How New Media is Reviving The Kashmir Freedom Moment

These days a term “New Media” is used almost everywhere. But only a few people actually know its meaning. “New Media” means to encompass the emergence of digital, computerized, or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century. Most technologies described as “new media” are digital, often having characteristics of being manipulatable, networkable, dense, compressible, and impartial.

People around the world are taking advantage of new media. It is the most effective, fastest and easiest way to communicate with other people around the world. Social networking sites like Facebook, video streaming sites like Youtube and blogs all fall into the horizon of new media.

The traditional media have been covering and reporting about the events occurring in Indian administered Kashmir for years now. But for last two years, the people have started reporting events on their own, utilizing the new media. Young men using camera mobile phones are recording events all around Kashmir and sharing captured videos and pictures on sites like Youtube.

According to these men, by doing this they are gathering evidences against the Indian Army about their inhumane treatment with the innocent people. And so far they are quite successful. One of the most famous videos shared was shot by Adnan, a 15 years old boy in which aftermath events are shown of the killing of a mobile phone salesman Tanveer by a bullet in year 2008. The video was viewed more than 50,000 times in just a few day after its upload.

By the way, this type of reporting is termed as Citizen Journalism. People of Kashmir are communicating their messages with the rest of the world utilizing digital publishing. A group of youngsters which is highly involved in these reporting term it as ‘Cyber Protest’.

Shazia Yusaf, a student of media and communication in the University of Kashmir says: “Last year curfew was imposed in the city and the Indian media restrained from reporting the ongoing events. At that time these youngsters recorded all the events and shared the videos with the rest of the world by uploading them on Youtube.”

The youngsters involved in ‘Cyber Protests’ say that they are trying to archive the present world on Youtube so that they can show it to their upcoming generations. We can only wish and pray for these youngsters who are fighting for the freedom of Kashmir.

Via BBC Urdu