Prime focus: Thanks Dr. Nirala Sinha for highlighting Manipur and Sangai Festival
- Imphal Times Editorial :: November 24 2017 -

People of the state are soured with the trend of VIP or VVIP culture.

Men in the government had promised to abolish these cultures and at the beginning some sort of initiatives. But there are still lots to change.

November 21 incident at Bir Tikendrajit International Airport here in Imphal at which a lady doctor confronted Union Minister of State for Tourism over the delay of her flight scheduled is the factual revelation of the present state of Indian citizen.

What is more interesting is that – the incident happened in Manipur, a state which most people of the country have failed to consider it as a very integral part of the country.

This part of the Indian sub-continent has never been in the mainstream National Media for any good reason, yet people have brought laurels many a time for the country in the field of sports, culture and of course at many other fields.

For reason best known to those running mainland media houses particularly the electronic medium TV channels, a tourism festival which showcases all the rich traditional heritage of the region, which invites people from across the globe to take a view of the beautiful landscape of the state, is of no interest to them.

Most time events which picture the ugly truth of the state has been what is important to the mainstream National media.

It is no wrong to say that Manipur has been portray as a place of bloodshed many a times by national media.

Now coming to the November 21 incident of Bir Tikendrajit International Airport, the incident is in one way a blessing to the state of Manipur.

It serves two proposes –
1) immediate needs of the govt. attention over the kind of inconveniences being faced by common people while making arrangement for full prove security of VVIPs locomotion;
2) The Sangai Tourism Festival, Manipur’s biggest tourism festival, which had never find room for publicity at National Media has been enabled to reach out to almost all states of the country.

On a deeper look to the incident, there are certain things that immediately come to the mind of every Manipuri.

If supposed Dr. Nirala Sinha, the lady doctor who confronted the Tourism Minister, happen to be from among the communities of the state, what would have been the fall out of that incident?

Will the National Media takes up the issue? Will she be treated as a concern citizen of the country?

This is being questioned as there is a case of a young Meitei Manipuri lady detained in police custody for voicing against the airport security force (CISF) some months back.

Fortunately no charges had been leveled against that Manipuri lady, but she had to cancel her flight the day she was scheduled to board besides staying a night at Singjamei police station.

With this facts and circumstances, if Dr. Nirala Sinha happens to be a Manipuri, she would be now in police custody and no national media will picked her story.

This is not just assumption but reality.

On the other hand, the Manipur Sangai Festival which the Govt. of Manipur is organizing with much enthusiasm by even inviting the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, still fails to draw any special attention from the National Media, especially the giant electronic media of the country.

The incident, though in about citizens concern and their rights, it is definitely related with the visit of President Ram Nath Kovind, who had inaugurated the Manipur Sangai Tourism Festival.

So by picking up this specific issue of a young lady doctor confronting a Union Minister at Imphal Airport, the National Media had in one way tells the country that Manipur’s largest tourism Festival is being underway.