Access to information is being systematically walled off in Jammu & Kashmir. In June 2026, the J&K Government issued an official circular strictly restricting all media briefings regarding the Amarnath Yatra to designated senior officers. Consequently, independent journalists are completely barred from conducting their own assessments or interviewing non-authorized personnel about the pilgrimage’s logistics and security.

This aggressive clampdown forces the independent press to act merely as stenographers for official government press releases rather than objective observers. Bharataawaz examines this alarming shift away from transparent and free ground reporting.