One of the charges against me was that I was visiting spots and taking pictures. My mother, who has single handedly raised me since I was two years old and my other family members went through hell. The organisation where my pictures would appear regularly removed my work and literally disowned me.

I didn’t even know why I was arrested. And whenever I recall those moments when I was taken to Delhi, interrogated for weeks and sent to Tihar, I feel lucky to be alive and able to work again. My only defence, which eventually helped me was my professional work. My only aim in life was and is to be a good professional journalist, who is honestly recording the stories of Kashmir. 

The suffering that I see and record every day of my professional life has strengthened my resolve to work hard and do my job honestly. And this is why when I was released on bail two and half years ago, I returned to my work immediately.

I have never talked about my own suffering because I think my personal suffering and the cost that I have paid to be a professional photojournalist is very small when compared to what I bear witness every day of my life as a photojournalist.

While I was taking pictures at MarwalKakpora, I was attacked and brutally beaten up by policemen who were accompanying a Deputy Superintendent of Police. I tried to plead with them without any success. If I hadn’t escaped, I have no doubt that they would have killed me. It was a targeted attack on a group of photojournalists and all of us were doing only doing our job.

Journalism is not a crime. Please let us do our job. Please don’t attack us, please don’t beat us up and break our bones.