“NORMALCY returns to Kashmir,” declares the anchor from the Delhi studio of an English news channel on August 9. The channel’s reporter, parachuted in Srinagar from Delhi, parrots similar lines: “Normalcy is returning to Kashmir…There has been no law and order situation in Kashmir.” It came days after the Narendra Modi government announced its decision on August 5 to scrap the special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the constitution and divide the state into two union territories.

THE Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) has submitted a memorandum to parliamentarians on June 25, drawing their attention to an urgent issue that concerns journalists today. The minister for labour Santosh Gangwar has announced that new labour codes will be introduced in the forthcoming session of the Lok Sabha.

THE National Alliance of Journalists has called upon its members, to rally in unison  for a twofold alliance with professional journalists from the wide spectrum media, including the broadcast and social media and other unions aligning with it in a federative spirit. A six member steering committee has been constituted, with the NAJ and DUJ president SK Pande as convener and G Anjaneyulu, M Koteswara Rao and Sujata Madhok as co-conveners.

The broad contours of an action plan would be discussed at a working committee meeting in Delhi to be held this month.

THE Delhi Union of Journalists and its Gender Council, in a statement issued on February 16, has condemned the arbitrary sacking of editor Angshukanta Chakraborty by the India Today group for a personal tweet opposing hate news and fake news and demanding action against its purveyors. Her February 4 tweet said: “Promoters turning a blind eye to hate-mongering, fake news spreading anchors, editors, reporters and writers, or hiring them in the first place, must be tried in court as hate speech enablers-profiteers. Must be boycotted socially by secular politicians & industrialists”.

THE Delhi Union of Journalists(DUJ) , the National Alliance of Journalists and All India Lawyer’s Union have, in a statement issued on October 24, congratulated the democratic opinion that demanded that the Criminal Laws (Rajasthan Amendment) Ordinance 2017 placed by BJP government in Rajasthan assembly for converting it into a statute should be withdrawn lock-stock and barrel. A small beginning has been made by its deferment they said. Continued vigilance is the need of the hour as other cases of brow beating the media remain, they added.