Media in Present Imbroglio of Manipur

A Kaisii *

Is this scheme of devolution of power feasible in a multi-ethnic state - you don't take anything, I'll take everything and will give you what you don't want. The recently concluded Autonomous District Council (ADC) Election is nothing but as simply as that. The tribal people had been protesting the Manipur (Hill Area) District Council Act, 1971 on the ground that the Act has failed to ensure the local self­government as provided in the 6th Scheduled of the constitution.

As a result of which they have boycotted the election of ADC for the past 20 years. Indeed, they are seriously questioning why the constitutionally mandated 6th Scheduled has been withheld from them for so long? Is it the ploy of the Meiteis to grab the tribal land, when land has emerged as the core issue of contention in the form of territorial integration and territorial integrity. Otherwise, unlike the tribal in Manipur, their counterparts in other northeastern states had fully utilised the same provision.

On receiving various petitions on 6th Scheduled demand, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has communicated to the state government for necessary arrangement with 'certain local adjustment'. On every opportunity the tribal people have never been tired of seeking the progress of the action taken by state government but there is no sensible response. Now, far from complying and incorporating the Centre's suggestion, the state government has come out with the controversial Manipur (Hill Area) District Council Act (Third Amendment), 2008.

The current impasse is the result of this controversial Act. And the attempt to prevent Th. Muivah's visit to his birth place, which was approved by the Union government whereby the state government created a warlike situation in Naga inhabited areas is a different issue altogether. By not projecting the episode in correct fashion, the involvement of the media contaminates the issue into messy affair. As usual in their curiosity to report violence without necessarily being part of the process of conflict resolution, the media pronounced judgment by overlooking the cause of the problem.

Soon after the government announced the controversial Act, 2008, the tribal people took no time to express their rejection of the Act on the ground that it is nothing but just a face wash. The All Tribal Students' Union, Manipur (ATSUM) has decided to reject the Act in the present form while demanding for 6th Schedule. It is not only the ATSUM but the United Naga Council (UNC) and All Naga Students' Association, Manipur (ANSAM) have also decried the Act and appealed to the government to rethink as per wishes of the tribal people. However, the Manipur government chose to ignore the issue and went ahead to announce the election schedule.

The ATSUM after deliberating the matter in great detail, resolved to stand by its decision and decided to stay away from the election. Similarly, UNC, ANSAM and various other tribal organisations have decided not to participate in the election. Even the valley based political party like Manipur Peoples' Party (MPP), the oldest regional political party in the state has decided to stay away from ADC election while demanding for wider deliberation.

Though repeatedly appealed, the government instead of calling for more consultation decided to go ahead with the ADC election. The government justified its decision by saying that all the 20 hill MLAs had approved the Act and the ADC election is announced in accordance with the wishes of the hill people. Whether the hill MLAs had given their consent or not, only time will tell. But if the government is so adamant to pass any bill which could have detrimental consequence(s) on the hill people, in actual sense the hill MLAs are helpless.

In the house of 60-member legislative assembly, the ratio of the plain and the hill MLAs is 40:20 thereby placing the tribal MLAs in perpetual minority. When the modern democracy is nothing but reduced to mere majority rule the proportion of the tribal MLAs is as such that they will always be the minority in the number game. Left with no option the hill people are constrained to impose economic blockade with much displeasure as this is the only weapon at their disposal to show their resentment against the government's decision. They are fully aware of the consequence of the economic blockade and in no way is aimed to target any particular community whatever.

So, the question of economic blockade being targeted against certain particular community is unfounded. Most of the time, the lopsided approach that the economic blockade has hit hard the people in the valley is the creation of the media.

For the media to contribute towards conflict resolution the minimum requirement is to know the cause(s) of the problem. It is imperative that the cause(s) should be adequately informed to the general public before jumping to the consequences. Without dealing the cause(s) highlighting the consequences can hardly bring any solution.

On any issue of the state, the media report is mostly one sided be it print or electronic as it seldom gives coverage on the other side of the story (from the hills). Hardly any correspondent or reporter of the 'mainstream' media will make efforts to find out the ground reality and collect views from the hills. For the media, the events and opinions as seen and responded from the Imphal valley is the news of the state. Surprisingly, even if the issue concerns the hill people for which they have launched movement in the form of demonstration, peace rally, bandh, etc. the news will be valley-based report.

