Much more than a grenade attack :: A question of principle
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: January 09, 2012 -

The reason for the bomb that was placed at the office of a vernacular daily on January 2 and the hand grenade that was lobbed at the office of The Sangai Express on January 6 night run deeper than the mere question of publishing or not publishing a statement issued by some self proclaimed sons of the soil.

Time for the public, at least those who can think, to dwell over this point and make their assessment impact on the ground reality.

The ominous designs, the threats and intimidations that accompanied the bomb and the hand grenade as well as the threatening calls that preceded and followed the overt acts of violence are the pulls and pressures on that character universally known as Principle. Make no mistake about it.

The media in Manipur and The Sangai Express could have easily escaped the threats and the gift wrapped bomb as well as the pinless/leverless hand grenade if we had gone with the flow of the tide and sold out our soul.

All we had to do was publish all the statements issued by these sons of the soil and kow tow to their diktats/fancy and whims.

And in a society which has increasingly plunged itself into a cesspool of the characterless, where morale and principles have been given the quiet burial a long time back, this would have been the easy way out.

This is what the present day society in Manipur would have advocated. In the present context of Manipur today, be practical is a call which says compromise, bury all that you believe in, go with the tide, why stick your neck out and in many ways this seems true and advisable.

Given this culture, to many the media or The Sangai Express may appear adamant, even to the extent of being foolhardy or stubborn as understood in the context of the mule.

But there is something called Principle and if the media in Manipur today enjoy a certain reputation such as one of the few or even the last standing institution which has some scruples about what is wrong and what is right, it is because of this belief.

Not that we expect any reward or gallantry medals or anything material for sticking to this belief and if adhering to this belief translates into sticking our necks out, let it be so, is all that we can say at this juncture. Will the conscientious public please take note of this?

We are not speaking from a high pedestal. We are not Holy Cows.

We are certainly not passing a judgement on the morale of society or the people.

And like all other professions, the bombs, the threats, the ominous signs etc may be taken and understood as professional hazards.

But please note, if compromise dictates life, the media could have easily escaped all these hazards. Publishing the statements from these patriotic sounding groups is not rocket science technology. It does not call for any specialised knowledge. It certainly does not require one to wrack one's brain over it.

But it is all about the question of credibility, a question of how true one can be to one's profession.

The rot that Manipur finds itself in today is largely due to this culture of compromising our inner most beliefs and convictions and this is most visible in public offices where individuals who once appeared to have the good of society and the people in their minds gradually transform themselves to become synonymous with the very system against which they raised their strongest voice.

Each threat that is delivered to the media, each bomb that lands at the offices of the media houses, each act of overt or covert violence against the media is a call to all the conscientious section of society to wake up to the dangers lurking ahead.

If and once the media capitulates to these threats and intimidations then it goes without saying that its credibility will stand exposed and eroded.

And without elaborating we all know what a toothless media can do whenever a crisis like the 2001 uprising, the 2004 protest, the 2009 incident erupts.

The media does not speak for itself. It is here to speak out on behalf of everyone, including those very sons of the soil who had no compunction in lobbing a grenade which was meant to explode at the office of The Sangai Express. We rest our case here.