SOUTH ASIA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

2235fice owned by an NGO at Konung Lampak, Manipur. Altogether, at least seven journalistshave been killed in Assam over the past decade. There was no further informationon the 1996 killing of journalist and human rights activist Parag Das inAssam (see Sections 1.a. and 4).On July 31, V. Selvaraj, a journalist with the biweekly Nakkeeran, was shot andkilled in Perambalur, Tamil Nadu. Thirteen persons were charged in connectionwith Selvaraj’s killing. A motive for the killing has not been established; however,local police maintain that there was personal enmity between Selvaraj and his 13assailants. The trial had not begun by year’s end.Intimidation by militant groups also causes significant selfcensorship. Accordingto the Committee to Protect Journalists, in January English-language newspapersthroughout Gujarat received written notice from the Bajrang Dal, a radical Hindunationalist group, threatening them with dire consequences if they continued topublish exaggerated reports of antiChristian violence (see Sections 2.c. and 5). In1999 Kashmiri militant groups threatened journalists and editors and even imposedtemporary bans on some publications that were critical of their activities.The Government maintains a list of banned books that may not be imported orsold in the country; some—like Salman Rushdie’s ‘‘Satanic Verses’’ because theycontain material government censors have deemed inflammatory.On February 16, customs agents at the Calcutta airport blocked the distributionof 3,000 issues of Time magazine because they contained a 1-page interview withthe brother of Mohandas Gandhi’s assassin, which they deemed would be defamatoryand derogatory to national prestige.Television no longer is a government monopoly, but this is due more to technologicalchanges than to government policy. Private satellite television is distributedwidely by cable or dish in middle-class neighborhoods throughout the country. Thesechannels have been providing substantial competition for Doordarshan (DDTV), thenational broadcaster, in both presentation and credibility because DDTV frequentlyis accused of manipulating the news for the benefit of the Government; however,cable operators are not free of criticism. In some parts of the country, to varyingdegrees, satellite channel owners use their medium to promote the platforms of thepolitical parties that they support.In late summer the Government proposed measures to control objectionable contenton satellite channels—specifically, tobacco and alcohol advertisements—thatwould hold cable distributors liable under civil law. As a result, cable operators inNew Delhi and some other areas held a 3-day blackout during the Olympic Gamesto demonstrate the gravity of their concern. The Government since has clarified itsposition, stating that the (often foreign) satellite broadcasters, rather than the domesticcable operators, fall within the scope of the regulation.AM radio broadcasting remains a government monopoly. Private FM radio stationownership was legalized during the year, but licenses only authorize entertainmentand educational content. Licenses do not permit independent news broadcasting.A government censorship board reviews films before licensing them for distribution.The board censors material deemed offensive to public morals or communalsentiment. During the year, Hindu fundamentalist groups resorted to violence anddisrupted the shooting of ‘‘Water,’’ a film involving the exploitation of widows, asthey claimed it offended Hindu sentiments. A 1999 film by the same producer/directorand cast, ‘‘Fire,’’ which dealt with lesbianism and which had been cleared by thecensor board, was not allowed to be screened in most states; only Madhya Pradeshand West Bengal took proactive steps to allow the film to be shown. At times offendedHindu mobs, led by members of the Shiv Sena, a Hindu fundamentalist politicalparty, provoked violence at movie theaters that were able to show the film.The fact that the lead actress of both films was a Muslim exacerbated tensions. Producersof video newsmagazines that appear on national television are required tosubmit their programs to Doordarshan, the government television channel, whichoccasionally has censored stories that portrayed the Government in an unfavorablelight. This has led to self-censorship among producers so that DDTV rarely has toexercise its power of censorship.The Government does not limit access to the Internet.Arundhati Roy’s book ‘‘The Greater Common Good,’’ which discusses the socio-environmentalcosts of the Sardar Sarovar dam, was serialized in magazines in thecountry during the year. In 1999 political parties in favor of the Narmada projectburned copies of the book and successfully threatened bookstores in Gujarat to removeit from their shelves.Citizens enjoy academic freedom, and students and faculty espouse a wide rangeof views. In addition to about 10 national universities and 256 state universities,states are empowered to accredit locally run private institutions.VerDate 11-MAY-2000 13:46 Sep 20, 2001 Jkt 071555 PO 00000 Frm 00079 Fmt 6601 Sfmt 6621 F:\WORK\COUNTRYR\S71555\71555.035 HINTREL1 PsN: HINTREL1