Kashmir: Blackout forces journalists to alter profession

ANKARA

Restrictions on communication in India-administered Jammu and Kashmir since August has not only affected local media but is increasingly forcing many journalists to switch profession, in order to make a living.

Kashmir Life, a Srinagar-based weekly, has documented cases of five journalists, who are exploring alternative means to earn livelihood in order to feed their families.

The weekly found Muneeb-ul-Islam, a young photojournalist of international fame, doing manual labor at a construction site.

On Aug. 5, India imposed a strict communication blackout in Jammu and Kashmir after stripping the region of its limited autonomous status under the Indian constitution.