JAMMU – Indian authorities on Thursday raided the Srinagar office of the Kashmir Times, one of the region’s oldest English-language newspapers, in what editors and press-freedom advocates are calling an escalating attempt to smother independent journalism in India-administered Kashmir.
The search was carried out by the State Investigation Agency (SIA), which is pursuing a case alleging that the newspaper has engaged in “anti-national activities” and helped propagate separatist narratives, according to Indian media reports. The raid began at dawn, after officers summoned the newspaper’s manager to unlock the premises. Investigators examined documents, computers, and digital equipment as part of what officials described as a probe into activities posing “potential threats to the sovereignty and integrity of India.”
Editors Prabodh Jamwal and Anuradha Bhasin condemned the operation as a deliberate effort to intimidate a longstanding independent newsroom. “This coordinated crackdown is yet another attempt to silence us,” they said in a joint statement. The charges, they insisted, are baseless. “Criticizing the government is not the same as being inimical to the state. A questioning press strengthens democracy; it does not weaken it.”
The editors argued that their publication is being singled out for its insistence on asking difficult questions and covering voices often absent from mainstream narratives. “In an era when critical voices are increasingly scarce, we remain one of the few independent outlets willing to speak truth to power,” they wrote, calling the accusations an attempt “to intimidate, to delegitimize, and ultimately to silence.”
The Kashmir Times, founded in 1954 by Bhasin’s father Ved Bhasin, has long been regarded as a pillar of independent reporting in the region. But it has faced mounting pressure in recent years. In 2020, local authorities sealed one of its offices without prior notice, and the print edition was forced to suspend operations in 2021 and 2022 due to what editors described as relentless targeting.
Press-freedom advocates expressed alarm at the latest raid. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the operation “deeply troubling,” urging authorities to return any seized materials and refrain from threatening staff with criminal charges for their work. CPJ’s Asia-Pacific coordinator said investigators must clarify the legal basis for the raid and conduct any inquiry with transparency and due process.
Despite the mounting pressure, the Kashmir Times vowed to continue publishing. “Journalism is not a crime,” the editors said. “The state may raid our offices, but it cannot raid our commitment to the truth.”
