Media turmoil following allegation of Assam editors' support to "anti-national" elements

By Nava Thakuria*
Reporting turmoil and conflicts was order of the day for most of the Assam-(also northeast India) based scribes as the region was overshadowed by separatist militants with their disruptive activities till few years back. Media persons then faced two edged swords. Reporting would bring brickbats from government agencies, and aloofness could invite wrath from the armed rebels.
Time changed and so did militants’ influence (read power) over the common people. Slowly those militant outfits, who had dreamt of independence out of New Delhi’s “colonial” rule over the alienated region, came to realize that materialization of their golden vision would not be possible in near future. Many turned to peace talks with the government, but few continued their struggle.
While most militant leaders realized their limitations, some elements refused to depart from the notion of armed revolution with the fantasy of a homeland with self-rule. Though never engaged with revolution personally, some emotionally-charged entities too continued their flowery words in favour of militant leaders as and when necessary in public domains.
A section in the media persons is found to be particularly sympathetic towards such a sentiment. Many see this section interpreting an insurgent being killed in an encounter as a Central (popularly termed as Rashtra-Jantra) onslaught on indigenous population. But if a member of armed forces, engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the troubled region, got neutralized, it was projected as a sign of victory to the revolution.
Both newspapers and news channels of the region reported this spirit of the locals, with some even turning sympathetic to the separatists. Even regional newspaper editorials and television talk shows were augmented with such a temperament.
Recently, when most of northeastern localities witnessed an uproarious ambiance with the emergence of the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) that offers Indian citizenship on the basis of religion to asylum seekers from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The ruling BJP brought the bill and got it passed in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Indian Parliament. However CAB lapsed in the upper house, Rajya Sabha, as the saffron party and its allies did not have majority.
Media sentiment followed numerous anti-CAB protest demonstrations. Some media personalities, including a few intellectuals in Guwahati, began to favour the view taken by the banned separatist militants (read United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent) on the issue. When a few Assamese youths joined Paresh Barua-led Ulfa(I),this was reported as an instant implication of anti-CAB sentiment.
Meanwhile, over 25 Guwahati-based editors signed a memorandum opposing CAB and submitted to Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal to pursue with the BJP leadership to withdraw the Bill, which was criticized as anti-Assamese (Jaati-Dhangshi) in nature. Sonowal, on his part, urged them to repose faith on his authority.
The issue of CAB remained visible on poll-campaigns for general elections, with the Opposition Congress raising the issue all through. The outcome of how deep has this sentiment has rooted would, however, be clear on May 23. The north-eastern region sends elected 25 representatives to the Lok Sabha.
The CAB issue has reached to the media fraternity of Assam in different incarnations. Things turned particularly curious after a Maharashtra-based voluntary organization lodged an official complaint against five media outlets alleging that those exploited the turmoil over CAB and helped banned militant outfits in their fresh recruitment drives. Following the accusation of the Legal Rights Observatory (LRO), the Union Home Ministry asked the state government in Dispur to take necessary actions.
Vinay Joshi, convener of LRO, in his public grievance petition sent on February 14, 2019, accused four editors, namely, Ajit Kumar Bhuyan (chief editor of Prag News channel), Nitumoni Saikia (editor of Pratidin Time news channel), Manjit Mahanta (former executive editor of Asomiya Pratidin newspaper) and Afrida Hussain (editor of InsideNE news portal) of propagating militants’ ideology.
The LRO letter urged the ministry to investigate the role of "suspicious" Assam media outlets and their owners, their financial transactions, source of income, possible flow of funds from foreign intelligence agencies and banned terrorist groups to media owners and all other possible aspects related to it”. The letter added that on various occasions, these media outlets had openly professed the need to take up arms against New Delhi and broadcast propaganda videos of militant cadres.
Responding to the LRO letter, Union home ministry official Sanjeev Kumar sent an official communiqué to Assam police chief Kuladhar Saikia and State home secretary Ashutosh Agnihotri on April 16 directing to take necessary actions in the matter.
While the communiqué did not specify the editors concerned, media outlets reported that the Centre was going for investigations against the editors who opposed CAB and it would take action against them. Seen as an anti-media conspiracy of the Union government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it got support from the media fraternity across the country.
The LRO convener, on his part, claimed that they opposed the editors for spreading “anti-national” propaganda during the turmoil and not for their stand in favour or against of CAB, adding, they respected anyone’s stand on political issues but would continue pursuing with the “responsible authorities” against violent propaganda so that Assam could be saved from burning again.
Earlier, a Guwahati-based concerned citizen (Biswajit Nath) sent a memorandum to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) describing “suspicious” behaviour of some print and electronic media outlets of the State. His letter on November 26, 2018 asserted that a section of scribes always glorified the insurgents and often highlighted Ulfa(I) leader Barua with live interviews. As usual, the Centre on February 22 asked the state government to take appropriate actions in the matter.
---
*Northeast India-based media activist

