Press freedom · Kashmir · Civil liberties · Jammu & Kashmir · English
Anuradha Bhasin
Executive editor, Kashmir Times · Jammu, Jammu & Kashmir
“Surprised, not shocked.”
Anuradha Bhasin joined Kashmir Times, the newspaper founded by her father Ved Bhasin, in 1989 and has edited it through three decades of conflict reporting. Her petition after the August 2019 communications blackout produced the Supreme Court's January 2020 judgment in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India, which held that indefinite internet shutdowns are impermissible and that freedom of the press extends to the internet.
Kashmir Times is one of the oldest English dailies in Jammu & Kashmir. Under Bhasin’s editorship it has reported on the region through militancy, the 2019 constitutional changes and the long communications blackout that followed. Her 2020 petition is now cited across Indian internet-shutdown litigation.
Defining work
The cost, as recorded
otherThe Kashmir Times office in Srinagar was sealed by the Estates Department; the paper described it as reprisal for her petition. source ↗
05 Aug 2025banHer book A Dismantled State was among 25 titles banned by the Jammu & Kashmir government. source ↗
20 Nov 2025raidThe State Investigation Agency raided the Kashmir Times office in Jammu and registered an FIR naming her; officials said ammunition was recovered, which the editors dispute. source ↗
Contested · the other side
The Jammu & Kashmir State Investigation Agency says its November 2025 action concerned activities "inimical to the interests of the country" and reported recovering ammunition at the premises. Bhasin and co-editor Prabodh Jamwal reject this, say the office had been non-functional for years, and describe the raid as an attempt to intimidate. No court has ruled on the FIR as of the last verification date.
Sources
- outlookindia.com — https://www.outlookindia.com/national/surprised-not-shocked-editor-anuradha-bhas…
- deccanherald.com — https://www.deccanherald.com/india/jammu-and-kashmir/sia-raidskashmir-timesnewsp…
- tribuneindia.com — https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/j-arms-seized
- en.wikipedia.org — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anuradha_Bhasin
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