who has no place being in prison."
"Special laws intended to combat terrorism should not be used to suppress the activities of journalists," he said.
A Kashmir-based journalist said journalists and rights activists are being targeted by the government primarily because they are exposing rights violations committed by the Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir.
"The government is punishing some journalists to send out a message to others that any journalist or human rights activist daring to expose rights violation in Kashmir would face punishment," the journalist who did not want to be identified told VOA.
Meenakshi Ganguly, south Asia director of Human Rights Watch told VOA the Indian authorities need to uphold human rights protections in Kashmir instead of punishing activists and journalists that draw attention to problems.
"Arbitrary arrests of journalists under draconian counterterrorism laws only exposes the Indian government to allegations that it is repressive, discriminatory and authoritarian," Ganguly said.
Mehraj's arrest is "another indication of the erosion of rights and democracy in India" under Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, Rohit Chopra, an associate professor at Santa Clara University in the U.S., told VOA.
"Like all regimes that seek to consolidate power at the expense of rights, the Modi regime wishes to control the flow of information and censor stories of state repression and rights violations. Mehraj's deep understanding of Kashmiri society and his record of work challenges the official narratives about Kashmir trotted out by the government," Chopra said.
"Kashmir activists are likely being targeted for the same reason that they might bring to light rights violations, a crackdown on ordinary freedoms of Kashmiris, and the fact that all is not hunky-dory in Kashmir."
With elections set for next year in India, "Modi is keen to project an image as a hypernationalist strong leader and immobilize any sources of criticism," he added.
"This strategy had worked for the BJP and him in 2019, so we will likely see jingoistic chest-thumping and stronger state repression in India in the months to follow," he said.