As the general public and viewers are just not possible to see by themselves and collect factual information, the unbaked and manipulated story is the only news for them. Eventually, the true story and causes of the event lies beneath the media report. As a result of which the 'manufactured news' is the basis of the public opinion whereby the media is hugely misleading the nation.

Few media persons who undertake the trouble to travel in the hills to see the ground reality by themselves were more of media activists, what some called them as 'citizen journalists'. However, the reports of the citizen journalists hardly appeared in the mainstream national media but will be relegated to what is called 'alternative media'. And often those media activists will be castigated as bias and ethnocentric. This is how the real cause of the event is far from the reach of the general viewers/readers. Moreover, the media will easily carry away by the surface information, which is indeed very dangerous on matter of sensitive issue. The role of the media in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural state like Manipur be anything but just compounds the problem.

As a fourth estate, the media is expected to know the socio-cultural, historical and political background of the issue. No social issue exists in vacuum and there will not be an event without the cause. As noted, the economic blockade imposed by ANSAM is enforced much before - the proposed visit of Th. Muivah, general secretary NSCN/IM to his birth place at Somdal, Ukhrul- on account of the demand to rescheduled the ADC election.

Initially, the economic blockade was announced for 6 days and after receiving no response from the concerned authority, ANSAM was again compelled to impose for a week. Even after this, the government showed no sign of coming forward for dialogue. When the tribal people, particularly the Nagas in the hills have seen the attitude of the government, they were driven to call for indefinite economic blockade to safeguard their rights'.

So, there is little or no connections between Th. Muivah's intention to visit his birth place after a gap of 40 years and the economic blockade. But the media continues to focus the reason of economic blockade on Muivah's desire to visit while completely sidelin-ing the issue of ADC election. One of the national English dailies (TOI/JuneI5) says, "several Naga groups called an indefinite blockade of NH-39, Manipur's main lifeline, from April 11 to protest against the decision of the state government not to allow separatist leader Thuingaleng Muivah to visit his birth place".

Media distortion and manipulation like this is nothing new which just fuels the fire. Mere reaction to the event while distancing from taking pro-active role is heavily loaded with potential to communalise the issue. The chance is more when there is already high polarisation of the hill and the valley people on issue of integration and integrity. When the rights of the tribal have been suppressed to the extent that they were not given even bare minimum provision of 6th Schedule, what option is left to them. Where is the media when the despotic Manipur government announced the schedule for ADC election that would amount to subdue the tribal rights on land, forest and customary laws? The tribal people considered the ADC election is only a ploy to implement Manipur Land Revenue and Land Reforms Act, 1962 (MLR & LR).

If the above is the scene of the mainstream national media, what about the state based media? State based media is expected to know the socio-political implication to implement such a controversial Act in a highly volatile state like Manipur. In the wake of decries and protests from hill based organisations, the valley based media never thought of the need to highlight the inherent weakness of the Act, which would amount to disturbance of normal life.

The perspective of government's intention indicates that the present stalemate is an event just waiting to happen. Did the media called upon the wisdom of the government to rethink the Act for the larger interest? Where is the practical action that 'we are brothers and sisters', etc. when the brothers of yours are pushed to the brink and all their rights are being over-rode?

The steady silence of the valley based media speak volume of how much they are anxiously looking forward to see that the hill people be oppressed and suffer. This is nothing but reminiscent of the reality that the tribals in the hills and the Meiteis in the valley are indeed not one and so is the need to be separated. Without saying the attitude of the media itself shows that the valley based media exists only to safeguard and uphold the interest of the plain Meiteis at the cost of the hill people.

Media biasness will not give anything good to the people of Manipur. Distorted and diluted intonation will only lead to vitiating the problem. The imaginative idea of common history for a common good of common cause approach is just contradictory to the reality as displayed by the media in the present imbroglio. Instead, there is an urgent need to develop healthy mutual respect of each other's interests.

Humanising the spirit of mutual respect will enhance better understanding and co-operation to jointly fight common problems. In the event of failure to cultivate mutual respect there is every possibility that the very thin line of linkages could be easily broken.