In January 2021, Anzer Ayoob began producing news in Sarazi and Bhaderwahi – the two main local languages of the Chenab valley in Jammu’s Doda district. The 23-year-old is the editor-in-chief of a multimedia news website called The Chenab Times.
His idea is simple. Every day, his team uploads a round-up of the major headlines of the day in a video posted on Youtube. The first section of the video is in Urdu. The same news headlines are repeated in Sarazi and Bhaderwahi.
“Ours is the only media outlet which is broadcasting news to the people in their local language,” said Ayoob.
In September 2020, three months before Ayoob started his broadcast in Sarazi and Bhaderwahi, the central government introduced the Jammu and Kashmir Official Languages Bill in Parliament. Apart from English and Urdu, the bill proposed to make Hindi, Kashmiri and Dogri the official languages of the Union Territory.
Other communities in the region – those which speak Gojri, Pahadi and Punjabi, for example – had fumed over their exclusion. The bill was also criticised for imposing Hindi in a region where it is not spoken, and had led to concerns over the marginalisation of Urdu. It was passed by Parliament and notified by the end of September.
Ayoob’s broadcast was partly a response to the new language policy. “The idea is to show the government that we too have a distinct idea and culture and that needs to be prioritised,” he said.
Languages of the Chenab Valley
The Chenab Times derives its name from the Chenab river that runs through the Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar districts of the Jammu region. They are collectively referred to as the Chenab valley.
According to linguist and writer Sadaket Malik, Sarazi and Bhaderwahi are among the various Western Pahari dialects or languages spoken in these districts. Because of the region’s mixed population, the languages are spoken both by Hindus and Muslims in the rural areas of the Chenab valley.
The Chenab Times also tries to widen the audience of local languages. “Let’s suppose we are reporting from an area which speaks Sarazi,” explained Ayoob. “We try not to give space to a person who knows Urdu. Rather, we interview the people in their own language and during post-production we use Urdu subtitles in the video in order to make it understandable for common people.”
More than a news site
Ayoob’s decision to start a local news website in 2017 was wedded to larger grievances about the lack of development, infrastructure and healthcare in the Chenab Valley. “In Jammu and Kashmir, we represent the ‘and’,” said Ayoob. “Developmental concerns like schools, roads, hospitals and other basic necessities never became a priority for any government.”
Perhaps that is why The Chenab Times is more than a news site. The team of 15-16 volunteers who run the site are paid only when they are able to generate revenue through advertisements. The website also describes itself as an “activist organisation that focuses on the Chenab Valley’s development issues, politics, culture, business, and literature”. It also takes up the task of questioning “traditional mindsets, discourses, and entrenched viewpoints” in the region.
“Activism comes naturally to a person when your life is so hard,” said Ayoob. “I had to walk seven kilometres every day to high school.” The site’s reach has grown since it started and its YouTube channel has more than 48,000 subscribers now. It has more than 1,53,000 followers on Facebook.
Appreciation but no support
Ayoob said that despite some initial scepticism, The Chenab Times received appreciation from many, including district officials. It was praised by a top official at a Republic Day speech in Doda district, Ayoob said proudly. “We even met some district level officials who congratulated us for our work,” he recalled.
However, there are few monetary resources to sustain and expand their work. Ayoob said the team has applied for several grants but has not had any luck so far. “We want to expand our news coverage and produce news in several other local languages but we don’t have resources,” said Ayoob.
Malik, who is president of the Pahari Core Committee, which represents 15 literary groups and 22 languages or dialects, said efforts like Ayoob’s broadcast helped promote local languages, something that the government had failed to do so far.
“We have already raised a charter of demands for the promotion of different languages in the region with the honourable lieutenant governor of Jammu and Kashmir and other top representatives of the government,” said Malik.
Meanwhile, the Pahari Core Committee has nominated The Chenab Times for their “best news portal” award. “The remarkable thing is that they are doing it by putting in their own money and effort,” said Malik. “It is a huge contribution.”