Farmers Movement Archive

Avoid terms like ‘Khalistani’ to refer to farmers: Editors Guild

NEW DELHI: The Editors Guild of India on Friday issued an advisory to the media cautioning against using terms like “Khalistanis” and “anti-nationals” to describe farmers who have been protesting against the Centre’s new farm laws. In a statement, the association expressed concern about news coverage of the protests and said using such epithets without any evidence or proof to back the claims “goes against the tenets of responsible and ethical journalism”. “Such actions compromise the credibility of the media. EGI advises media organisations to display fairness, objectivity, and balance in reporting the farmers’ protests, without displaying partisanship against those who are exercising their constitutional rights to express themselves,” it said in a statement. It said media houses should not be complicit to any narrative that derogates dissent or “stereotypes protestors based on their attire and ethnicity”. The advisory follows several media reports that suggested farmers were “misled” and some pointing to the possible infiltration of Khalistani groups. Farmers have also opposed the narrative, complaining that the media coverage of their protests are biased. However, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh had recently warned of a prolonged agitation being a threat to national security.

The Times of India

2020-12-05

India