Comments

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Ahmedabad's Sabarmati riverfront under scrutiny after Subhash Bridge damage

By Rosamma Thomas* Large cracks have appeared on Subhash Bridge across the Sabarmati in Ahmedabad, close to the Gandhi Ashram . Built in 1973, this bridge, named after Subhash Chandra Bose , connects the eastern and western parts of the city and is located close to major commercial areas. The four-lane bridge has sidewalks for pedestrians, and is vital for access to Ashram Road , Ellis Bridge , Gandhinagar and the Sabarmati Railway Station .

Farewell to Robin Smith, England’s Lionhearted Warrior Against Pace

By Harsh Thakor* Robin Smith, who has died at the age of 62, was among the most adept and convincing players of fast bowling during an era when English cricket was in decline and pace bowling was at its most lethal. Unwavering against the tormenting West Indies pace attack or the relentless Australians, Smith epitomised courage and stroke-making prowess. His trademark shot, an immensely powerful square cut, made him a scourge of opponents. Wearing a blue England helmet without a visor or grille, he relished pulling, hooking and cutting the quicks.

No action yet on complaint over assault on lawyer during Tirunelveli public hearing

By A Representative A day after a detailed complaint was filed seeking disciplinary action against ten lawyers in Tirunelveli for allegedly assaulting human rights lawyer Dr. V. Suresh, no action has yet been taken by the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, according to the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL).

Latur’s quiet rebel: Dr Suryanarayan Ransubhe and his war on Manuvad

By Ravi Ranjan* In an India still fractured by caste, religion, and language, where narrow loyalties repeatedly threaten to tear the nation apart, Rammanohar Lohia once observed that the true leader of the bahujans is one under whose banner even non-bahujans feel proud to march. The remark applies far beyond politics. In the literary-cultural and social spheres as well, only a person armed with unflinching historical consciousness and the moral courage to refuse every form of personality worship—including worship of oneself—can hope to touch the weak pulse of the age and speak its bitter truths without fear or favour.

Differences in 2002 and 2025 SIR revision procedures spark alarm in Gujarat

By A Representative Civil rights groups and electoral reform activists have raised serious concerns over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Gujarat and 11 other states, alleging that the newly enforced requirements could lead to large-scale deletion of legitimate voters, particularly those unable to furnish documentation linking them to the 2002 electoral list.

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

From crime to verdict: The 27-year journey that 'rewarded' the destroyers of Babri Masjid

By Shamsul Islam Thirty-three years ago, on December 6, 1992, a 16th-century mosque was reduced to rubble by a frenzied mob orchestrated by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political fronts. The demolition was not a spontaneous outburst of Hindu sentiment; it was the meticulously planned culmination of a hate campaign that branded Indian Muslims as “Babur-ki-aulad” and the Babri Masjid as a symbol of historical humiliation.

Bangladesh alternative more vital for NE India than Kaladan project in Myanmar

By Mehjabin Bhanu* There has been a recent surge in the number of Chin refugees entering Mizoram from the adjacent nation as a result of airstrikes by the Myanmar Army on ethnic insurgents and intense fighting along the border between India and Myanmar. Uncertainty has surrounded India's Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport project, which uses Sittwe port in Myanmar, due to the recent outbreak of hostilities along the Mizoram-Myanmar border. Construction on the road portion of the Kaladan project, which runs from Paletwa in Myanmar to Zorinpui in Mizoram, was resumed thanks to the time of relative calm during the intermittent period. However, recent unrest has increased concerns about missing the revised commissioning goal dates. The project's goal is to link northeastern states with the rest of India via an alternate route, using the Sittwe port in Myanmar. In addition to this route, India can also connect the region with the rest of India through Assam by using the Chittagon...

Search This Blog