Another ugly fall out of the detention under NSA : Stand of MUSU
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: December 28 2018 -
Another ugly fall out of the Kishorchandra Wangkhem case.
The Special General Body Meeting convened by the All Manipur Working Journalists’ Union (AMWJU) and attended by members of the Editors’ Guild, Manipur on December 25, should have ideally settled the issue - that is the hawkish stand adopted by some student organisations against the media fraternity and more particularly the letter written by the president of AMWJU to the president of the Indian Journalists’ Union but apparently this is not to be.
Under what wisdom the Manipur University Students’ Union took the decision to ban all newspapers, save for two, in the campus of the varsity is perhaps best known to them, but will such a stand help to resolve the issue-that is the incarceration of Kishorchandra under the NSA ?
This is a question which MUSU should seriously deliberate upon, for in taking such a decision they are also dictating that others in the university will not be allowed to read the day’s papers, except for the two which have not been banned inside the campus of the varsity.
If banning the other newspapers in the campus of the varsity will help in dealing with the case of Kishorchandra, then it is a different matter, but common sense says that it will not.
Why train the guns on newspapers, which are at best messengers ?
This is a question which the MUSU leadership should seriously deliberate upon, for not only does it reflect an immature approach to an issue but also reeks of an authoritarian mindset, which ironically many student organisations have accused the Government of being in the Kishorchandra case.
It would do good for all to come around to the idea that it makes absolutely no sense in targeting the messenger.
The Sangai Express has already had its say on the matter in an earlier commentary for what is there to be reported have always been reported.
What is the angst of MUSU against the media fraternity is the logical question that follows.
Seen along this line, it would do good for the student body to positively respond to the invitation of the media fraternity to sit down, discuss the issue at hand and remove all misunderstanding.
The culture of ban is something least expected from university students for it is only expected of the students to have a liberal mindset and certainly deciding what others should read and not read is far removed from the understanding of a liberal mindset.
The decision of MUSU has not been issued to the media houses officially so far, but the said decision was uploaded on the social media.
So it is that it has been on the social media that the media in Manipur has been verbally fired upon and castigated from all sides.
Is it a case of the student organisations expecting something more from the media ?
Whatever the case may be, it would be in the fitness of things for MUSU to take up on the invite sent by the media fraternity and discuss what is there to be discussed and remove all misunderstanding over the said issue.
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