NEW DELHI: The Indian government’s home ministry has asked the state governments to amend their accreditation rules to provide for police verification of journalists accredited to them on those who seek new accreditation.
The ministry wants the states to ensure that journalists with “militant connections” are kept out of the list of accredited journalists. Such an action, the ministry says, is imperative in the interests of the security of “very important persons,” The V.I.P.s in India means politicians, police and civil officers. India finds it difficult to protect thousands of V.I.P.s threatened by the growing ethnic freedom movements in Punjab, Kashmir and Assam as also in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, The Haryana government has already amended its accreditation rules with the help of certain journalist-members. The Haryana government’s action is likely to be followed by the Punjab Government.
Meanwhile, the Punjab government authorities have served notice on the newspapers to “behave” or else face the fate a Punjabi journalist Balwinder Singh Mali met recently when the government detained him under the national security act. The law provides for detention of aman on the grounds that he poses a danger to the security of the country.
The Delhi Union of Journalists on Sunday condemned the detention of Mali under N.S.A. and the anti-terrorist law describing it as “the worst incident of totalitarian action aimed at terrorizing the Press to toe the official line.”
Interestingly, not many editors and journalists in Chandigarh and Punjab have passed resolutions on Malis detention.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 11, 1992
