International social welfare refers to social activities and programs pertaining to communities and that are carried out by nongovernmental and governmental organizations within a region. These activities may also be intergovernmental and are designed for the benefit of the societies for which they are conducted. While it does not necessarily involve social workers, it does concern itself with social work and policies regarding these. It engages in matters such family planning, violence and the availability of amenities and peace in the community (Fareed, 2016). The article on the Kashmir Reader ban in Jammu and Kashmir highlights the issues of media freedom within the region. It presents an illustration of ways through which government oppresses free journalism and the liberty of the media.
The Kashmir Reader Ban
The Kashmir Reader is a daily in the region of Kashmir that was recently shut down by the Jammu and Kashmir under a court order (Fareed, 2016). This as reported by Al Jazeera, pointed out that the government officials only stomped in with documents showing that the daily had been reporting in a manner that incited acts of violence in the public and which disturbed the region’s peace. It was not quite certain what exactly these acts were even though the court order according to the Editor, Hilal Mir, did contain phrases illustrating the nature of such reporting (Fareed, 2016). The policemen who were about six or five did not explain to Mr, Hilal or to anyone else why the occurrence happened. For this reason, they are keen to seek legal counsel.
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Relevance to International Social Welfare
The article is relevant to social welfare since it shows the impact of government on media and thus, the effect that any such control has on the content received by the public. In restricting the Kashmir Reader, the Jammu Kashmir authorities show their ability to restrict media freedom, and further to restrict public access to information. This means that journalism is not able to report situations as they are and further, that the society is left in the dark concerning social matters such as the ongoing conflict caused by anti-Indian rule in the region (Fareed, 2016). It leaves the entire region with questions concerning the role of government in social matters. Can this government be trusted to promote peace in the region and with proper conflict resolution methods? Does the attack on media houses such as Kashmir Reader intend to cover up the real situation at hand while killings are perpetrated against protestors? Most importantly, is the government keeping protestors from pushing for their rights?
Application of concepts
Among the concepts of international social welfare are social development, and social policy amongst others. Social policy determines the systems in a region and their impact on development. In any case, they are specifically put up for the sake of social development which in the case of Kashmir, would be seen by the policies set to govern media within the region (Fareed, 2016). Policies that rule out the nature of content as being inciting of violence are not necessarily relevant to growth. Nonetheless, the formulation of policies favoring media operation in the best capacity possible is relevant.
Interpretation of the Story
The Al Jazeera report of this story is akin to that of Fox News even though the latter provides more information concerning the number of days over which the paper was shut down. It is, however, shorter than the Al Jazeera report as it did not provide more information. It appears from the heading that Fox News may have been in agreement with the act of shutting down the Kashmir Reader. The title, Kashmir Newspaper Banned to Prevent anti-India Violence insinuates that the media house is in agreement with the government’s reaction to the situation with newspaper ( Fox News, 2016). It is not neutral at all or in support of the media against the authorities. On the other hand, Al Jazeera’s title sounds more neutral with the reporter only presenting the information received from the people talked to at Kashmir. Kashmir Newspaper Banned for ‘Inciting Violence’ while this title is suggestive with the use of quotation marks in the words, ‘inciting violence,’ it is not conclusive. It only subtly agrees with the editor Mr. Mir which is an assurance of reliability on the part of Al Jazeera as a communicator of information received from a member of the Kashmir Reader to the world outside (Fareed, 2016). In this manner, Al Jazeera, does not come across as opinionated and its interpretation of the situation yet maintains its position of bold reporting.
Personal reaction to the story
The story of Kashmir Reader seems to be one of infringement on the freedom of media in the region. The government involves itself as a means to intimidate these sources from writing content that may not favor its image. The state government leans towards the side of India rule and takes advantage of these media houses to decrease opposition and intimidate its enemies into submission. The issues of regional peace are however deeper than they appear and require the media in all its integrity in order to inform the public reliably of ongoing in the region as well as pass necessary information on fears and needs of the people to the government. It is therefore only reasonable to ensure that papers such as the Kashmir Reader are empowered and encouraged to bravery carry out their actions through pursuing stipulations in the legal systems that define its role.
Conclusion
The role of media is to encourage the society to pursue positive social welfare facilities and progress. It is responsible for communicating the existence of problems in order to ensure that the government takes responsibility and those other bodies such as nongovernmental organizations and other governments participate where they are needed. The case of Kashmir Reader is only one out of the many that have occurred against the media and only end in making the society worse off than it already is. Indeed, the media is the eyes and mouth of the society and has a responsibility to provide reliable information for social and economic development.
References
Fareed, R. (2016, October 3). Kashmir Newspaper Banned for 'Inciting Violence' . Retrieved from http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/10/kashmir-newspaper-banned-inciting-violence-161003061348246.html
Fox News. (2016, October 4). Kashmir newspaper banned to prevent anti-India violence . Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/10/04/kashmir-newspaper-banned-to-prevent-anti-india-violence.html
