The confrontation between the Manipur state forces and the supporters of Muivah’s proposed visit to his native village, Somdal, and the strong undercurrents of ethno-political divisions in the state and the region certainly would have dominated national media had the dramatic happenings been elsewhere, say somewhere in the border between Maharashtra and Karnataka. The issue would have been debated by vocational studio intellectuals in all the major TV channels, shallowly cross-shouting how the Manipur State should or should not react to a proposed visit by a rebel leader (engaged in talks with the center)
to his home village, how the Manipur government should or should not object to a possible dismemberment of the state to facilitate the arrival to a peaceful settlement of the decades long insurgent movement of the Naga people, how the Kuki demands for a separate statehood should or should not be simultaneously addressed with the Naga demand for merger of certain parts of the Manipur hills into Nagaland considering NSCN (IM)’s claims on traditionally Kuki territories in Ukhrul, Senapati, Tamenglong and Chandel districts, how the center should or should not intervene decisively in view of the irreconcilable interests between the Kuki, Naga and Meitei ethno political aspirations, et al.

While the Northeast is burning, of more substance to the mainland media are things like, the position of Kasab, a terrorist, in the long list of people in death row, the admissibility or otherwise of narco-tests in courts of law, Hillary Clinton’s slightly censuring words on Pakistan inflated out of all proportions to feed the Indian ego with American endorsement, the details of one or other so-called high profile murder cases, etc. These are matters the Indian public can do without and subjects on which the public need not form an opinion based on the facts. These are mere sensationalizations of trivia aimed at higher TRPs and readerships, totally devoid of the primary purpose of the fourth estate as it ought to be.

Whenever the level of political discourse in society begins to sink, it ought to be the media that has to take the lead in raising the levels of public debate by placing substantive agendas before the public. The tragedy with mainland media in India is that most of the media groups are subsumed by crass commercialism and impeded from core journalism by overriding commercial and other interests. Being run by big business groups and prominent national personalities who interact with the highest echelons of power on a daily basis, the focus areas are invariably influenced by the barter-sessions where the media groups, in exchange for some favors in some tax or other policy matters, barter away their right and purpose of scrutinizing the executive or other business groups for any abuse of position, acts of commission or omission adversarial to public interest, et al. The losers in the deal are the poor ignorant masses and the Indian polity as a whole.

Vital issues like denial of tribal rights in the state of Manipur, leading to disparate demands for Kuki Tribal state, Naga integration, etc. and the obstinacy of the state in recognizing constitutional provisions for the protection of tribals and their land are issues
that need to be nationally debated. The propriety or otherwise, of the central government engaging only one insurgent group for talks by ignoring the others, who between them have contesting political interests, needs to be debated nationally. The wisdom, or lack thereof, in encouraging insurgent groups who refuse to acknowledge the Indian state while ignoring those who demand legitimate protection of tribal rights and tribal land under the constitution and within the Indian state needs to be nationally debated.

Sadly though, these are non-issues to the corporate mainland media and perhaps will always be. Unless the media introspects and begin to re-orient their foci to core fourth estate subjects, the dream of India being a world power will always be held back by growing slums, incessant communal and ethnic riots, frequent hartals, stats of poor tribals with low levels of literacy, income, health indicators, etc. The myopic mainstream media needs to visit an ophthalmologist at the earliest.

Edited Owned and Published by Alien Khongsai; Editor- Lamjagou Vaiphei